Chapter 2

Tears streamed down my face.

“Thank you, Uncle Oswald! Did you send the money yet?”

He sighed and said, “I transferred it to Max. He insisted on adding his Amex Black Card as a payment method on my account a while back. He said it was so he could cover dinner whenever we ate out together.”

My heart dropped. I hung up abruptly and rushed back to the hallway.

Max was holding his phone, staring at the incoming transfer notification on the screen.

I lunged at him and grabbed his arm tightly.

“Uncle Oswald sent you the money, didn’t he? Hurry! Go swipe your card at the cashier and put that twenty thousand toward the deposit now!”

Max rolled his eyes and slipped his phone into his pocket, then clamped his hand over it.

“No way! That money is off-limits right now.”

“Why? That’s the money to save my mother’s life!”

Max snorted and pointed at me. “I already talked to the chief of cardiothoracic surgery. He did us a huge favor.

“I’ve got to use these twenty thousand dollars to buy a couple of cartons of premium cigarettes and treat the chief to a fine dinner. You need to show a little appreciation, you know?

“That’s how the world works, sweetheart. You keep the chief happy, and the surgery is basically a done deal.”

I looked at him in utter disbelief.

At that moment, we did not even have enough money for the surgery, yet he was thinking of using the life-saving funds to treat strangers and build connections.

“Give me that money!”

I reached for his pocket.

“Back off! Learn some manners!”

Max flew into a rage and slapped me.

He straightened his wrinkled collar and put on a helpless expression as he sighed to the onlookers.

“I’m sorry you all had to see that. My wife isn’t quite right in the head. She gets triggered easily.

“She acts crazy at home all the time. I put up with it every single day. Honestly, what did I do to deserve this?”

I touched my face and collapsed onto the floor. I felt completely defeated.

Just then, an elderly white-haired doctor passed by with a ward-round cart.

Seeing my state, he frowned and walked over to ask what had happened.

After learning about my situation, he let out a sigh and said, “Saving the patient is what matters right now. I’m Mark Myer, the associate director of cardiac surgery. I’ll use my hospital badge to guarantee the deposit for you. Go pick up the supplies first.”

I was overwhelmed with gratitude as I thanked Mark repeatedly.

“Thank you so much! You just saved my mother’s life!”

Mark pulled out his pen and was about to sign the guarantee form.

Then, a large hand reached over, snatched the form away, and tore it to shreds.

Max looked at Mark with an arrogant expression.

“Stay out of it, old man! This doesn’t concern you.

“I’ve got a reputation to maintain. If word gets out that my own mother-in-law needed some other guy to cosign for her surgery, I’d be a laughingstock.

“People’d think I’m some broke loser who can’t even scrape together thirty thousand dollars.”

Mark turned pale with anger. He pointed at Max and was speechless for a moment.

“Are you out of your mind?! We’re talking about human life here!”

Max looked down at him in contempt.

Mark stormed off in a huff.

‘That heartless monster!’ I thought.

I sprang up from the floor and bit down hard on his wrist.

Just then, the nurse rushed out of the resuscitation room again and shouted at me.

“Her blood pressure just crashed! We can’t find a pulse anymore!

“Have you paid or not?! If you don’t pay right now, we have to stop treatment!”

Hearing this, I stopped and stood in front of Max.

“Please, Max, I’ll do anything! Just take out that twenty thousand dollars that my uncle set aside and use it!

“Just think of it as a loan! I’ll spend the rest of my life paying you back!”

Max held his bloody wrist and looked at me in disgust.

“Enough with the begging already! You’re humiliating yourself.

“The truth is, I don’t have it anymore.”