Chapter 199: The Final Move!
Stan was ready to leave, but before he did, he sought out the Vanguard guards one last time.
"I’m heading to the hospital to check on Amelia," he told Emma. "But before I go, I want you to think about something."
The guards waited in silence.
"Apprehending the gang was good for Amelia. I understand the instinct to see it through. But your job was never to assist in a police raid. Your job is to protect Amelia. This operation could have been handled by the police alone. They didn’t need you. Meanwhile, your client was lying unconscious in a hospital bed without a single member of her own security detail at her side."
The words landed heavily.
It was the second time that day Stan had effectively scolded them like children, and once again, none of them had a rebuttal. In the moment, accompanying the police had felt justified, a way to compensate for failing her earlier. But when Stan framed it that way, the flaw in their reasoning became impossible to ignore. They had answered one absence by creating another.
Stan didn’t press the matter further. He had already heard their explanation, and he knew the first incident genuinely hadn’t been their fault. Amelia had slipped away to Inksea on her own without informing the guards she’d hired, for reasons no one fully understood yet. But understanding the cause didn’t excuse the pattern. The fact that the first failure wasn’t on them didn’t mean they could afford to keep making mistakes.
He left them with that thought and turned away.
A moment later, he made his way toward the officer who had walked him through the investigation during the drive over, the same composed, charismatic man who had led the operation from start to finish. As Stan extended a hand in farewell, his eyes drifted casually toward the badge pinned to the man’s chest.
He paused slightly.
The officer wasn’t a senior detective or division commander, as Stan had initially assumed.
He was the Commissioner of Police for Inksea Island, the head of the island’s entire police force.
"Congratulations on a successful operation, Commissioner," Stan said smoothly, recovering without missing a beat as he completed the handshake.
The man smiled faintly. "You finally noticed."
"The situation didn’t exactly leave room for checking badges."
"A fair point, Mr. Harrison." The commissioner’s expression remained easygoing. "And as I said earlier, tonight wouldn’t have been possible without your help."
"I’m genuinely impressed by how your people handled it," Stan replied. "The coordination was excellent."
Reaching into his jacket, he produced a neat stack of cash, ten thousand dollars, and offered it over casually.
The commissioner accepted it with the same warm, unbothered smile, the exchange carrying the quiet understanding of two people familiar with how goodwill and relationships operated in the real world.
They exchanged contact information afterward, and Stan quietly added another valuable connection to his growing network.
"If you ever need anything in Inksea, Mr. Harrison," the commissioner said, "you’ll have my support."
With that, Stan decided it was time to leave.
As he headed toward the Huracán, he noticed the Vanguard guards were already gone. Apparently, they had taken his words seriously and returned to the hospital.
A small improvement.
He opened the driver’s door, but before getting in, his attention shifted toward the line of gang members being loaded into police vehicles in restraints.
He paused.
Several of them were staring directly at him.
Not with the dull, broken expressions of men who had simply been arrested, but with something far sharper, cold, focused hatred that wasn’t even being concealed.
Stan held their gaze for a brief moment, his own expression unreadable.
Of course they knew who he was.
He was the reason their night had collapsed. The reason their operation had unraveled. The reason thirty of their members were now in handcuffs while police tore apart everything they had built.
And somewhere beyond the reach of the raid, their leader, the man with the red dragon tattoo, was still free.
The hostility in their eyes carried an unmistakable message.
’This isn’t over.’
Stan finally got into the car, started the engine, and pulled away from the secured hotel.
He wasn’t worried. He had handled six of them barehanded earlier and barely needed to exert himself. Still, he filed the moment away in his mind the same way he filed everything potentially important. A wounded organization with an escaped leader and a personal grudge was exactly the kind of loose thread that became dangerous when ignored.
For now, though, Amelia mattered more.
The Huracán sliced through the darkened streets of Inksea, leaving the hotel and the chaos it contained far behind. As the distance grew, Stan gradually pushed thoughts of the raid from his mind and turned his attention back to the unconscious woman whose mystery had drawn him into the entire ordeal in the first place.
Letting out a quiet sigh, he guided the wheel through a nearby junction and headed toward a hospital a few streets ahead.
Regina Caeli.
The towering private medical facility rose against the evening skyline, its polished glass façade gleaming beneath the city lights. Every detail of the building radiated wealth, prestige, and exclusivity, the kind of place reserved for those who could afford the very best care money could buy.
As the Huracán rolled into the entrance driveway, Stan finally decided it was time to make the final move necessary to trigger the rebate.
After parking the car, he stepped inside and walked calmly toward the reception desk.
The receptionist looked up immediately, maintaining a professional smile.
"Good evening, sir. How may I help you?"
Stan stopped in front of the counter.
"There was a woman brought here earlier this evening," he said. "Amelia Don."
The receptionist typed briefly into the system before nodding.
"Yes, sir. Miss Don was admitted not long ago."
Her expression turned slightly serious.
"Her condition is currently quite critical."
Stan remained silent for a moment before speaking again.
"I want to pay for her treatment."
