I'm not sure if canon ever establishes when Serenity's eye condition starts flaring up to the point of her needing surgery to fix it, but for the purposes of this story I'm going to assume that she would have been able to do something preventative if she'd been seen early enough.
Canon does establish that the Wheelers are too poor to handle that kind of expense.
But, well, having the Kaiba family owe you a favor comes with a lot of perks.
.
Veronica Wheeler held fast to her daughter's hand as Fuguta wheeled her hospital bed into Kaiba Manor. "Are you sure this is necessary?" she asked, staring at Amaya's back like she expected the lady Kaiba to harbor secret truths of the universe's creation. "I just don't know why she should leave the hospital in this condition. I mean, surely, if we just talked to the police . . ."
Gozaburo, who'd been leading this procession since leaving St. Claire's, stopped. He turned to look at Veronica, made some swift calculations, then closed his eyes and sighed.
Amaya took this to be a signal that she ought to handle this question. She turned and said: "I know that this is a strange situation, and you've every right to wonder what's going on in our heads." She smiled. "Trust me when I say that we know what we're doing. Everyone will be safest here in this house. With any luck, we will be able to resolve all these problems shortly. Serenity will be free to recover from her surgery in peace and quiet."
Jackson spoke up now: "That man wasn't just trying to sabotage you folks. Was he?"
"No," said Amaya. "He would have hurt you. I don't know if his plan was to kill anyone today, but I wouldn't put it past him. He tried to use a weapon in a hospital hallway. I don't feel comfortable trusting any kind of restraint from a man like that."
"That's precisely why I don't understand! Why aren't we going to the police?!" Veronica was clearly at her wits' end.
"The cops ain't gonna do nothin' for us, Ma," Joey said, "and you know that. They'd come out, say somethin' about calling them again when somebody does something actionable or whatever, and then bounce."
Veronica looked pained, conflicted, but there was something in her eyes that said she had no retort to this argument; the Wheelers were clearly used to inaction from law enforcement. She looked at her husband, who shrugged.
"He's got a point," Jackson rumbled. "Anyway, the Kaibas have this big house, and a whole staff to handle things. We're prob'ly safer here than we'd ever be back home, even if we convinced DCPD to give us some kinda protection. Which . . . I dunno if we'd be able to do that."
"Maybe nobody would listen to us," Veronica said, subdued now, "but surely they would believe Mister and Missus Kaiba. Wouldn't they?"
"Possibly," Gozaburo said. "But there remains a simple truth: my people are better trained and better equipped than Domino's police department. Anyway . . . did you happen to notice the design emblazoned on the false operative's lanyard?"
"That green star thing?" Jackson asked.
"Yes," said Amaya, and her estimation of the Wheeler patriarch rose a notch or two. "It's the calling card of a group called Paradius. We don't know much about them, but they have . . . reach. Throughout the city. Think of them like . . . the mafia. Or Scientologists." Jackson looked confused, but Veronica seemed to understand something. "We've made ourselves into an enemy of this group, and that must be why they sent one of their members to sabotage your efforts to help your daughter."
"They'd go so far as to hurt a little girl, just because you were the ones paying for her care?" Veronica asked. She didn't sound disbelieving now, just stunned. She clearly wasn't sure what to make of this idea, but now that she had something familiar to compare it to, she seemed inclined to believe.
"I'm sure they would go further than that," Gozaburo growled.
"I think, perhaps, it would be best to refrain from such talk at the moment," Amaya said. "Come on. We need to get you all secured in a private space." She turned to the youngest member of the Wheeler family. "How are you feeling, Serenity?"
"My head hurts," the girl said, pouting.
Amaya smiled sadly. She reached out and patted Serenity's hand, which she held primly in her lap. "We'll see what we can do about that. Don't you worry, darling. Everything will be all right. You'll see."
.
The Wheelers were led to a metal-reinforced chamber beneath the ground floor of Kaiba Manor; in other homes, this might be a storm cellar or a basement. For the Kaibas, it served as a panic room. The space was furnished with chairs, sofas, tables, beds, alongside a refrigerator, freezer, mini-kitchen, and a full entertainment center. It was, for all intents and purposes, a studio apartment.
A sparse one, by comparison; but for the Wheelers it was as plush an opulent as a five-star suite.
It took work to get Serenity's bed in place, but the staff made it happen. Jackson came down the stairs, into the room, with his daughter in his arms, just as her space was being set up in a corner for her. He set Serenity down carefully, as tenderly as he could, and pulled the covers around her. "There you go, kiddo," he said, gently, and patted Serenity's head.
Gozaburo made a gesture. One of the family operatives, whose name neither Seto knew nor could Noa remember, stepped up. "Sir," she said.
"Call St. Claires," Gozaburo said. "Ask for Dillahunty. Extension 4-7-6-2. We need someone on call for Serenity Wheeler, all hours. Money is no object. Whatever they need to see it done, do it. Call in Amaya for backup if you must."
"At once, sir," the woman said quickly, with a little salute.
Veronica looked pensive. "I . . . don't know how to thank you for all this," she said.
"Save thanks for when the threat is banished," Gozaburo said. "Your family was placed in harm's way on my account. I will not have it said that I don't take responsibility for the consequences of my reputation."
He left without another word.
Amaya, arms crossed over her chest, rolled her eyes. "Don't mind him," she said. "He's never been good at accepting praise. You're very welcome, Missus Wheeler, but put any such worries from your mind. Sit, rest, look after yourselves. Leave this unfortunate nonsense to us."
She turned to her sons, and Joey with them.
"You are to stay here," Amaya said, "until we come for you. Do you understand? Until either I, or your father, say otherwise, this is your home." She gestured to a door off on the opposite side of the room as Serenity's bulky little sanctuary. "There's a restroom just over there. Food and water and other things are there in the kitchenette. I'll have someone bring your videogame console down here for the entertainment center. Stay here."
"Yes, Hahaue," Noa said dutifully.
"I'm serious," Amaya said, eyeing Noa fiercely. "You are not to leave this room."
"I understand, Hahaue."
"We'll do as you say," Seto said.
"Stay here!" Mokuba declared.
Joey nodded grimly.
Amaya nodded. "Good," she said. She turned to leave.
Seto shared a quiet look with Noa and Joey. Without saying a word—they couldn't afford to, given that Joey's parents were both right there—the three boys knew that this was one order they were absolutely not going to follow.
.
"They've holed up in their mansion, sir."
It should have been absurd: a grown man with prison tattoos kneeling before a boy whose clothes didn't fit. All the same, there was a fire in this boy's eyes that would not be denied, and everyone who'd ever shared a space with him knew better than to test his anger.
This boy was their Lord's chosen.
"Be ready," the boy declared, clenching one fist. "They can't hide there. Death will find them, and no walls will stop the tide." He made a cutting gesture with one arm. "Surround the property! We strike from all sides!"
"Yes, sir."
Growling low in his throat, sounding for a moment like a man twice his age, Aleister Dòmhnallach glared at the shadows and tried to do what his father always said: wait for victory before celebrating. It was the height of folly to praise oneself too soon.
He couldn't help it.
His hour had come at last.
Aleister could taste vengeance, and it tasted like wine.