Giving It All

Hearing the stark, chilling warning about the fatal flaw in Jonathan's traditional acupuncture technique, Jolene immediately whipped around. Her previously tear-streaked face abruptly twisted into a harsh mask of protective fury. She glared fiercely at the young man standing by the wall, aggressively barking, "What absolute garbage are you spewing right now?" Her chest heaved with panicked anger. Completely consumed by her mounting anxiety that Julian's negative presence and unsolicited critiques would actively disrupt her father's delicate, life-saving treatment, she didn't hesitate. "You are entirely unneeded here. Get out of this room!" she explicitly ordered, her voice echoing off the private suite's walls.

Julian stared back at her with absolute, unwavering calm. He didn't flinch at her hostile outburst. Instead, he simply gave a slow, indifferent shrug. "Fine. You're the one asking me to leave. That works for me," he replied, his tone devoid of any offense. However, before he turned his back toward the heavy wooden door, his sharp eyes locked onto hers as he delivered a chillingly precise prophecy. "But I'll be waiting right out there. In less than five minutes, you will be out in that corridor, crying and begging on your hands and knees for me to come back inside."

With that final, ominous declaration hanging heavily in the tense air, Julian calmly stepped out of the room. He walked into the quiet, carpeted corridor, casually leaning against the expensive wallpaper with his arms crossed over his chest, perfectly willing to let the ticking clock prove him right.

Inside the tense, suffocating atmosphere of the private suite, no one spared another thought for the banished young man. Dr. Jonathan Westcott completely ignored the chilling warning. He focused intensely, sweat beading on his own forehead as he carefully and deliberately inserted the final, critical silver needle into William’s trembling chest.

Almost instantly, a miraculous shift seemed to occur. William’s chest heaved with a sudden, deep gasp of air, and he gradually fluttered his heavy eyelids open.

Jolene burst into jubilant, highly emotional cries. Tears of absolute relief streamed hot and fast down her cheeks. "Dad! My dad is awake, Dr. Westcott! He's actually awake! This is wonderful!" she loudly celebrated, her voice trembling with raw, overwhelming joy. Just moments ago, she had been swallowed by the terrifying certainty that he would never open his eyes again. Jonathan, too, exhaled a shaky breath, his own professional arrogance briefly validated. He had barely possessed any genuine confidence going into this incredibly risky procedure.

But her profound relief was violently shattered in a mere fraction of a second.

Without any warning, William abruptly began trembling violently against the crisp white bedsheets. His previously pale face rapidly contorted in excruciating, unimaginable agony, turning a deeply bruised, horrific shade of purple. The violent shivering peaked in a terrifying crescendo before abruptly fading entirely. His limbs went slack, leaving his body to fall utterly, terrifyingly still. The faint, rhythmic sound of his struggling breath vanished completely from the quiet room.

Jolene’s jubilance instantly evaporated into pure, screaming panic. "Dad! Dad!" she shrieked. She lunged forward, violently grabbing Jonathan by the lapels of his pristine white coat. "Dr. Westcott, why is this happening? Tell me!" she demanded, her voice cracking with sheer terror.

Jonathan’s established arrogance shattered into a million irreparable pieces. He stared at the lifeless billionaire, his eyes wide as sheer, unadulterated terror mounted in his own chest. He stammered incoherently, "I... I don't know why this is happening! How did it turn out this way?"

Desperate to shirk the impending, catastrophic legal and physical consequences of literally killing the wealthiest, most powerful man in the city, Jonathan’s cowardly instinct took over. "Ms. Sterling, let's rush Mr. Sterling to the hospital immediately! I have run out of ideas!" he cowardly suggested, his voice pitching high with panic. He transparently hoped that if they moved him, the official time of death would not be recorded on his hands.

Jolene exploded into an uncontrollable rage. "Do you take me for an absolute fool?" she screamed, violently shaking the doctor. "Given his current lack of a pulse, there is absolutely no way he can survive a trip in an ambulance! You better revive him right now! If not, you will absolutely not survive this incident unscathed!"

Terrified of facing the ruthless, utterly destructive wrath of the immensely powerful Sterling family, Jonathan's cowardly mind frantically sought a convenient scapegoat. He immediately pointed a shaking finger toward the closed door. "Ms. Sterling, the guy that just went out! Perhaps he might have a solution. I think he probably knows a thing or two," Jonathan suggested, fully and maliciously intending to let Julian take the ultimate, fatal blame when the billionaire inevitably stayed dead.

Jonathan's desperate words pierced through Jolene's blind panic, instantly reminding her of Julian's chillingly accurate prophecy. Swallowing her immense, suffocating pride, Jolene released Jonathan's coat, leaving the lifeless William slumped on the bed. She frantically dashed out of the suite and burst into the quiet corridor.

She found Julian waiting exactly as he had promised, leaning casually against the wall with his arms crossed. Standing before him, Jolene felt incredibly awkward and deeply ashamed. She was utterly unable to meet his calm, penetrating gaze. With hot tears completely ruining her expensive makeup, she looked at the floor, her voice trembling violently.

"P-Please save my father, I beg of you," she softly pleaded, openly begging for his mercy.

Julian slowly uncrossed his arms, looking down at her trembling form. "Do you finally believe I can save your father, and that I'm not just some street con man?" he asked pointedly, his tone even and unyielding.

Jolene remained entirely silent, heavily trapped by her sheer desperation and gnawing guilt.

Chuckling softly at her stubborn, silent reaction, Julian chose not to make things any more difficult for the deeply grieving daughter. He pushed off the wall and followed her swiftly back inside the tense room.

Seeing Julian return, Jonathan felt a massive surge of cowardly relief. Deeply eager to pass the fatal blame to this kid, the renowned doctor practically bowed in submissive gratitude. "I'm so sorry about just now, young man! Please, step in and save Mr. Sterling!" Jonathan pleaded, offering a rapid, insincere apology for his earlier arrogance.

Julian ignored the doctor's blatant groveling. He sighed heavily, his sharp eyes immediately assessing the dying man’s terrifyingly purple face. "Looks like I'll have to give it my all," Julian muttered. He immediately turned to the doctor and asked, "Do you still have any silver needles left in your kit?"

"Yes, right here in the medical bag," Jonathan hastily replied, eagerly handing over his expensive, genuine leather medical bag. "It contains precisely thirty needles."

Julian violently shook his head, pushing the bag back slightly. "It isn't anywhere near enough. I desperately need more."

Jonathan was stunned. "Not enough? How can thirty not be enough?"

"It just isn't. I need more," Julian demanded, his voice hardening.

"How many more do you need?" Jonathan asked cautiously.

Julian's answer chilled the entire room. "Eighty-one."

Jonathan was completely stupefied, his jaw dropping open in absolute, unadulterated shock. His eyes widened with profound horror. He knew for an absolute fact that even the most legendary, globally renowned miracle doctors could barely manage to control twenty needles simultaneously in a single treatment due to the immense mental toll. The very concept of eighty-one needles was medically insane. Overcome with absolute horror and disbelief, Jonathan completely surrendered his remaining backup supplies, handing over every single needle he possessed without uttering another solitary word.

Julian moved with explosive speed. Disregarding the sterile hospital bed, he quickly hauled William’s heavy, lifeless body off the mattress, laying the billionaire flat onto the hard, solid ground to ensure an absolutely stable, unyielding surface.

Taking a deep, sharp breath, Julian closed his eyes for a fraction of a second, entering a deep state of intense martial focus. When his eyes snapped open, his hands became an absolute blur. Moving ambidextrously, he swiftly and violently drove needle after needle directly into William's body. He utilized his deep reserves of internal energy, channeling it through his fingertips to guide the thin silver needles into exact, highly complex, and incredibly dangerous acupoints.

The immense, rapid exertion immediately began taking a brutal toll. The technique completely drained Julian's internal stamina. Within moments, his breathing grew ragged, and a thick, heavy layer of cold sweat completely drenched his clothes, sticking the cheap fabric to his skin. His face grew pale, showcasing the terrifying amount of raw energy he was forcefully pushing into the dying billionaire.

Finally, as his shaking fingers perfectly placed the eighty-first and final silver needle into William's skull, the grueling process was complete. Julian let out a long, exhausted sigh. His legs gave out entirely, and he heavily slumped down, dropping squarely onto his backside on the hard floor, completely and utterly spent.

Throughout the entire, mind-bending ordeal, Jolene had stood frozen against the far wall, watching the bizarre, rapid-fire display with nervous, bated breath. She dared not make a single sound to interrupt him.

Jonathan, however, had been gawking in utter, mind-numbing astonishment from the very insertion of the first needle. As Julian relentlessly pounded the needles in with perfect precision, Jonathan's initial shock violently morphed. It twisted from sheer disbelief into sudden, overwhelming, ecstatic elation.

The second Julian's exhausted body hit the floor, a loud, echoing thud rang out through the tense suite. The highly renowned doctor abruptly dropped squarely to his knees right in front of the exhausted young man, giving both Julian and Jolene a massive, unexpected fright.