Chapter 16: Surgery Day

Not long after, the door to the private room swung open.

A line of striking women filed in.

Ethan looked them over, clearly pleased with himself.

Every one of them wore a black blazer, black-rimmed glasses, some even clutching folders dressed, deliberately, to look like Joy.

He grinned. "Well? I had this specially arranged dressed just like your Miss Bennett. Go on, don't just stand there, pour Mr. Cross a drink."

One sauntered over to Nathaniel, perfume hitting him in a thick wave.

She leaned in low, letting her blouse gape open, reaching for the glass in his hand.

"Mr. Cross, I'm here to keep you company..."

Nathaniel's stomach turned.

Misreading his silence, she leaned in further, hand still outstretched.

Crack!

The crystal glass shattered against the wall, wine running down the plaster like blood.

Everyone froze, exchanging startled glances.

Nathaniel lifted his head slowly, eyes bloodshot and dangerous, voice like ice.

"Touch me again, and you'll end up like that glass."

The woman went white, legs shaking, looking to Ethan in desperation.

Ethan, equally rattled, surveyed the wreckage and sighed, waving them off.

"Out. Everyone out. Now."

The women bolted for the door like they'd been granted a stay of execution, heels clattering.

A waiter nervously swept up the glass and poured a fresh round.

Nathaniel kept drinking, glass after glass, like he was trying to drown something.

Ethan didn't dare stop him just sat there, matching him drink for drink out of pure loyalty.

Watching his friend finally pass out cold on the couch, Ethan rubbed his temples and muttered to himself, wry and exhausted.

"Must've owed you something in a past life..."

"If I dropped dead right here tonight, half my family would be lining up to thank you personally."

Meanwhile, at Meridian City General.

Joy sat on a cold plastic bench, body trembling faintly.

Zoe held her hand tight, trying to pass warmth through her fingers, voice gentle as if soothing a child.

"Joy, don't be scared. I looked it up this procedure's fast. You'll basically just nap through the anesthesia."

"I'll bring you soup after, all the right nutrients. Give it some rest and you'll bounce right back."

Joy managed a pale, thin smile. "I know. I'm not scared."

"Miss Bennett?"

A nurse appeared at the door with a chart, voice flat and clinical. "Come with me. Time to prep."

Joy took a breath like she was walking to her own execution.

She handed her bag to Zoe. "Hold this for me."

Zoe nodded hard, eyes brimming. "I'll be right here when you're done."

Joy had barely turned to go

Buzz

The bag in Zoe's hands started vibrating.

She checked the screen. "Joy it's your grandpa."

Joy stopped mid-step.

She turned back, apologizing to the already-impatient nurse. "Sorry I need to take this. One second."

The nurse frowned, checking her watch. "Make it quick. There's a line, and the doctor doesn't have all day."

"Right away."

Joy answered, forcing brightness into her voice. "Grandpa"

But it wasn't him. A different voice came through frantic, tearful.

"Joy, something's happened! Your grandfather he's sick!"

The blood drained from Joy's face, her chest tightening painfully.

"Aunt Sue, slow down. Tell me what happened."

"He spiked a fever in the middle of the night, out of nowhere. Got so delirious he collapsed. The neighbor helped me get him to the county hospital."

Aunt Sue's voice shook, words tumbling out of order.

"They ran tests and and they found something. A mass. Said the county hospital can't handle it, that we need a bigger hospital, a real specialist"

"Joy, what do we do? Could it be could it be cancer?"

"Aunt Sue." Joy forced her voice steady, though it was already cracking. "I'm coming right now. We'll figure out the rest when I get there."

She hung up, swaying slightly on her feet.

"Are you finished?" the nurse pressed.

Joy turned to her, shaking her head blankly. "I don't have time for this anymore."

The nurse clicked her tongue, rolling her eyes, tucking the chart under her arm.

"No time? Everything's prepped and you're just walking away? Young people these days, so impulsive. Do you know how much this wastes?"

She called over her shoulder to another nurse. "Patient's withdrawing."

Joy's fist clenched at her side, trembling.

Zoe rushed to steady her. "What is it? What happened?"

Joy turned to her, eyes wide with panic.

"Zoe, I have to go home. Right now. My grandfather's sick it might be a tumor, they want to transfer him somewhere bigger."

She pulled free of Zoe's grip, hands shaking as she pulled up a ticket app.

"I need to get him here. To Meridian City. For real treatment."

Her fingers fumbled through the screen twice before she managed to book the next flight out.

Without a word, Zoe grabbed her own bag. "I'm coming with you. Easier with two of us."

Joy nodded, and the two of them headed straight for the airport, no time to even swing by home for a suitcase.

They landed and went directly to the county hospital.

The moment Aunt Sue saw Joy, something in her seemed to finally give way, tears spilling freely.

"Joy you're here."

Joy steadied her voice. "How is he? He doesn't know, does he?"

Aunt Sue shook her head. "No, we haven't said anything. He thinks it's just exhaustion and a fever."

"Good." Joy nodded, jaw set. "I want to talk to the doctor."

The doctor's office felt heavy, the air thick with something unspoken.

"We suspect diffuse large B-cell lymphoma." The doctor tapped the shadow on the scan, tone grave. "Our equipment here isn't sophisticated enough to confirm it definitively. I'd strongly recommend transferring him to a major hospital immediately."

Joy's nails dug into her palms, face carefully composed. "Understood. I'll take him to Meridian City."

Before heading back to the room, she took a breath, rubbed some feeling back into her frozen cheeks, forced a warm smile, and pushed the door open.

"Grandpa."

Walter lay propped against the pillows, an IV in his arm, and his face lit with surprise and worry all at once.

"It's just a little fever why'd Sue drag you all the way out here? Won't this mess up your work?"

Joy sat on the edge of the bed and took his rough, weathered hand in hers, easy and natural.

"Grandpa, I already rented us a place in the city. I came to surprise you pick you up myself. I only found out you were sick when I got to the house and you weren't there.”