When My Child's Life Is Not Your Priority

"It's the same, ma'am. This card has also been blocked," the cashier said, shaking her head.

Tere stood frozen in place. Every joint in her body felt weak, and cold sweat began to cover her forehead. She tried taking out a third card, a fourth card, and finally the last card in her wallet. Every one of them failed. Every single card had been blocked simultaneously, without exception.

With trembling hands, Tere dialed Xandes's phone number. The call was forwarded and connected on the third ring.

"Xandes... please..." Tere's voice broke when she heard the call being answered on the other end. "All the financial cards I have have been blocked. The hospital needs the deposit payment now for Ana's surgery. There's severe bleeding in her brain, Xandes. She needs to be operated on immediately!"

There was no panic, concern, or shock on the other end of the line. All Tere could hear was the sound of steady breathing and a flat voice that was enough to freeze the blood in her veins.

"I was the one who ordered the bank to block all those cards," Xandes replied without hesitation.

Tere flinched violently, her eyes widening in disbelief. "What? Xandes, this is about Ana's life! Our daughter needs brain surgery right now!"

"I won't pay a single penny for that naughty child's surgery," Xandes replied coldly, without the slightest burden in his voice.

"Xandes! She's your own biological daughter!" Tere screamed down the quiet hospital corridor, causing several staff members and other patients' families to turn toward her in shock. "She could die if she doesn't get surgery immediately! Please, unblock the cards or transfer the surgery costs right now! I'm begging you, Xandes... I'll get down on my knees if that's what you want..."

"Ana has to learn to accept the consequences of the evil things she's done," Xandes cut in quickly, his tone completely unmoved. "She pushed Cleo and hurt him. The injury to Cleo's arm requires special treatment from a specialist. Let Ana learn from her mistake this time. Besides, aren't you her mother? If you really care about her, find the money yourself."

"Xandes, she's only five years old! She never pushed anyone! She..."

Beep... beep... beep...

The call was abruptly disconnected from the other end.

Tere gripped her phone tightly, her entire body trembling violently from the overwhelming anger and desperation.

The phone screen slowly fading to black reflected the image of her disheveled face, wet with tears and covered in bloodstains from her own daughter.

The emergency room door suddenly opened. The doctor treating Ana stepped out with an increasingly urgent and anxious expression.

"Mrs. Tere, what about the administrative arrangements?" the doctor asked firmly. "Ana's condition is becoming more critical inside. Her blood pressure has dropped drastically, and her heartbeat is getting weaker. If the surgery isn't paid for immediately, we can't continue the medical procedure to treat this bleeding."

Tere stood frozen in front of the operating room door. The doctor's firm words echoed loudly in her ears, mingling with the silence of the phone call that had just been abruptly ended by her own husband.

She looked through the small clear window in the operating room door. Inside, Ana's tiny body lay rigidly on the medical bed, fighting alone on the thin boundary between life and death, without any help from her biological father. All because Xandes had chosen to believe the accusation that Ana had hurt the child of the woman who had once been his first love.

At that moment, a bitter truth burned through Tere's chest. Xandes had not merely neglected Ana. The man had consciously and deliberately allowed his own biological daughter to die in order to prioritize another woman's child.

Tere clenched her fists. Her tears stopped falling, replaced by a gaze filled with desperation that had transformed into anger.

She turned to the doctor, her voice suddenly cold and resolute. "Perform the surgery now, Doctor. I will get the money, no matter what it costs."

The doctor stared intently at Tere for several seconds. Out of pity, he made an immediate decision. "All right. We will prepare the surgical team now. As for the administration, I will ask the hospital to give you until tomorrow morning."

"Thank you for your kindness, Doctor."

When the operating room door closed tightly again, Tere stepped backward. She no longer held her phone to contact Xandes. That man was already dead in her heart. Now, Tere knew the only thing she had to do was save her daughter, then repay every drop of Ana's blood that had been spilled tonight.

Tere walked quickly toward the hospital exit, ignoring the curious looks from people at her bloodstained clothes. She thought desperately about how to get the money for Ana's surgery.

Tere touched the bottom of her bag and remembered an old business card she had not used in years.

Tere stared at the card for several seconds. She had no other choice. With trembling fingers, she dialed the phone number on the business card and pressed her phone to her ear.

"Marvin... it's me, Tere," she said in a trembling voice when the call was answered. "I need your help tonight. Send me one million dollars..." Tere took a deep breath before continuing. "I will leave Xandes and accept your offer."