Chapter 6

"Miss, this isn't about money." The doctor pried my fingers loose one by one. There was no sympathy in his eyes. There was only fear. "Ms. Ziegler made it very clear. Anyone who stays in that operating room today will lose their jobs tomorrow."

No matter how hard I begged, the doctors left one after another. The operating room doors slowly closed.

Nora lay alone on the operating table. She could have made it through in another thirty minutes. Instead, she lay there with her chest wide open and waiting to die.

My phone vibrated. A message from Julie popped up. She was reclining against the master bed with a damp towel against her forehead. Her complexion looked healthy and rosy. There was fresh lipstick on her lips. Seven or eight doctors surrounded her. There were even two carts full of medical equipment nearby.

Steven sat by the bed and personally fed her soup.

I could sense her gloating through the message.

[Kelly, weren't you the one who wanted money instead of people? How does it feel to watch your daughter die right in front of you?]

Time moved ever so slowly. If this continued, the anesthesia would wear off. Nora would wake up and die in agony. I called Steven over and over. Every attempt ended with the same cold automated voice. He never bothered to answer.

The heart monitor's rhythm grew weaker and weaker. I turned on the video recording function on my phone. I then dropped to my knees and started begging.

"Julie, you can have Steven to yourself. Please let the doctors come back, will you?"

I kept begging.

"I'll return to you all the money he transferred to me!"

I didn't stop there.

"Once Nora's surgery is over, I swear I'll disappear for good. I'll never bother either of you again for the rest of my life!"

Less than ten seconds after I sent the video, Steven called back.

"Kelly! Julie was just feeling a little dizzy. What's wrong with having doctors check on her? What kind of pathetic stunt are you pulling now?" He yelled angrily until his voice turned hoarse.

"Are you willing to risk Nora's life just to frame Julie? Have you completely lost your mind?"

Julie's weak voice came through. "Steven, it's my fault. My body just had to act up while Nora was in surgery."

Steven snorted. "Kelly, is this little performance supposed to remind me I haven't paid you yet? I swear, money is all you think about."

The line went dead. Immediately afterward, a deposit notification appeared. Countless news alerts began popping up on my phone.

[Donna Graham is obsessed with money. She rented out her husband and home. She even put her daughter's life on the line. She's absolutely heartless. How could she stop her daughter's open-heart surgery just to frame someone else and extort money?]

After reading that, I began receiving countless phone calls and text messages. It was all to harass and curse at me.

I hung up one call after another with trembling hands while desperately contacting other hospitals, but no one wanted to offend Julie.

More and more reporters gathered outside. The camera flashes never stopped. Someone even tried forcing open emergency exits to break into the operating room and film.

I threw myself in front of the doors and shoved them away like a madwoman. "Get away from here! All of you, get out!"

Meanwhile, Steven felt increasingly restless. He repeatedly unlocked his phone, stared at the lit screen, and locked it again. He tapped on the armrest.

"Nora is still in surgery. Maybe I've taken this too far."

He glanced at Julie. She was sitting comfortably in bed and drinking soup while eight doctors hovered around her.

He was about to stand up when Julie wrapped her hand around his arm. "Steven, if you go now, won't that just let Kelly know that throwing tantrums works? Once she gets what she wants this way, she'll do it again every time she wants something. Eventually, the entire family will know you married a shrew."

Her voice softened. She pressed a hand against her forehead and coughed softly. "Besides, there are plenty of people at the hospital. Nora will be fine. Steven, I'm still feeling a little dizzy. Stay with me a little longer, won't you?"

Steven slowly sat back down. He tossed his phone onto the nightstand. "She's getting more and more unreasonable. Maybe it's time she learned a lesson."

What he didn't know was that a few hours later, the hospital security footage would drive him completely insane.