Chapter 11 Sunlight came through the curtains and fell on the sheets. Maxine stared at the ceiling, not sure if this was real or just a dream. Then a deep male voice came from beside her: "Awake?" She suddenly turned her head and met a pair of calm eyes. The man was holding a medical record. When he saw her wake up, he closed it casually and said calm- ly, "You passed out from internal bleeding on the ship. I did some emergency treatment. How do you feel now?" Maxine subconsciously reached for her stomach. The pain had eased a lot, but there was still a dull ache under her skin. She said, her voice hoarse, "Thank you." The man nodded and handed her a glass of warm water. "My name's William, I'm a doctor. This is my private sanatorium, it's very safe." The cup was warm. Maxine's fingertips unconsciously rubbed the side of the cup. She lowered her eyes and was silent for a moment, then said softly, "Maxine. My name is Maxine." Maxine stayed at the nursing home. William came to do his rounds every day, but except for necessary medical questions, he never pried into her privacy. Until one day when the nurse was changing the dressing, she accidentally knocked over the tray. The sound of the metal instruments hitting the floor made Maxine flinch and curl up instinctively. William's hand paused in mid-air. He looked at the way she instinctively protected her ribs, glanced at the fading bruises on her wrist, and suddenly said, "These injuries weren't caused by an accident." Maxine's breath caught. William didn't press her. He just calmly fixed her collar and said in a quiet voice, "If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to. But if you need help, the lawyers and police here can help you." Maxine gripped the sheet and shook her head. 0.0%. 06:33 William didn't say anything else. As he turned to leave, Maxine suddenly called out to him, "Thank you." He turned around and saw a faint smile on her pale face, "But really, there's no need." The days at the sanatorium were so peaceful they almost felt unreal. Maxine's body slowly got better, and she sometimes went to the garden to sit in the sun. One afternoon, she walked past the meeting room and accidentally heard William arguing with some- one. "They stuck to this price, and there was no way we could give in-" "But it clearly showed their valuation was at least 30% too high." Maxine stopped for a moment. She pushed the door open like she was possessed, and everyone stared at her. William frowned, "Max- ine?" Maxine pressed her lips together and pointed at the financial report on the table. After a moment, she said, "There's a problem with the cash flow forecast on page three. They hid some of the debt. If we cal- culate it this way, the real premium should go up by 15%." William stared at her for a few seconds, then suddenly pushed the file over: "Go on." The next day, William pushed a contract in front of her: "The merger case was settled. If you were in- terested, you could come to my company as a strategy consultant." Maxine paused for a second, then suddenly laughed, "Aren't you afraid I'm a corporate spy?" William leaned against the table. He looked at her and said calmly, "I checked your background-of course, I didn't find anything. But my gut told me you could be trusted." 54.6 %. Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!