0008

Elena smiled confidently.

“I promise you.”

Lillian was truly lucky. If Elena had not divorced Asher, Dr. Wright might have remained retired from medicine, and Lillian might never have had a chance at survival.

After quickly completing her examination of Lillian’s condition, Elena left the room with Asher.

The moment they were out of earshot, the smile disappeared from her face.

She said seriously,

“You should have had her undergo surgery much earlier.”

Asher nodded.

“I know... but I only found you recently.”

Elena said,

“There are other surgeons in the country who can perform this operation.”

She couldn’t understand why he was so insistent on having her perform the surgery.

Asher paused for a moment before saying,

“Perhaps you’re right... but I don’t want to take any chances, no matter how small.”

Dr. Wright’s reputation extended far beyond the country.

She had trained under one of the greatest neurosurgeons in the world and had since become one of the most skilled surgeons in her field.

That was why Asher had preferred to wait until he found her rather than expose Lillian to even the slightest possibility of failure.

Hearing this, Elena felt a pang in her heart.

She thought,

“So, Asher... you’re capable of caring this much. Then why couldn’t you show even a fraction of that concern to the wife you couldn’t even be bothered to see? Your own wife... or rather, your ex-wife.”

She wasn’t upset because she loved him. It was because he had wounded her pride.

Ever since childhood, Elena had been ambitious, always striving to excel at everything she did.

Her marriage to Asher had been the only failure in her life, and it had left her feeling deeply humiliated.

She didn’t mind that he had never fallen in love with her.

What she couldn’t accept was that he hadn’t even bothered to see her.

Especially with her fiercely proud personality, that was something she could never tolerate.

She had assumed that they would never meet again after the divorce.

Yet here he was, asking for her help to save the woman he loved.

He had trampled all over her pride.

And yet, she still couldn’t bring herself to abandon a patient in need, which only made her feel more frustrated.

She looked at him and said,

“Mr. Bennett, don’t celebrate too soon. It’s true that I’ve agreed to treat Miss Hayes, but I have conditions.”

She had decided to make him pay a steep price. Otherwise, she would feel as though she were getting the short end of the deal.

Asher replied calmly,

“Go ahead. Tell me what they are.”

In fact, he felt relieved to hear that she had conditions.

It made things easier for him.

Elena thought for a moment before saying,

“I’m in the process of establishing a research laboratory, and I need funding and equipment.”

He answered immediately,

“No problem. The Bennett family will take care of it.”

She continued,

“Silverton Hospital is also lacking the latest surgical equipment.”

Without hesitation, he replied,

“We’ll provide that as well.”

He would have provided the equipment even if she hadn’t asked for it, because he wasn’t willing to take any risk with Lillian’s life.

He agreed to all her demands without the slightest hesitation.

Elena glanced at him and said softly,

“Mr. Bennett, I’m surprised. It seems you’re willing to do anything for Miss Hayes.”

He nodded.

“Yes. She’s very important to me.”

Then, privately, he added the real reason.

He was indebted to her brother, who had once saved his life, and caring for Lillian had been his final wish.

Elena, however, misunderstood.

“So... his heart is cold only toward me. Fine. Why should I care anyway? Our marriage is over, and after this surgery, we’ll be complete strangers to each other.”

Then she suddenly said,

“Since you’re being so generous, Mr. Bennett, why don’t you donate a new building to the hospital as well? We desperately need an additional inpatient building.”

Silverton Hospital’s facilities were modest, and it had a limited number of beds, preventing many patients from receiving the treatment they needed.

Elena believed that making him donate a building would benefit the entire medical community.

Asher’s expression darkened immediately.

He gritted his teeth and said irritably,

“Dr. Wright, it seems you’re only thinking about the interests of your hospital.”

The funding and equipment alone would cost him millions, and now she was asking him to provide an entire building, which would cost considerably more.

But Elena didn’t care if she angered him.

She said calmly,

“It seems you’re unwilling to do that. I’m not forcing you... but as for Miss Hayes —”

Asher interrupted through gritted teeth,

“I’ll donate it.”

She had known he would agree.

For Lillian’s sake, he was willing to pay any price.

Then he asked her sternly, his intimidating presence making the air around them feel heavy,

“Do you have any other conditions? Tell me all of them at once.”

He looked as though he might strangle her if she added another demand.

But Elena knew when to stop.

Besides, even if he refused to give her anything, she would save Lillian anyway.

She felt that she had already gotten enough.

She shook her head.

“That’s everything.”

He then asked,

“Then... when will we perform the surgery?”

“As soon as the equipment arrives, we can begin.”

“The equipment will arrive tomorrow.”

He looked at her with utmost seriousness.

“Dr. Wright... please save Lillian.”