Chapter 103: Annoyed

After returning to the hospital ward, having changed into clean clothes and washed himself thoroughly, Kai heard Jean speaking on the phone. "Come inside. She is okay."

He had left his phone nearby while bathing, keeping it close enough that he could hear if she said anything.

The fact that Jean sounded calm now was reassuring. It meant everything was fine, or at least that was what he desperately hoped.

A moment later, he pushed open the door and stepped inside, immediately drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

The doctor turned toward him. "She is mildly dehydrated, and her oxygen saturation was a little lower than we’d like. Fortunately, her condition has stabilized, and neither issue appears severe enough to require intensive intervention. We’ll continue monitoring her for a few more hours and provide the necessary treatment. If her oxygen levels remain stable, she wouldn’t need any more medical attention."

Kai let out a long, weary sigh, as though he had been holding his breath all this time. He crossed the room and approached the bed where his daughter lay.

She was awake, her bright eyes fixed on him. Her little feet moved restlessly beneath the blanket, and the moment she recognized him, her lips curved into a smile.

Kai’s tense expression softened. The stress he had carried since the battle, the chaos he had endured, and the constant nervousness that had gnawed at him throughout the ordeal seemed to melt away at the sight of that innocent smile.

For the first time in what felt like an eternity, he could finally breathe without a weight pressing against his chest.

"She is a strong girl, much like you, Hunter," the doctor remarked with a gentle nod as he came to stand beside Kai.

Of course she was. She was his daughter, after all. His strong, brave little girl.

Once he had gathered himself, Kai asked how much longer she would need to remain in the hospital.

The doctor assured him that they could take her home, where she could continue her recovery with the necessary treatment.

"Glad to hear that." Kai’s relief was evident in his voice. "How soon can we expect the treatment to arrive at our residence?"

"Within half an hour," the doctor replied. "It depends on the distance, of course."

Kai was about to give him their address when he suddenly stopped.

Blue Mountain.

The words alone were enough to extinguish some of his relief.

It was the site of the chaos, the very heart of the disaster that had shaken the city. Every major media network and countless social media reporters would be swarming the area by now, eager to capture whatever remained of the destruction.

With so much devastation concentrated in one place, there was no telling what had happened to the surrounding buildings.

Including their home.

Kai’s heart sank as the realization settled in. Their house might have suffered considerable damage. Worse, it might have been reduced to rubble entirely.

"What should we do now?" Jean asked, her voice tinged with worry. She had clearly reached the same conclusion as Kai, and the thought of losing their home was weighing heavily on her mind as well.

Kai exhaled a weary sigh before answering. "I’ll ask someone who might know whether we can return home."

...

Kai stepped out of the room and called Adam, the most reliable source of information he could think of at the moment.

He hadn’t bothered checking the news. The Association would undoubtedly have cordoned off the affected areas, and with the situation still unfolding, the information circulating through the media would likely be incomplete at best.

There was little point in relying on secondhand reports when he could contact someone with access to the facts.

Grrr... Grrr...

Several rings passed without an answer. Unlike usual, Adam didn’t pick up immediately, leading Kai to assume that he was either attending a meeting or busy dealing with the aftermath of the disaster.

With that in mind, Kai was about to end the call when a familiar voice finally came through.

{Hunter Kai? Are you okay? Where are you?}

Another unusual thing was for Adam to be this excited.

"I am fine and currently getting my daughter treated. And before you assume anything she was suffering from pneumonia but her condition is better now."

{Oh...glad to hear that. And...about you...I mean Hunter Hannah told me that you actually defeated the Monarch?}

Kai scratched his head and muttered. "Can we talk about this sometime later? If you don’t mind?"

He knew Adam might have many questions and surely soon the association itself would bring him in for questioning. However, right now, he was thinking of just returning home and giving his family some much needed peace.

{Oh, yes, sure. Tell me, why did you call me?}

One thing good about the man, he reads the atmosphere well and get straight to the point.

Kai looked back inside the ward through the glass and asked, "Any idea about our house in Blue Mountain? Can we return there now?"

There was a long pause from the other end before Adam spoke,

{Hunter Kai, I will arrange accomodation for you and your family and I suggest you shift there as soon as possible. And please forget about the Blue Mountain for the time being.}

Kai wryly smiled. "I guessed that the community might not be safe to return to. But why does Officer Adam sound so serious about my accomodation?"

{Because Hunter Kai, if I have heard things right, someone...presumably from Arden would try contacting you soon. And if not them, the media might.}

Kai hadn’t registered those words completely since his eyes traveled toward the group of people with microphones and cameras entering the hospital.

They seemed way too eager, having shoved away the security.

’Fuck...’ He needed to get out of here. As soon as possible.

°°°

A/N:- Thanks for reading. Please drop a comment or review if you have been enjoying the story so far.