Ch 605 - Alex Makes a Phone Call

"Look closely, Mr. Franks," Alex said. "You will see that, given the quality of the active ingredients, I should be charging more, not less, for these drugs. I changed one key element, and it made the drug more effective. But I was worried some of my patients wouldn't be able to afford them, so I deliberately kept the price down. That's the only deception that's gone on here."

He had arranged for Celeste to bring some of the ingredients from the Moon Palace, giving him access to high-quality medicine while allowing him to keep the cost as low as possible.

He frowned. "You're not looking at the whole picture. I just switched one ingredient for a more expensive one, but I charged my patients at the original price. What's wrong with that?"

"Thank you, Dr. Ambrose," one of the patients said. "I knew you were a good man."

The other patients nodded.

Alex took the packet of pills and took out the advice sheet. Folding it to the list of ingredients he pointed at one line. "See? You can check it yourself."

No one could believe it. People had heard of cheap ingredients being used in place of expensive ones, but nobody had heard of it being the other way round.

Mr. Franks re-examined the drug packet, this time reading slowly and taking it very seriously.

Before long, his face turned red as he found the expensive active ingredient listed on the advice sheet.

He pointed it out to the other investigators and Agent Johnson.

As he looked at the paper, Agent Johnson frowned.

Alex glanced at Mr. Franks, and said, "Some of our patients can't afford expensive drugs. But many of them are the key providers for their families and need to recover as soon as possible, so I asked my suppliers to make one change to the medicine."

He looked around and raised his voice. "Everybody should be able to afford the drugs they need. The reason I didn't tell you straight away was that I didn't want to embarrass anyone."

The room was silent.

Mr. Franks and the other investigators were all slightly dazed, and even Agent Johnson had been stunned into silence.

Who knew Alex had such a good heart? Sophie thought.

Some of the investigators were still skeptical, so they opened the medicine belonging to the rest of the patients and checked it.

Sure enough, many patients' medicines had ingredients that had been changed for more expensive, but more effective, ones.

The value of every single medicine they examined was much higher than the fee the patient had been charged.

The patients felt their faith in Alex and the Woodside Clinic had been restored, and they were delighted.

"Thank you, Dr. Ambrose," one man called.

"You're such a good man!" said another.

One by one, the patients expressed their gratitude.

Then another voice cut in. "That's all very well," said Agent Johnson, "but if he's misleading people about exactly what's in the medicine, that is still fraud." He turned to his subordinates. "Close the clinic. We'll do a full investigation."

The FBI team hesitated. They had found no problems with the pharmacy or the drugs. The only irregularity was the switching out of cheaper ingredients for more expensive ones, revealing Alex's benevolence.

They couldn't seal off the clinic based on this, and Alex was clearly such a good doctor that they were reluctant to act against him.

"Are you all deaf? Didn't you hear me?" Agent Johnson roared. "The Woodside Clinic has been prescribing irregular medicine, and Alex Ambrose is suspected of running an illegal operation. You must close the clinic right now."

Nobody moved.

"Do you dare to disobey my orders?" he shouted.

Before Alex had a chance to speak, nearly a hundred patients moved at once, surrounding him and shielding him from Agent Johnson.

"We will fight to defend this clinic," someone yelled.

Another patient pointed his finger at Agent Johnson. "You're supposed to be the law, but you're acting illegally here, and I will report you."

"Protect Alex, protect the clinic!" someone cried.

Everyone's mood was turbulent, and the scene was on the verge of exploding into something more serious.

"Don't be impulsive. Stay calm, everyone!" Alex wanted to stop the patients, but several of them had already blocked him in the corner.

From the other side of the room, Agent Johnson called, "Alex, are you so out of control that you encourage your patients to fight against law enforcement? By resisting us, you are getting these people into trouble." He scowled. "I'll call the police to arrest you."

As far as he was concerned, the bigger the incident, the better. This way, even if he couldn't find enough evidence to accuse the clinic of falsifying their drugs, he could get Alex on a charge of inciting a mob to cause trouble.

Alex hesitated for a moment, and then he took out his phone to make a call.

Agent Johnson seemed desperate to charge him with something, and he could see that the patients were keyed up and ready to fight. Worried about sparking a mass incident, his only thought was to find someone to put pressure on the FBI agent.

He decided to call Dr. Isaiah Allbrook. But, just as his finger was poised to make the call, he was nudged by several patients trying to protect him, and he accidentally dialed another number.

He accidentally called Lincoln, his grandfather and head of the Ambrose family.

Although Alex had his grandfather's number, he had rarely called him when he had still been a part of the Ambrose family, let alone after he had been driven out. Alex had nothing to do with his family now.

He frowned and was about to hang up, but the call had already connected. Alex had dialed Lincoln's private phone, and few people had that number, so it was answered quickly.

A gentle voice spoke. "Yes? Who is this?"

It wasn't his grandfather's voice, but that of his assistant, Archibald Pitt.

"Hello, Archibald," Alex said. "It's me—Alex."

"Alex, how wonderful to hear from you," Archibald said, his voice choking with emotion. "What can I do for you? I'm so happy you finally called."

Alex could have sworn he heard a small sniff, as if Archibald was holding back tears.

"Oh, it's nothing," Alex said. "Just don't tell my grandfather I rang." Archibald's emotional greeting had affected Alex, who felt very sad at the distance that had grown between him and his family.

Alex knew he should hang up. The strict Ambrose family rules meant that, not only should Alex avoid contacting them, but it was also against the rules for Archibald to speak to him. If his grandfather found out, Archibald could be punished severely.

"Alex, I've known you since you were a child," Archibald said. "You can't hide anything from me. You're in trouble, aren't you? Tell me—let me help you." Afraid of being overheard, he tried to keep his voice down, but he was ready to defy Lincoln's orders to help Alex if he could.

"No, Archibald. Please hang up." Alex couldn't risk saying anything else.

There was a moment of panicked confusion at the other end of the line, and Alex suspected Archibald had just been caught.