Chapter 6: The Mendes Family

Words : 2043 Updated : Nov 20th, 2025

In the ward, only Dante and his mother remained. "Dante, my little Dante. I miss you so much." Pamela's reddened eyes, sunken but filled with tenderness, held him as if he were all she had left. Her frail fingers traced her son's cheek with gentleness. Dante caught her hand, and tears slipped free. "Mom, I miss you too... I miss you so much." About eight minutes later. Thud! Denise Mendes rushed into Pamela's ward. She came right up to Dante and dropped to her knees, tears shining in her eyes as she pleaded, her voice raw. "Dante... please, save my dad. They say only you can save him." She clung to his leg, shaking, while tears kept rolling down her face. "As long as you save my dad, I'll do anything for you. I'll obey your every word from this day on." Dante was still in the warmth of reunion, so the interruption grated. He turned from his mother's side with tenderness still soft on his face. By the time he looked down at Denise kneeling on the floor, his face had turned cold. The air around him seemed to plunge below freezing. "Your father's life or death has nothing to do with... Wait!" His brow tightened. A sharp, incredulous light flashed in his eyes. He fixed his gaze on Denise, heartbreakingly beautiful even in tears, and studied her closely. Ice Phoenix Physique? Denise had the rare Ice Phoenix Physique. It was even more scarce than Kara's Negative Physique. If he could sleep with Denise, it would be far more useful for cultivation. On Earth, where spiritual energy had thinned to a trickle, the fastest path forward was to borrow the strength of such unique constitutions. "You just said if I save your father, you'll do anything for me?" When he turned his head, Denise felt as if an abyss were staring back at her. The fear faded quickly, and his change in tone sparked a flicker of hope in her. "Yes! As long as you can save my dad, I'll do anything. I can even be yours." "Denise... please get up." Pamela's voice was soft when she looked at Denise kneeling by the bed. "Dante may not be able to save your father. He studied traditional medicine, but..." "Mrs. Pamela, you remember me!" Denise did not rise. She shuffled closer on her knees, took Pamela's skeletal hand, and said, "Dr. Hollister said Dante saved you. He said only Dante can save my dad. All the other doctors have given up. My only hope now is Dante." Pamela still saw her son as a young man who had learned only a few years of traditional medicine in college, far from seasoned enough to pull someone back from the brink. If even the hospital's experts were helpless, how could her son surpass them? She looked at Dante, doubt clouding her gaze. When Dante turned to his mother again, his face softened, and a smile touched his lips, as if he had not endured three years of hell. "Mom, do you know her?" Pamela replied softly, "I had business dealings with her father." "Dante, how long was I asleep?" He paused for a moment. "Three years." "Three... three years." Shock flared through her. She had not expected three years to vanish in a blink, not knowing that every one of those days had been an ordeal. She had been in a comatose state, but sometimes her subconscious surfaced. She had heard the voices by the window. She had heard people from the Swift family discuss how to seize her Pamela Group, and after taking power, how to stage her death so it would seem legitimate. She had even heard snatches of Dante's life over those three years. When she pieced it together, a wave of fury lit her from within. Dante noticed a sharpening in her eyes but could not place it. "Mom, three years is not a short time. I'll take back what's ours. Right now, you need to rest and think of nothing. You have me." Then he looked to Denise. "Remember your promise. Take me to your father." He instructed the nurse to look after his mother, then followed Denise to her father's ward. Denise felt a tremor of excitement, but she was still uneasy. Three years ago, she had never crossed paths with Dante, though she knew his name. Over those three years, she had heard the rumors of him gambling, sleeping around, and treating his parents like dirt. A man not to be trusted. But Rodrigo had said Dante was the only hope. She could only bet it all. When they entered Asher Mendes's ward, the others looked on, hope in their eyes. Rodrigo in particular looked like an overexcited fan meeting his idol, an oddly youthful adoration in his eyes. Others wore expectant faces laced with suspicion. Many still believed Dante's saving Pamela had been a fluke. "He's here. If it was a fluke, we'll know soon enough." "He woke Pamela because she wasn't meant to die. I don't believe someone so young truly wields any Ancient Acupuncture." "All the famous doctors in our hospital are here. Across Junbert, each of them is at the top of their field. They are out of options. Can this disgraced son really do it? I don't buy it." Whispers threaded the ward. Dante's reputation had sunk deep over three years. In Junbert, everyone knew his supposed vices. To say he now eclipsed medical experts strained belief. Nurses and doctors traded doubts in undertones. Everett had lost the bet, but he refused to accept it, calling Dante's treatment sheer luck. Rodrigo, however, bustled up like an eager fan. "Dante, you're here. Quickly, have a look!" The display stunned many of the newly arrived hospital staff. Rodrigo was a towering figure in Junbert's traditional medicine and headed the traditional medicine department at Junbert Hospital. He had never acted so deferential or worshipful toward anyone. Usually solemn and dignified, Rodrigo, bowing and scraping before a young man, took everyone by surprise. Dante ignored the pointing fingers and muttered doubts. He reached the bed and looked over Asher Mendes, whose body jerked in waves of spasms. Under a dozen watchful eyes, he pressed two fingers to Asher's wrist to take his pulse, sensing what was going on inside. People searched his face for a tell, but he was calm. Confusion flickered through the crowd. After a brief silence, the corner of Dante's mouth tilted with an enigmatic smile. "If I save your father, you'll do anything for me?" he asked Denise again. The question itself meant he had confidence. The murmurs rose in volume, but he shut them out and looked only at the woman before him. Denise's heart leaped. "Yes! Anything!" Dante let his gaze sweep the ward, then turned back to Asher. "Good. From this moment on, I need silence. Absolute silence." Denise's cool, aloof eyes swept across the assembled doctors and nurses. They fell quiet at once, and the room settled into a hush so deep one could hear a pin drop. Right then, harsh voices crashed in from the doorway. "Hey, idiot! Get out of here!" "Where the hell did you take my sister? Get out here and face me!" Outside the ward, a group of guys had shown up with clubs in their hands, vicious-faced and swaggering. The lead young man bared his teeth and swung his club with wild bravado, strutting as if he owned the place. Everyone's eyes snapped toward the commotion. Dante's hand, poised to place the needle, stopped in midair. A cold fury spread through him. He didn't need to look to know who it was. Ashley Swift's younger brother, Eddie Swift. During those three years as a fool, Eddie had treated him like a punching bag, doling out humiliations and heavy blows without end. More than once, Dante had nearly died. Eddie was already on his death list. "Denise, shut him up!" Dante's voice came out cold, an order that brooked no argument. "Yes!" Denise forced her way through the crowd and fixed her glare on Eddie Swift, who was still shouting. "You are disrupting my father's treatment. For that, you deserve to die!"

Chapter 6: The Mendes Family

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