Chapter 190: The Power Play Between Two CEOs

Morgan looked at Kristoff with undisguised disgust.

"You still haven’t found out?" His voice dripped with contempt. "Then I must have overestimated your capabilities."

Kristoff met Morgan’s gaze, his eyes unblinking and devoid of warmth.

Then, he continued pushing Isobel’s wheelchair down the hospital corridor, his expression calm and unreadable. Beside them, the orderly walked quietly, his steps slow but steady.

"We’ve apprehended the man who carried out the attack," Kristoff said evenly. "What I’m looking for is the mastermind behind him."

His voice was controlled, but the slight tightening of his jaw betrayed how seriously he was taking the matter.

Isobel coughed softly.

She glanced between the two men. The last thing she wanted was for two powerful CEOs to turn a hospital corridor into a battlefield.

Before she could say anything, Morgan suddenly stepped in front of the wheelchair.

Kristoff stopped.

Morgan’s attention immediately shifted to Isobel, his expression changing from cold hostility to genuine concern.

"Are you all right?"

The question was directed entirely at her.

Kristoff’s fingers tightened around the handles of the wheelchair.

He didn’t like that look.

He liked it even less because Morgan seemed to care about Isobel far more than an employer should.

Morgan noticed the subtle change in Kristoff’s expression.

He had nearly called Isobel Sis. He stopped himself just in time.

Then an idea occurred to him.

Kristoff put Isobel in danger, so he deserved to feel a little uncomfortable.

"She was only recently discharged," Morgan said, his gaze deliberately lingering on Kristoff. "And now she’s back in the hospital again."

His tone was mild. The implication wasn’t.

Kristoff’s eyes narrowed but Morgan’s words were the truth.

Isobel, oblivious to the silent confrontation between the two men, shook her head.

"I’m fine. My shoulder just feels a little numb."

Morgan immediately frowned.

"This hospital’s security is clearly inadequate. We should transfer you to Hope Hospital."

"It’s okay," Isobel said gently. "I still need to see Uncle."

She then remembered something and looked toward the two children walking quietly beside her.

"By the way, I haven’t introduced you yet."

She gestured toward the boy first.

"This is Randy."

Then she pointed to the little girl.

"And this is Yana."

Morgan’s expression softened instantly.

He bent slightly and placed a hand on each child’s head, giving them an affectionate pat.

"Hello. You two are very well behaved."

Isobel smiled.

"Come on. Greet your Uncle Morgan."

"Hello, Uncle Morgan," Randy and Yana said together.

Kristoff’s expression froze. Then darkened.

Uncle Morgan?

The words seemed to strike a nerve he hadn’t known was exposed. His grip on the wheelchair tightened until his knuckles turned pale.

Isobel hadn’t even introduced him.

Not even once.

Yet she had casually introduced Morgan as their uncle and encouraged the children to address him with such familiarity.

Kristoff’s gaze shifted to Morgan. The man was already married.

So why did he have this kind of place in Isobel’s life? And why did Isobel seem so comfortable with him?

A sour, possessive feeling twisted inside Kristoff’s chest.

He knew he had no right to be jealous.

Even if they had a child, he and Isobel weren’t married.

But that didn’t stop the jealousy from burning through him.

Morgan noticed.

A faint, almost imperceptible smile touched the corner of his lips.

He had seen it.

The possessiveness in Kristoff’s eyes. ℯℯ𝘭.

And now he knew exactly how to provoke him.

Morgan turned back to the children.

"Randy, Yana, stay close to me. Your aunt needs to rest."

Your aunt.

Kristoff’s jaw clenched.

He wanted nothing more than to wipe that smug look off Morgan’s face with a single punch.

Because, somehow, in the span of a few minutes, Morgan had managed to make him feel like an outsider in Isobel’s world—and Kristoff hated the feeling more than he cared to admit.

Even worse, he hated that Morgan seemed to have a place in Isobel’s life that he couldn’t claim for himself.

And Kristoff Dalton hated being an outsider—especially when it came to the woman he could no longer pretend he didn’t care about.

...

"Kristoff, don’t you have plenty of things to take care of?"

Morgan stepped up beside him, lowering his voice so only Kristoff could hear.

"The injured workers are still in the emergency room. The reporters are causing chaos outside. And you still haven’t dealt with the man who assaulted Isobel."

His tone was deceptively calm.

The message, however, was unmistakable.

Get lost.

But why would Kristoff get lost?

"I have men handling all of that," he replied without hesitation. "Isobel is more important."

His gaze drifted toward the woman sitting quietly in the wheelchair.

"Besides, she took a blade for me."

Morgan’s expression hardened for a moment.

From behind, all he could see was Isobel’s silky black hair, slightly disheveled from the earlier chaos, and the stark white gauze wrapped around her injured arm.

His eyes lingered on the bandage.

This silly sister of mine.

Does she really care about Kristoff that much? Why would she risk her life for him?

Morgan glanced at Kristoff again, suspicion and annoyance flickering in his eyes.

Isobel had been pretending not to hear them, but she finally couldn’t take it anymore.

Her actions had been instinctive. She hadn’t stopped to think when she saw the blade coming toward Kristoff. She had simply moved.

But she didn’t want him misunderstanding what it meant.

"I just didn’t want Alexander to lose his father at such a young age," she said quietly.

Her eyes remained fixed on the far end of the corridor, deliberately avoiding both men.

Silence followed.

Morgan slowly turned toward Kristoff.

A knowing smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Hear that?"

Kristoff shot him a warning glare.

But instead of backing down, a roguish smile slowly appeared on his face.

His eyes returned to Isobel, lingering on her delicate figure before he looked back at Morgan.

"It doesn’t change the fact that she blocked that blade for me."

The smugness in his voice was unmistakable.

Morgan’s smile disappeared.

Kristoff’s only widened.

For the first time since entering the hospital, he looked completely satisfied.