Hunter’s POV
The steady beeping of the heart monitor filled the operating room as Hunter Reeves focused intently on the patient before him. The surgical team around him watched with unwavering attention, following his every command as he carefully made the final sutures. The tension in the room, thick just moments ago, began to ease as the hardest part of the operation was over.
"Vitals are stable," one of the nurses confirmed.
Hunter exhaled, lifting his gaze to the anesthesiologist the 48 hour surgery was a success some of the doctors assisting him lying down na opersting room floor while nurses who were there sits as the longest surgery in the history of the hospital was done. "Start preparing to bring him out."
The replacement team waiting outside moved efficiently, wrapping up the procedure with the precision and care that had become expected of them under Hunter’s leadership.
Another successful surgery. 
Another life saved.
And another reason why he had become the most in-demand surgeon in Southbay City.
As he stripped off his gloves He instructed the assisting doctors and nurses who's with him in a 48 hour surgery to stay rested for 2 days he even offered free ride to their homes but refuses to... So he stepped out of the operating room, he was immediately met by Dr. Julian Hayes, the hospital’s chief administrator.
"You’ve done it again, Dr. Reeves," Hayes said with a chuckle, shaking his head in disbelief. "That patient had less than a ten percent chance of survival when he came in, yet you pulled him through."
Hunter only nodded. "He was lucky. The damage was severe, but we managed to stabilize him in time."
"Lucky?" Hayes scoffed. "It’s not just luck—it’s you. You’ve become Southbay’s miracle surgeon."
Hunter sighed. He had heard the nickname enough times now that it no longer surprised him. At first, he had dismissed it as mere hospital gossip, but over the past few months, it had spread like wildfire. Patients from all over the city, and even beyond, had started requesting him specifically for critical surgeries. His skills, sharpened through years of relentless training, had earned him a reputation that now made him the most sought-after surgeon in Southbay.
And it wasn’t just patients who noticed.
Other hospitals in the city had begun reaching out with offers—lucrative contracts, promises of higher pay, and even shares in their medical boards. They wanted to lure him away from KHS Private Care Hospital, but Hunter had no interest in their deals.
For one, Kian had already advised him against it.
"Ignore those offers," Kian had told him in one of their recent calls. "Focus on the family hospital. You won’t be here forever, Hunter. At some point, I’ll need to pull you out for other business, and I’d rather have you stay where I can keep an eye on things."
Kian had been right.
No matter how well Hunter was settling into his life as a surgeon, he knew that his future wasn’t just in medicine. He was now a Mondiego, and with that name came responsibilities—business, power, and influence.
For now, though, he would continue to focus on what he was best at.
Hunter was just about to respond to Hayes when his phone buzzed in his pocket.
He excused himself and stepped into the hallway, glancing at the screen.
Kian.
Hunter answered immediately. "I was just about to call you."
"Good. I assume you’re still working yourself to death?" Kian’s voice carried a mix of amusement and mild concern.
"Something like that," Hunter admitted, leaning against the wall. "But that’s not why I was going to call you. I need to talk to you about something important."
Kian’s tone shifted instantly. "I’m listening."
Hunter took a breath, his mind going back to the message he had received days ago.
"I got an anonymous text," he began. "It said, you should have stayed hidden"
There was a brief silence on the other end. Then Kian spoke, his voice unreadable.
"And you’re just telling me this now?"
"I wanted to see if anything else would happen first," Hunter said. "But nothing has. No follow-up messages, no calls. Just that single text."
Kian exhaled. "And you have no idea who sent it?"
"None," Hunter admitted. "But it confirms what I suspected—someone powerful in this city is targeting me."
"And you have suspects?"
Hunter’s gaze darkened. "Two families come to mind."
He didn’t need to say them aloud—Kian already knew.
The Fosters.
And the Lancasters. Or maybe he was wrong. 
But only two families who had ever had a connection to him before his life changed.
"The Fosters is the closest one I'm suspecting because they are the only one who know my past in prison
"And the Lancasters?" Kian pressed.
"They’re just as powerful as the Fosters, if not more so," Hunter said. "Their businesses control most of Southbay—construction, hotels, mega malls. Their influence runs deep. And Lance Lancaster has a personal vendetta against me. He made that very clear when we ran into each other the other night."
Kian was silent for a moment. Then he spoke.
"Do you think this text came from someone connected to one of those families?"
"I don’t know," Hunter admitted. "But it’s the only logical possibility."
There was another possibility, though.
Something Hunter hadn’t voiced aloud yet.
Someone else from his past.
His mind drifted back to the night everything fell apart. The night he was arrested.
There was a man.
A man who had spoken to him in the police station before everything spiraled.
He still didn’t know who that man was.
But the way he had spoken, the way he had looked at Hunter…
It had felt like he knew something.
Like he had been waiting for that moment.
Hunter rubbed his temples. "Kian, there’s something else."
"What is it?"
"There was someone at the police station when I was arrested. A man. He spoke to me before everything was finalized. I never found out who he was, but he knew something. It’s been years, but I can’t shake the feeling that he had a bigger role in what happened to me than I realized at the time."
Kian’s voice was sharp. "Describe him."
"I don’t remember much," Hunter admitted. "I was too distracted, too angry. But he was well-dressed, confident, like he belonged in that place. Not as an officer, but as someone who could pull the strings from the outside."
Kian’s silence was heavy. Then, "I’ll look into it."
Hunter nodded, even though Kian couldn’t see him.
"Be careful," Kian warned. "If someone powerful is after you, then this is just the beginning. They won’t stop until they’ve either destroyed you or driven you out of Southbay."
Hunter’s jaw tightened.
"Let them try," he said coldly. "I’m not the same man I was back then."
And this time, he wouldn’t let them win.