Jeff stormed toward the Feazer Medical Clinic with his disciples flanking him like a pack of wolves on the hunt. His face was grim, his stride unrelenting.
Inside the clinic, Holbrook had just finished writing a prescription when he heard the commotion outside. His eyes narrowed in frustration as he recognized the familiar voices. Slamming the clipboard down, he marched out of the hall, his voice laced with fury.
"You people again? Damn it—you're like flies in a toilet! Can't you just leave us in peace?"
His glare cut straight through the crowd of intruders—members of the Traditional Medicine Associations from both the U.S. and abroad. He didn't bother to hide his contempt. As far as he was concerned, they were nothing more than parasites trying to stir up trouble.
Jeff, however, couldn't care less about Holbrook's attitude. Ignoring the insult, he strode up to the gate with a cold, commanding tone. "Get Miss Linch. I want to speak with her."
Holbrook snorted. "What, you think you can summon Miss Linch like she's your servant? Who the hell do you think you are? This is America, not your foreign piss yard!"
He had no idea why Jeff had returned. Last time, they came to challenge Tracy over her acupuncture skills. He figured it was just more of the same nonsense. But still—losing a challenge and coming back like sore losers? What a joke.
Enough is enough, he thought.
He glanced toward a tall green tree not far from the entrance, and a smirk crept across his lips. Underneath it, a stray dog was lifting its leg, peeing without a care in the world.
Jeff noticed it too.
Even though he spoke mostly French, the symbolism of Holbrook's taunt was perfectly clear. The comparison to dogs wasn't lost on him. His expression darkened.
"Cut the crap," Jeff snapped. "I need to see Miss Linch now. If you don't let her out—don't blame us for kicking the door down and dragging her out!"
His tone was no longer aggressive—it was desperate.
He was burning with anxiety.
Mandel was missing. And Mandel wasn't just anyone—his father was the deputy leader of the Australian Ninja League. If word got out that he'd disappeared in the U.S., it could ignite a full-blown international scandal.
Jeff had no time for diplomacy. He was ready to tear down the clinic if he had to.
But Holbrook had had enough.
Furious, he grabbed a broomstick, blocked the clinic entrance, and shouted, "Try it, I dare you! You think I'll just roll over because you brought backup? My people outnumber yours—and we're not cowards!"
The waiting patients, startled at first, quickly caught on to what was happening. One by one, they stood up with fire in their eyes, forming a human barricade in front of the clinic.
"You got a lotta nerve shouting on our turf!" one shouted.
"Yeah! We're not a weak country anymore. You think we'll let you bully us?" another added.
"Take your damn circus elsewhere!"
"Foreign scum. You really think you can just barge in and take Dr. Linch? Try it—I'll smash your damn skull!"
One burly man rolled up his sleeves, veins bulging on his forearms, clearly ready to throw fists.
Jeff faltered.
He hadn't expected such united resistance. Sure, Americans might fight among themselves, but when foreigners stepped in, they stood shoulder to shoulder. That kind of nationalism was exactly what Jeff didn't want to deal with.
Just when the standoff was reaching its boiling point, a soft, calm voice cut through the tension like a knife.
"You're here to see me?"
The crowd parted as Tracy walked out in a white physician's coat. Her eyes were calm, her tone serene, but there was no mistaking the authority in her presence.
Despite the loose gown covering her frame, her curvaceous figure and magnetic aura were impossible to hide.
Jeff didn't even glance at her body. His face was tense with worry.
"Miss Linch," he said in a low voice, "I didn't come to argue. I just need to ask—do you know the whereabouts of Mandel?"
Tracy blinked. "Mandel?"
"My Australian disciple," Jeff clarified. "He received acupuncture from you a few days ago."
Tracy paused, then nodded. "Oh… that guy. What about him?"
"He's missing."
Tracy's eyes widened. "Missing?"
Her reaction was genuine—so much so that Jeff found himself hesitating.
She doesn't know? he thought.
Could it be that she truly wasn't involved in Mandel's disappearance?
Jeff studied her face intently, searching for any hint of deceit. But there was nothing—no flicker of guilt, no subtle twitch to betray a lie.
Her surprise felt too real to be an act.
Jeff grew even more uneasy.
Tracy, meanwhile, was piecing things together in her mind.
The last time she'd seen John, he had taken her to the forest in the east suburbs. She remembered feeling dizzy... then everything went black. When she woke up, she was in her bedroom.
John had been calm—almost too calm. He'd told her he had "taken care of a little issue" and told her not to worry about it.
She hadn't pressed him further.
She had always trusted her little brother. But now, standing face-to-face with Jeff, it all made horrifying sense.
Mandel's disappearance… John must've been involved.
Whether Mandel was alive or dead, she didn't know. But she was sure now—John had something to do with it.
Still, she couldn't let Jeff find that out. Not yet.
As she tried to maintain her calm expression, a familiar, carefree voice echoed from the side of the street.
"Well, well, what's all this fuss about? You got a crush on my second sister or something? Trying to visit her one last time before leaving the States?"
John.
He strolled toward the crowd with a devil-may-care smirk, hands in his pockets, as if he had wandered into a garden party rather than a tense standoff.
Tracy's heart skipped a beat.
Damn it, not now…
She plastered a calm smile on her face. "Little brother, I told you to rest at home today. Why did you come back to the clinic?"
Her voice was sweet, but it carried a warning.
She was trying to get him to leave. To not draw attention.
But John ignored the hint completely. He raised his voice, loud and clear for everyone to hear.
"Of course I came! I was worried about you! Who knows when another pack of mad dogs will come barking at your door again?"
He scanned Jeff's group with amusement, his words deliberate and cutting.
"Looks like I was right. What a crowd of lunatics we've got today."