The Person Missing From The Corridor

"Why can't my mother use these medical resources? No one else is using them right now!" Lily rushed to the hospital's executive floor and glared at Ninian.

"The equipment is free at certain times only." Ninian sat in her chair and checked her watch. "It's free tomorrow. You can drop by tomorrow."

Lily stared at her in disbelief. "What did you say? My mother is in critical condition! She can't wait until tomorrow!"

"Those are the rules. Why do others have to wait but you can't? Are you trying to get special treatment just because you're Shaun's wife? You rich people are so shameless," Ninian said coolly.

Lily's hands trembled.

Thinking of her mother lying in the hospital bed, barely clinging to life, she swallowed all her hurt and humiliation. "What will it take for you to let my mother use them?"

"I told you. Just come here tomorrow. Security, drag her out!" Ninian snapped.

The security guards grabbed Lily's arms, but she kept fighting back. She yelled in a choked voice, "It's just one day! I can pay you double. My mother's about to die!"

But Ninian refused to budge. The doctor standing nearby did not dare say anything. As she stared at these people, Lily clenched her fists in anger.

When she saw Shaun walking toward her, hope rose in her heart once again. "Shaun, my mother's dying, but they refuse to treat her! Tell them to save her!"

Breaking free from the guards, she ran toward Shaun in tears.

Upon seeing her tearful, swollen eyes, pity flashed in Shaun's eyes for a moment.

"Shaun, are you going to break the rules? You're the one who told me that these things were mine to manage." Ninian shot to her feet.

"But Lily's mother…"

"If other people can wait, why can't she? Is this how you rich people do things? If that's the case, I won't be managing the equipment anymore. I'd rather go back to the mountains. Just pretend that I never saved you."

Ninian tossed the documents in her hands with a huff.

Shaun immediately let go of Lily and rushed over to Ninian. "Why are you mad? Did I say I was going to interfere?"

Those words made Lily's face turn pale, and she had to lean against the wall because she could no longer support herself. "What are you saying? Shaun, that's your mother-in-law!

"How could you not save her?! She's in critical condition! She can't wait!"

Tears blurred her vision, but even so, she could see Shaun comforting Ninian.

It was December, and a bone-deep chill crept up from the soles of her feet until it consumed her entire body.

"Lily, she can hang on for another day. I'll get the best doctors to watch over her. These are Ninian's rules. Just come here tomorrow. Be good now."

Her ears rang.

At that moment, she felt like she could no longer hear the sounds from the world around her. The pain in her chest spread little by little through her entire body, and blood welled in her mouth.