By the time the two men arrived at the hospital, the hallway outside Natasha's room had already become quiet.
Christopher pushed the door open first.
Inside, Natasha lay asleep on the hospital bed with a white bandage wrapped around her forehead. The soft hospital light made her look fragile and harmless nothing like the furious woman from earlier.
Mr. Bones stood still at the entrance for a moment.
His sharp eyes slowly scanned his daughter's condition.
Then his expression darkened.
"Where were you when this happened?" he asked coldly without looking at Christopher.
Christopher stiffened immediately.
"I… I'm sorry, Mr. Bones," he replied carefully. "I don't have any excuses."
His palms had already become sweaty.
"And I'm sorry for failing to protect her properly."
His voice lowered slightly toward the end.
Christopher knew one thing very clearly
Natasha's father had never truly accepted him.
Not even after over a year of marriage.
To the outside world, Christopher Adams looked like a lucky man who married into wealth and power.
But privately?
Mr. Bones treated him like an employee who could be replaced anytime.
And Christopher knew better than to challenge him openly.
Mr. Bones finally looked at him directly.
Then he sighed heavily.
"You're useless."
Christopher clenched his fists secretly.
"You were both inside the same company," Mr. Bones continued sharply, "yet you still allowed this to happen?"
Christopher's jaw tightened slightly.
Deep down, irritation rose inside him.
As if your daughter doesn't constantly look for trouble herself, he thought bitterly.
But no matter how annoyed he felt, he could not say that aloud.
Not to this man.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Bones," he repeated stiffly. "It won't happen again."
Before the tension between them could deepen further
Natasha stirred weakly on the hospital bed.
Her eyelashes fluttered slowly before she opened her eyes.
"Dad… Chris…"
Her voice sounded sleepy and irritated.
"Why are both of you disturbing my sleep?"
She touched the bandage on her head and frowned slightly.
Immediately, both men rushed toward her.
"Natasha, are you alright?"
"How are you feeling?"
"Does your head still hurt?"
Christopher even bent slightly to check her forehead nervously.
Natasha looked annoyed by their fussing.
Before she could answer properly, Christopher quickly rushed outside to call the doctor.
Luckily, he met the doctor approaching from the corridor already.
A few seconds later, the middle-aged doctor entered the room calmly.
"Well, well," he said with a professional smile. "Looks like our patient is awake."
Natasha nodded weakly.
Mr. Bones stepped closer immediately.
"Doctor, my daughter is fine, right?"
The doctor adjusted his glasses lightly before replying.
"She'll recover after a few days of rest."
Both men visibly relaxed slightly.
"She hit her head quite hard during the fall," the doctor continued, "but thankfully there was no major internal bleeding. We stabilized everything in time."
As he spoke, he moved toward Natasha to briefly examine her pupils and bandage.
"You're lucky," he told her. "Another inch and the injury could have been much worse."
Natasha's expression darkened faintly.
The humiliation from earlier replayed inside her mind instantly.
The laughter.
The fall.
Benny's mocking face.
Her fingernails dug into the bedsheet.
The doctor finished his checkup shortly afterward.
"You should be discharged tomorrow," he said while writing a few notes down. "Just avoid stress and rest properly."
Then he nodded politely and left the room.
The moment the door closed
Mr. Bones' expression hardened immediately.
"Who did this to you?"
Natasha's eyes instantly became watery.
Almost theatrically.
"Dad…" she whispered weakly before suddenly bursting into tears.
Christopher blinked slightly.
Natasha rarely cried genuinely.
But now she looked completely emotional.
"Abi…" Natasha sobbed bitterly. "Abi wants me to suffer."
Her voice trembled with hatred.
"That thing she sent attacked me…"
As she spoke, Natasha touched her face carefully.
Her beautiful face.
Her carefully sculpted features.
The expensive nose surgery she underwent a year ago to perfect her appearance.
The thought that she almost damaged it completely filled her with rage again.
I'll make them pay for this, she thought bitterly.
Every single one of them.
Christopher frowned deeply.
"Natasha," he said carefully, "are you sure Abigail had anything to do with this?"
Natasha immediately looked at him sharply.
"The workers said it was the new employee who fought you," Christopher continued cautiously. "Not Abigail."
"What do you know?!" Natasha snapped instantly.
Her sudden outburst shocked the room.
"Why are you defending her?" she shouted angrily at Christopher.
Christopher looked speechless.
Mr. Bones narrowed his eyes silently.
"That girl was sent by Abigail!" Natasha continued breathing heavily. "They even left together after I fell!"
Her voice became shriller with anger.
"She warned me to stop messing with Abigail!"
Christopher rubbed his forehead tiredly.
The entire situation already felt exhausting.
But unlike Natasha, Mr. Bones remained unusually calm.
Because earlier
Before coming to the hospital
He had received the result from the investigation on Benny after how many weeks
And the results disturbed him greatly.
Nothing existed.
Or rather
Nothing accessible.
Despite using one of the best private investigators available, all they found was just the polished employment recommendation sent through an extremely powerful connection, the one he already knows about .
A connection even Mr. Bones himself could not refuse.
The person who personally instructed him to employ Benny was someone far above his current level.
Someone dangerous.
Which was exactly why he agreed immediately without questioning further.
That alone proved one thing.
Abigail Wellington could never afford someone like Benny.
Not with her current financial situation.
So Christopher's assumption made more sense.
Benny most likely witnessed Natasha bullying Dinah repeatedly and decided to interfere herself.
Simple.
Still…
Mr. Bones disliked uncertainty.
And Benny Smith represented uncertainty.
The fact that his investigators found almost nothing about her bothered him deeply.
Who exactly was she?
And why did someone powerful enough to pressure him personally place her inside News Day Publishing Company?
Mr. Bones slowly looked out the hospital window thoughtfully.
For the first time in a long while
Something felt out of his control.
And he hated that feeling.
Meanwhile…
Somewhere inside the international a private Airport owned by the Richest man in country Q
A tall man dressed entirely in black stepped out of a private terminal lounge.
The moment his polished shoes touched the floor, the surrounding atmosphere seemed to shift subtly.
Cold.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
Several passengers unconsciously moved aside without understanding why.
Behind him followed two men dressed formally, maintaining respectful distance.
The tall figure stopped briefly.
Then slowly removed his dark sunglasses.
Revealing a pair of silver eyes filled with terrifying calmness.
Oliver Queen had arrived.