The Royal Contract

Chapter 1339: No one could stop it

"Thomas, I don't feel right about doing this." The doctor walked further into his office after his assistant ushered him to the door.

He watched the agitated elderly gentleman refuse to sit, pacing the floor back and forth before his desk. He had never seen him in this state before. His old friend appeared nervous and out of control. Read exclusive chapters at M V L

"Allen, what seems to be the problem?" He pretended that he had no idea what he was talking about. But, of course, he knew well enough what the other man was saying.

"You know what..." The doctor frustratedly responded but stopped as if confused as he ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head as if clearing his mind.

"Allen..." He was about to say something when his friend interrupted him.

"No, I can't do this anymore. I can't keep lying for you." He finally spilled out as he stopped before his desk and looked directly into his eyes.

He finally closed the files before him and gave his undivided attention to his friend, who seemed to be having a crisis or cold feet.

"So, what are you saying, Allen?" Count Thomas stared his friend in the eye, wanting to get to the bottom of the situation. "Are you changing your mind? What about our arrangement?"

He remembered that his friend had agreed to keep their secret for a price. He had paid him handsomely for it and more. Now, he wanted out.

"No. I am saying that I will not do it anymore." He fumbled on his words as he tried to explain what he meant. "I just won't do it again. Whatever happened in the past would remain buried in the past."

"But..."

"But what?" Thomas interrupted his friend with a threatening voice, not liking the direction of their conversation.

"I don't want to be part of your schemes anymore. I don't want to lie to the future King." Allen said as he maintained his eye contact. "But I will promise to bury your secrets in my grave."

Suddenly, he remembered when his friend handled his son's accident. He promised to do his best to save him from his near-death experience.

Dr. Allen Ford delivered on his promise, saving Lance from death and disability. However, he said there had been some complications in his son's health.

"Please don't tell my son about it. He did not need to know." Count Thomas had asked his friend not to divulge the result of his findings.

"But he had every right to know." The doctor insisted, saying that it was the patient's right.

"No, you can't tell him anything about this. It would ruin him. It would kill him if he knew about this." He told his friend, begging him to keep the secret to himself.

"But a secret like this would come out eventually..." Allen said, not agreeing with him.

"Let me worry about that. I need you to promise to keep this secret from Lance. He can't hear anything about this." He insisted when his friend seemed unconvinced.

"What about I offer you something in return?" He knew if he could not persuade his friend, this information would eventually destroy all his plans.

The son's future as King would disappear in a puff of smoke. He could kiss the throne goodbye. And there would be no way to remedy the situation.

"You know I don't..." Dr. Ford was about to shoot him down. But he did not arrive at his position by taking no for an answer.

"I am sure you want something in return." He did not let his friend finish his sentence. "Or should I say need something, desperately?"

Of course, he knew a fact that he could use against his friend. It was not a secret since it had been buzzing in their social circle. His friend was under tremendous pressure and compromised into a position because of an incident.

"I..." His friend was about to deny him, but he would not have it.

"I can help you clear your malpractice case. I can even offer you a job at the palace as one of the royal physicians." He offered, knowing his friend had difficulty with his current legal battle.

Although everyone knew the doctor was a great surgeon, he was under investigation due to a patient who seemed unsatisfied with his treatment.

"In return, I have to keep this a secret." His friend said, appearing to be thinking about the offer.

"In return for helping me keep my son sane and saving his future." Count Thomas corrected him. "I will even add a few bonuses if you can make all the paper trail disappear."

He knew there should not be any test that should lead to this test result. No one should know about these findings except him and the doctor. And he probably had to handle the few people who ran the test.

He remembered it did not take long to convince his friend to agree to his terms. After all, he had fed on his desperation. Soon, he had him on his payroll, doing his bidding while preserving his secrets.

"I know I owe you my life. My family will always be in debt with gratitude for your help. But don't ask me to do this again." His friend begged him as he stood before him.

His friend snapped him back to the present and their current predicament. However, as much as he wanted to grant him this favor, he could not. He still needed him in this last task.

"OK. Just help me with this last one. Then, we can call it quits." He knew that his friend would not say no. He owed him at least this last favor after the things he had done for him and his family.

He did not wish to put his friend on the spot, but he had no choice. He could not let this ongoing situation ruin his plans.

He was so close to achieving his dream for his son and to fulfill his legacy. He could not let anything stop him now.

"I don't know about this. I feel like I already lied to your son. Now, I will be lying to his wife, too." The doctor still hesitated, seemingly uncomfortable to do his bidding.

However, he knew he had to coax him, even for the last time. He could tell that it would be hard to find someone else he could trust with this secret to do this.

"Please, my son is about to become King. If he learns about this, he will lose everything, not just his wife. He needs to believe what we want him to think." He knew that what he had planned was cruel.

He was not only thinking about himself, but he had to consider what was best for his son and the future. Besides, it was what the Kingdom needed for the greater good.

"I don't feel right about this." His friend still would not budge, but he would not stop either.

"Do you think there is anyone else that was the rightful King than my son? Can you think of anyone better who should sit on that throne to rule over us?" Count Thomas implored his friend's understanding.

"You can't name me one because there is no one else. Would you like to serve a King that would ruin our Kingdom?" Of course, his friend would never agree to that.

"So, for the last time, help me put my son on the throne. After that, you can retire with your family and would never have to hear from me again about this." He knew that was a good deal.

And he needed his friend to accept it because there was no other option. He needed his friend to keep monitoring the Princess's health.

"Fine." His friend finally answered after some time. He still looked reluctant, but he still agreed with him. "But after your son sits on the throne, I am done." Dr. Allen articulated, making sure that he understood his terms.

The Count extended his hand to his friend, assuring him they had a deal. After all, he still considered the doctor his childhood friend.

He knew his friend would not say anything. He would keep his word as promised. That was how deep their friendship was.

"Now, if my son calls you. Which I know he will. You know what to tell him." Count Thomas stated this as a fact.

"If he asks you to do some test, then do it. But run the test under another name. Then, I have to see the results first." He quickly added.

He did not want his son to know anything about this because it would only confuse him. So far, he had seen that Camille was doing a great job performing as his wife.

He did not want anything to rock the boat, as to speak. He did not want another tragedy to ruin everything he had worked hard to achieve.

His son would be King, and no one could stop it, not this little hiccuped in his plans.