<b>Chapter </b><b>4 </b>


    Briar quickly pulled hersell together and fret Ashton’s gaze “So, what sit puma he? if you’re


    Ashton nanowed his eyes, thinking for a second. “How sure are you?


    Hands stuffed in her pockets, Briar nced at the unconscious Griffin. “Ora pilt and tome acupuncture, and he’ll be awake is an hour. Read it ANUS day, and he’ll be back on his feet in a week”


    She said it like it was a done deal full of swagger, not a hint of doubt.


    Griffin had been sick for years. Every top doctor in Dasmieca had tried and failed to cure him. All they could do was dow things down.


    Unless they could somehow track down the legendary Tristan, Griffin wasn’t gonnast much longer.


    But Tristan had basically vanished off the face of the earth. Ashton had already burned several million dors trying to find him, but it was all for nesting


    Some folks believed Tristan was dead. They said his only student had taken over–but that person was even harder to find


    Only a handful of people had ever seen Tristan’s student. No one even knew if it was a man or a woman.


    That was why, with Griffin slipping deeper into anothera, Ashton had no choice but to gamble on experimental drugs from the Dark Met


    They could keep throwing money at finding Tristan, but Griffin couldn’t wait.


    Ashton’s gaze shifted. The curiosity he’d shown at first was still there, but now it wasced with scrutiny and suspicion. “Awake in an hour? Fully recovered in a week?”


    Before Briar could answer, a few of the Wade rtives burst outughing. “Do you even <i>know </i>where you are, Miss?” one sneered. “This isn’t some clinic where you can say whatever you want.”


    “Yeah, wake up in an hour, cured in a week–who are you trying to fool?” another chimed in.


    “Even Dasmieca’s best doctors wouldn’t dare promise that. Someone get this clown out of here,” someone else shouted.


    More voices joined in. They looked Briar up and down, already convinced she was a nobody. They’d heard she rode in on some beat–up bike to deliver meds. Her outfit probably cost less than one of their belts.


    They didn’t bother looking into who she really was. To them, she was just some bold girl trying to chase Ashton.


    And in their eyes, Ashton would never go for someone like her. Honestly, they thought they were being generous just by not tossing her out.


    The doctors didn’t show the same contempt as the Wade rtives, but they tried to talk her down. “Youngdy, this isn’t the ce to take wild chances,” one said.


    “Yeah,” another added. “Forget the pills. We’re not even sure if they’re safe. And acupuncture is not an option either. You’re too young to even have a license, right?”


    “Griffin isn’t someone you experiment on. Just walk away,” someone else said.


    Briar didn’t react. No flinch, no panic. She didn’t even nce at the people trash–talking her. Her focus never left Ashton–like he was the only one whose opinion mattered.


    And Ashton noticed. Most people would’ve cracked by now, but Briar stayed calm, unfazed by all the noise around her. <b>That </b>alone was enou an impression.


    He raised his hand, and the room instantly quieted down. Everyone expected him to kick Briar out.


    <b>nake </b>


    IVIUIT, 20 U


    <b>C </b>


    Instead, he looked straight at Briar and said, “If you can wake my grandfather in an hour, F’lle thank you in person. Whn’s your n


    “Briar Jennings,” she replied coolly.


    Ashton didn’tpletely buy the whole “fully recovered in a week” thing, but he did believe Briar could wake Griffin up in an hour. That atone earned him a few points in Briar’s book.


    “Ashton, how can you gamble with your grandfather’s life like this?” someone from the crowd shouted, clearly angry. “I won’t allow it”


    “Me neither,” another chimed in. “Griffin’s condition is too fragile. We can’t just let anyone mess with him.”


    Ashton shot them a cold re. “And since when do you make decisions for the Wade family?<i>” </i>


    That shut them up fast.


    Briar raised an eyebrow, starting to get a clearer picture–Ashton had real authority around here.


    Without paying any attention to the sour faces around her, she followed Ashton to Griffin’s bedside. She pulled out a small ck cloth pouch, unrolled it. andid out a set of acupuncture needles. After quickly sterilizing everything, she got to work.


    Her hands moved fast and steady as she ced eight needles with pinpoint precision. The crowd couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Briar didn’t just know acupuncture—she was clearly a pro.


    It was toote for those Wade rtives to stop her now, so someone started a timer, just waiting to prove Briar wrong when the hour passed with no change. They wanted to see Ashton humiliated.


    Briar knew exactly what they were trying to do, but she didn’t care. Honestly, the only reason she agreed to help was because Ashton was good–looking –and of course, out of respect for Griffin.


    Once the needles were in ce, she took out the pill and asked Ashton for a ss of water. She crushed and dissolved the pill in it and carefully gave it to Griffin. Then she plopped down in a chair and pulled out her phone.


    [Didn’t you say you had an old friend in Dasmieca? What was their name again?] she texted.


    A few minutester, the reply came through. [Griffin Wade, but it’s been years since west talked.]


    Briar read it and casually replied: [Got it.]


    Inside the room, things were quiet, but outside, people were getting antsy. They didn’t know exactly what was happening, but they saw Briar treating Griffin and were losing their minds.


    They wanted to barge in and <i>stop </i>Briar, but Ashton’s right–hand man, Brandon, was guarding the door. All they could do was stew in their own panic.


    When Griffin’s oldest son, Sean, and his wife Arlette finally stepped out, the crowd swarmed them. “What’s going on in there?” someone demanded. “Why’s someone doing acupuncture on Griffin?”


    As the eldest, Sean had once been next in line <i>to </i>lead the Wade family–until Griffin decided to hand the reins to his youngest son’s branch. Since then, Sean had been at odds with Ashton and the rest of that side of the family.


    So now, he didn’t hold back. “Ashton’s losing it. He let some random girl take over Griffin’s treatment.”


    Arlette added, all dramatic, “She actually imed Griffin would wake up in an hour and be totally cured in a week!”


    “What?” someone gasped. “They’re seriously ying with Griffin’s life, huh?”


    “This girl’s gotta be a scammer,” another said. “We need to call the cops and get her out of there before something happens!”