Prologue (2/3)

"I've got both good news and bad news. Which one would you like to hear first?" A white-haired old man with a doctor's coat asked his patient's guardian.

"We'll take the good news first." A man in his 50s responded with one arm wrapped around Delilah, comforting her as she sniffled beside him.

"We've managed to stabilize Mr. Darwin Moss's condition, he is no longer in any danger." The doctor informed with a warm smile.

"That's great!" A glint of excitement arose in both Delilah and the man's eyes as a sigh of relief escaped them.

"Uncle Peter," Delilah tugged Peter Hart's coat, eagerly wanting to go visit her brother.

"Wait a second, Del." Peter calmed her down, hugging her tighter. "What's the bad news?"

"We're unable to identify why Mr. Darwin Moss is not waking up." The doctor muttered apologetically.

"He's in a coma?" Peter frowned.

"It seems so. We found traces of an unknown substance injected into the neck of Mr. Moss. We believe that may be the cause of the coma, however, we are not one hundred percent certain." The doctor informed.

"Can he be woken up?"

"We… do not know."

Silence filled the small hallway as a lingering feeling of dread enveloped the group.

"I'd like to go see him now," Peter muttered,

"Alright. Follow me." The doctor nodded, leading them to a VIP patient suite down the end of the happily, separated from the other rooms in the hospital.

The door slowly slides open as the trio slowly walked in. The quiet beeping of the life support system echoed in the silent room as they watched the sleeping boy on the bed, the peaceful look on his face as he laid there motionless.

"B-Brother," Delilah whispered, walked up to the side of the bed, tears dripping down her cheeks. "Please wake up soon. I don't know what to do without you."

TZ TZZZ TZZ TZZZ

The sudden sound of a vibrating phone rang out from within Peter's pocket.

"Excuse me," He muttered, taking out the latest model of the ePhone 13XS Pro and glancing at the caller ID before exiting the room with a frown.

"Peter Hart," He answered quietly in the hallway.

"Mr. Hart, the ceremony is ready. Where's the successor?" The voice on the line rang out in desperation.

"I-It's complicated." Peter rubbed his eyebrows and sighed, hurriedly explaining the situation.

"That really is complicated… so what do we do now?" The voice asked with uncertainty, "You know how those vultures of a relative will catch on to this news. We'll need to do something and we need to do it soon."

"I know," Peter rubbed his eyebrows, "I'll have a talk with his sister. It'll be tough, but we'll think of something."

"Alright, I'll wait for the good news." The voice responded before the line cut off.

The room door slid back open as Peter slowly made his way in, a downcasted look on his face as he knelt down beside Delilah.

"Del," He placed a hand on her shoulder as he watched her sitting beside the hospital bed, her hands placed firmly around Darwin's hands. "I know you're currently grieving, but we need to talk about the company left behind by your parents."

Delilah turned around, her eyes red from tears. "The one brother was meant to take over today?" She sniffled,

Peter nods, "Moss Inc, it needs someone to take over. Now that Darwin is temporarily…unavailable… for the position, we need to think of an alternative before your uncles and aunts come rushing in for the pot of gold." He explains, carefully choosing his words.

Delilah nods as she looks down in thought, "If I was to take over, I'd need to be at least 18 right?"

"That's right,"

"What if we have a temporary stand-in?" She suggested, looking back up with her innocent eyes peering at Peter.

"What do you mean?"

"Until either, my brother wakes back up or I become 18, I want you temporarily take over." She explained.

Peter blinked a few dozen times, taking in the information, "Y-You want me to become the new CEO of Moss Inc?" He stuttered, pointing at himself.

Never in a thousand years would he had even considered taking the CEO position of the company.

Delilah replied with a small nod as she turned back to her unconscious brother.

"As the only one who remained truly loyal to our family after mum and dad died, you're the only person I can trust right now." She whispered, trying to keep in her tears.

Peter tightly squeezed his knuckles as he heard those words. He had worked as the Moss Inc head secretary for the past 30 years. He was there when it first began as a small insignificant company. He'd seen thousands of people come and go, co-workers and superiors alike. Male and female from all races and regions of the world. All of them with one common disgusting goal. The greed and jealousy towards the wealth and prestigious title of the Moss family.

"If that's what you want." Peter bowed, "Until either the master wakes up from his coma or until my lady becomes 18. I will lead the Moss Inc, to the best of my capability." He vowed with great determination in his eyes.

"Thank you." Delilah let out a warm smile as a drop of tear ran down her cheek, slowly dripping down onto the carpet below.

TZ TZZZ

The sound of a vibrating phone rang out once more as Peter looked down at his phone with a frown and a sigh once he saw the contact ID.

"It's your uncle." He gave Delilah a glance and answered the phone, putting it in speaker mode as he had a clear idea of what the conversation was going to be about.

"Mr. Hart." A rough snobby voice called out from the other end. "I heard the young master has been put into a coma from a break-in. Who's going to be leading the company now that the CEO position is going to be rendered vacant? As the closest relative to the children, I'd gladly fill the position."

A frown of anger and a small clicking of disgust from both Delilah and Peter sounded out as soon as the uncle finished speaking.

"Unfortunately, that is not needed, Mr. Charles Moss," Peter replied with a hint of anger in his voice. "The CEO position has already been decided by Lady Delilah. Goodbye." He abruptly ended the call and looked back at Delilah with a dark look.

"I guess we found the culprit to the master's situation." He muttered.

Delilah nodded slightly, the look of a rage entering her eyes.