Chapter 434: Peace

As a primary care physician, it is common to see a patient multiple times, but as an emergency physician, seeing the same person twice within a six-month span is rare, and anything more than that, is worrying. Mina had hit that mark, and Dr. Juan was becoming suspicious. He may have been employed by the Lee family, but that did not mean he wanted to become an accessory to whatever crimes were being committed against the young woman.

Mina had been nothing but polite, and Dr. Juan found it hard to believe that she was anything other than a nice girl, she would have already been dead if she were not. He wondered if he should inform his primary employer about the woman, who was either accident prone, or being targeted, but he was afraid for his own family. If he raised an alarm, and it turned out he was wrong, he would be replaced in an instant.

Doctor Juan asked Mina about her injuries again, and she repeated the story without deviation from the original. He made sure the word choice was not repetitive, because it would be a sign that she was following a script, but she seemed to be telling the truth. The other thing that bothered him was Mina's behavior. She had not been overly emotional anytime he treated her, but she at least was afraid. He saw no trace of anything on her face, and the fact that she claimed to have stepped into a knife instead of away set off warnings.

Mina was oblivious, or rather she did not care what impression the man may have gotten from her, because she felt nothing. Zane was still in the room with Mina, and Dr. Juan asked him to personally collect Mina's discharge papers. It was obvious that the man wanted to speak to Zane alone, and she believed it was because the man did not believe her.

----

Zane had to meet with Olivia, and he reluctantly left Mina with President Lee, with which she was fine. She had been prescribed a pill to take, and part of her told her that it was not medication, but poison. Either way she would take it over the next ten days as directed.

President Lee's car started to move, and Mina noticed that it was not going in the direction of her apartment, it was going to the Lee Group building. She knew the man was desperate to have 'Arlo' make another investment. The man had not told Mina what company he wanted her to invest in, but she told herself it was likely to have something to do with Miss Lisa's new studio. Remembering the grand opening, Mina made a mental note to tell Director Porter that she would be unable to attend, and she would also need to cancel her RSVP.

Inside of the Lee building, Mina was greeted cheerfully by Camille, but her reaction was bland, and she was sure it hurt the woman's feelings. Mina also saw Rachel, who had a small protrusion sticking out of the front of her body, and with permission, Mina gently rubbed the small bump taking in the feeling of a growing life that she would never experience. She offered her congratulations and walked into President Lee's office without much small talk.

President Lee gestured for Mina to sit behind his desk and he pulled out a bulky laptop that she knew was untraceable. She smiled, wondering how much damage she could have done if she had one of her own, but the smile faded as quickly as it appeared. President Lee handed her a large file, and Mina reviewed the documents before looking up at the man in confusion.

"This is a bad investment. It will flop," her gaze was met by one that seemed annoyed, but Mina just shrugged. "Fine, but I warned you." She started to type, but President Lee rested his hand on top of hers.

"What is wrong?" he asked, and Mina, believing that he was talking about the company answered as such. Ian's face grew dark because he thought she had done it on purpose. "How do I know you aren't trying to make me lose more money?" he continued.

"Why would I do that when I am at peace?" Ian did not understand what Mina meant, but he assumed that she felt comfort in knowing that her parents would be taken care of with or without her, but he still had not guessed that she believed her time had been limited to just ten days. When she had told the men what happened, she had not mentioned that she thought the person who stabbed her was sent by President Lee.

With authorization, Mina chose to invest into three separate companies which Ian was shocked she knew about. He wondered how long she had watched him, because the projects that she invested in were so obscure that even he considered dropping out of them. Mina wiped her offshore bank information from the E-traders account and handed the laptop over to the man for his review.

----

Ian looked at the forlorn face Mina was wearing and felt bad for having assumed she was enjoying her time away from him by being with another man. The thought of Mina sleeping with Cylus bothered him so much that it drove him to cut her off from the world. Meanwhile, Mina was being bullied, ridiculed, and even assaulted, clearly not the makings of a good time.

Ian doubted Mina would ever want to spend time with that group of people again, and he decided that he would make things up to her by planning a surprise birthday gathering for her. He wanted to return the smile to Mina's face, but he was afraid that anything he suggested would do exactly the opposite, so he needed to test the waters.

"That Jeremy Barnes person; is someone taking care of him?" Mina's eyes flashed to Ian's for a quick moment, and there was something in them other than apathy.

"His family chose to take the legal route." Mina could see that President Lee was confused, so she explained the settlement offer.

"Has Rouge Entertainment hired attorneys to represent you?"

"It's in their best interest." She replied. "Forty-five percent of all earnings go to the company, and technically a settlement is income." Ian did not feel that it was enough of a punishment, but he already knew that the man had dealings of some sort with Willow West, and he did not want Mina to blame him if he reacted the way that he wanted.

----

Cylus was vexed beyond measure. His parents were becoming too bold in their actions, and he was offended on Mina's behalf. To be offered money to stay away from someone was the ultimate insult, and he told himself that it was his father's 'generous' offer that had caused Mina to push him toward Vanya. He did not regret his choice, but he wondered if it made Mina feel unwelcome in his family.

Cylus' only consolation was that his father had changed his mind and had decided that Mina was not a threat to the family or Rouge. Seeing the piled-up files for approval on his desk, Cylus picked up one of the envelopes and revealed the anniversary packet hidden underneath. He chose to open that one and looked at the photos within. Cylus' mother joined him in his office, wanting to let him know that she had sent Mina home.

"Those are beautiful," she said, looking over her son's shoulder.

"It's a good touch, colorizing mom's photo." Cylus cringed. The photos were not of his grandmother; they were of Mina, or so the memo said.

"Is Mina still with dad?" Cylus asked. He wanted to find the woman so he could take her to see the photographer who worked on the photos. He needed to make sure the man had not made a mistake. Cylus was convinced, or rather he wanted to convince himself that all the images he held were of his grandmother, and none were of Mina, but his brain knew what his heart could not accept.