Chapter 5

Seeing Claire step out of the operating theatre, Mark hurried forward. “Why are you out? How’s my dad?”

“I have an urgent call to take. Just a second.”

She answered the call, and Ryan’s voice echoed through the phone. Her expression instantly shifted.

“Ryan, don’t panic! I’ll be right over!”

As soon as she hung up, she walked away.

Mark grabbed her arm, asking, “Where are you going?”

“Something urgent came up on Ryan’s end. I have to go there right now.”

“What will happen to my dad if you leave?”

Claire pried his fingers off her arm. “There’s an entire medical team watching over your dad. Nothing will go wrong just because I’m absent. Have the attending doctor step in for now. I’ll take a quick look and come back right away.”

With that, she turned around and walked briskly into the elevator. Mark ran after her, but the elevator doors shut right in his face.

“Claire! Come back!”

The doors to the operating theatre opened once again, and the attending doctor stepped out, looking around.

“Where’s Dr. Baker? The IABP hasn’t been inserted yet!”

Mark muttered weakly, “She left.”

The doctor’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief. “She left? The patient could go into cardiac arrest at any moment! How could she leave right now? This is ridiculous. She’s usually the strictest about procedure and rules. What’s gotten into her today? This is the first time I’ve ever seen her abandon a patient on the operating table.”

Mark choked up. “She said to leave it to you… Doctor, please save my father…”

The doctor gritted his teeth and replied, “I’ll do my best.”

As he watched the doctor step back into the operating theatre, Mark slid down against the wall and onto the floor.

Two hours passed before the doctor finally pushed the doors open and walked out.

“The IABP insertion was successful, and the patient’s condition has stabilized for now. However, we must get Dr. Sloan to perform the surgery within a week.”

Mark took a deep breath. “I understand. I’ll find a way to contact Dr. Sloan.”

The attending doctor shook his head. “Dr. Baker really is something. It’s just a phone call. How would that be a breach of ethics? Besides, you two are getting married soon. How could she–”

A bitter sorrow washed over Mark as he said, “We’re not getting married anymore.”

The attending doctor sighed. “You should handle the admission procedures first. Between the surgery cost and the subsequent ICU care fees, you’ll need to prepare around fifty thousand dollars. Pay the money as soon as possible so the hospital can arrange the follow-up treatment and medications.”

Fifty thousand dollars.

Mark clutched the receipts tightly in his hand. Fortunately, he and Claire had accumulated some cash savings, so he immediately took a taxi home to retrieve it. However, when he opened the safe where they kept the cash, it was nowhere to be found.

He clearly remembered putting it right there. How could it be missing? He even searched every possible place they could have kept it and still could not find it.

Just then, the sound of a key turning came from the doorway.

Claire walked in and asked, “What are you looking for?”

Mark turned around, his face pale. “Where’s our cash savings?”

Claire set down her bag. “Ryan was short on cash with the project he’s launching since coming home, so I lent him some money to tide him over.”