"Enough, all of you shut your mouths! Even if we manage to bring the General back, taking one look at his disgraceful descendants will probably kill him all over again!"
Tandy's voice boomed through the corridor with commanding authority.
The physicians gathered here were elite military doctors, men with serious brass on their shoulders.
And Tandy held the highest rank among them.
He didn't give a damn about the Darwin family's drama.
And he certainly had zero tolerance for their chaotic tantrums.
Stunned by the reprimand, Silas shrank back, lacking the spine to challenge the imposing surgeon.
He was fully aware of Tandy's formidable reputation and immense influence.
In the presence of someone like him, petty cowards didn't dare step out of line.
"Tandy, please don't say that," the General's daughter interjected softly.
Harrison had two sons and one daughter, and she had always relied heavily on her family's formidable backing.
"We are all just incredibly worried about our father."
"He's in terrible health, but he fights so hard just to protect us. How could we ever want to cause him grief?"
The daughter was remarkably articulate and poised; Claire even found herself casting an appreciative glance in her direction.
Tandy gently nudged Claire's arm. "Stop staring. Get scrubbed in, and follow me to assess the situation."
They had called in reinforcements midway through the crisis.
The medical team was on high alert, ready to pivot at a second's notice.
Claire gave a curt nod and trailed closely behind Tandy.
Once properly scrubbed and gowned, she pushed through the heavy doors into the emergency room.
"What's his status?"
Tandy watched the team working with calculated precision and threw out the question.
"We're doing everything we can, but the General... his will to live is fading fast."
Perhaps the sheer exhaustion of dealing with his toxic heirs had finally pushed the old man to simply surrender.
When a critical patient lost the inner drive to survive, pulling them back from the edge became an almost impossible war.
"He drifts in and out of consciousness, which means he's experiencing agonizing pain. We considered administering painkillers, but his system has been flooded with them for too long."
"His body has completely built up a tolerance to them."
The attending physician let out a heavy sigh.
If they lost the General on the table today, he would be gone forever.
None of them wanted to see it end this way.
The General was a decorated hero, and men like him deserved to live out a full century.
But his vital signs were painting a tragically bleak picture.
"Let me step in," Claire announced, moving decisively toward the operating table.
In moments of sheer desperation, those willing to step into the line of fire were true lifesavers.
Dr. Quincy gave a firm nod. "Use your acupuncture. See if you can manage his pain levels."
Pain management was well within her wheelhouse.
But Claire had an even bolder goal-she intended to shock the General's failing system back online.
Holistic interventions could sometimes trigger miraculous revivals when modern medicine hit a wall.
Claire rapidly deployed the silver needles, first neutralizing the agonizing pain, then mercilessly targeting the core pressure points.
She was determined to ignite whatever tiny spark of vitality remained inside Harrison's frail, exhausted body.
It was an absolute last resort, a desperate gamble against death itself.
Miraculously, the monitors suddenly began to blare with shifting data!
"We've got a pulse!"
Dr. Quincy's eyes were locked onto the EKG screen; watching the plunging lines suddenly spike upward sent a jolt of pure adrenaline through the room.
They had pulled him back!
Half an hour later, Claire and the surgical team pushed open the heavy emergency room doors.
"Dr. Quincy, how is my father?"
The General's daughter was the first to sprint forward.
She seemed entirely consumed by genuine concern for the old man.
Rumor had it her own son's career was at a critical tipping point, so the General passing away now would deal a catastrophic blow to her family's future.
Truth be told, while Harrison's two sons were pathetic failures and his grandsons weren't much better, his grandson through his daughter was actually quite competent.
But even he had climbed the ladder largely by leveraging the family's immense connections.
He was decent, but hardly extraordinary.
"We've stabilized him for now, but he is still very much in the danger zone."
Dr. Quincy's sharp gaze swept over
the crowd of expectant Darwins. If your goal is to guarantee he never wakes up by all means keem screaming in the hallway."