The only way out is through!
Now that Laila was out of immediate danger and the surgery had gone well, Noah was finally able to notice that Max wasn't around and hadn't been for quite some time. He asked the others if they had seen him and while Maria could shake her head 'no' without a problem, the same couldn't be said for Steve. He put on a quick smile as he looked at Maria and said, "Honey, why don't you go and ask the front desk which room they will be taking Laila." Maria was a bit confused and asked, "Why? What are you guys going to do then? Besides, you heard the doctor, we aren't allowed to visit her for now. At least not until they have settled her into the room and rechecked her vitals."
Steve replied with the same smile still on his face, "You can head over first and sit by Laila's room. Wait there till we are able to visit her. Noah and I need to chat for a bit and then we'll head that way as well." This was when Maria noticed how tense Steve's smile was and decided to leave the conversation till later as it clearly was something important and not something he was willing to share with her at that time. Although she didn't really like him keeping things from her, for now she was willing to accept that he must have his reasons and did as he asked with just a 'Fine' as a reaction.
After receiving the closest thing to an 'Okay' from Maria as he would get in a situation like this, he turned around towards Noah to tell him what had been going on while he was focussed on Laila. As he clenched his jaws, making his expression more serious than before, Steve began telling Noah about how the crash hadn't been an accident. That all clues pointed to it being a deliberate attack and that Max had gone with Jack to figure out who was behind it since the other driver had fled the scene. Noah's eyes grew wide, before turning completely cold. He was so angry, but he had somehow surpassed the stage of rage and entered a level of anger he didn't know existed.
In an icy tone he said, "Find out what they have discovered so far and get back to me immediately." Steve nodded and stood up to go somewhere and call Max and Jack for an update on the matter, but as he turned around Noah got up as well and said something that made him stop dead in his tracks as he felt a shiver run down his spine. Noah's words were said in a tone that revealed no emotion whatsoever, but had a menacing feel despite this. Without raising his voice he said, "Oh and Steve, never hide something like this from me EVER again.", before walking off towards the front desk as well to see if Maria had obtained a room number and a clearance to go see Laila.
Without turning around Steve nervously swallowed hard and let out a simple "..Okay." as he had lost the ability to say any more for a second there. Once he continued his steps, Steve physically shook the feeling he had gotten from Noah off and let out a deep breath. As he did, he thought about how it was a good thing that he had been the one telling Noah, since he was certain that any other person making these decisions behind his back and keeping it from him, even with the best intentions, would have gotten a reaction they wouldn't soon be able to recover from.
He found a quiet little hall, away from all the ruckus that accompanies a hospital setting, and called Max. After two rings that felt like an eternity Max finally picked up. "Hello Mr. Branson, What can I do for you..?"
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30 minutes ago
Max, Jack and the detective had just arrived at the hospital and had found the nurse they had been looking for after some asking around. Max and Jack had made sure to tell the other nurses they had spoken to, to tell the new nurse nothing in order to not spook her. They couldn't risk her not showing up for her shift and them not getting the answers they very desperately needed. With the seconds passing by, their time was running out. They needed to have something to tell Noah or they feared they would find themselves in a hell they couldn't come out from.
Although Noah was a kind man in general and a great employer, they all knew that when it came to Mrs. Stevens, things could shift in a bad direction very quickly and his smarts that he normally used to improve the company and the lives of others, would be used to get even with the ones who had wronged or hurt her. With how badly she had gotten hurt, trusting on his ability to distinguish friend from foe wasn't something they were willing to take put their trust in. Especially since they too felt that part of the blame lied with them. Max for antagonizing Harold and possibly indirectly being responsible for Olivia's potential revenge and Jack for 'failing' in his duties as a bodyguard and allowing Olivia's plan to succeed. So they both were desperate to make up for this facts.
After asking the front desk they quickly found the unsuspecting nurse, who was just coming out of one of the rooms she was in charge of. The three of them approached her and the detective flashed his badge as he introduced himself and Max and Jack, before asking her if there was somewhere they could sit and talk as they had some questions. The young nurse immediately became nervous. She wasn't entirely sure what it was about, but many different possible scenarios crossed her mind in the few seconds she was too stunned to speak. When the detective called out her name a second time and repeated his question the nurse's widened, glazed over eyes retuned back to normal and she replied, "Uhm, yes. Yes of course. Let me ask my colleague to take over for me for a few minutes and we can sit in the breakroom. We just finished our breaks so it will be empty for the time being."
The detective nodded and said, "That will do just fine." and followed behind her. The nurse headed to the nurse's station and nervously took each step, while glancing backwards every so often. Trying to use the detective's expression to determine if she was the one in trouble or if it was someone she knew. But the detective was a pro and there was nothing there to take away her curiosity. The only way for her to get answers, the only way out of this messy situation she had suddenly found herself in, was through.