Home / The Money for My Grandson’s Surgery Disappeared / Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

All Chapters of The Money for My Grandson’s Surgery Disappeared: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1

“Grandpa, is the surgery going to hurt?”The feel of Ben Xander’s small hand on my leg snapped me out of my daze.I looked down at his pale face and pulled him into my arms, sobbing.He was still so young.How could he have died in a hospital bed?As I held him, my mind went back to the question that had haunted me even after death.Where had the money I paid the hospital gone?I’d personally checked the card before handing it over. I knew the money had been there.The thought made my heart jump.I immediately grabbed Ryan and took him to an ATM.The balance was right there.Twenty thousand dollars.Only then did I breathe a little easier.Ryan and I went straight to the hospital cashier’s desk and handed the card to the billing clerk on duty.“Once we pay this, the surgery can go ahead tomorrow, right?”I watched with my own eyes as he ran the card and processed the payment.Only when he told me it had gone through did I finally relax.“Thank God. Ben’s going to be ok

Chapter 2

I tore through the hospital and caught up with the visiting surgeon by the elevators.She had her suitcase with her, and she didn’t look happy.“Sir, it’s not that I don’t want to save your grandson. The hospital says you haven’t paid. I can’t exactly perform the surgery for free.”I grabbed the handle of her suitcase and refused to let go, tears streaming down my face.“Doctor, please. Give us one more chance. I’ll pay right now. This time I’ll transfer the money directly so there’s a record of it.”She hesitated, then glanced at her watch.“My flight leaves in an hour and a half. If you can get everything sorted out before then, I’ll cancel it and stay.”I thanked her over and over, then turned and ran for the hospital cashier’s desk.On the way, I called Ryan.“Ryan, send me your bank information. I’ll transfer the money straight to you, and you can pay the hospital yourself.”His voice shook.“Dad, I thought there was no money on your card.”“There is! Something’s wrong

Chapter 3

I dragged Ryan into the bank.He looked thoroughly fed up with me, but he still followed me to the teller window.I slid my ID and bank card across the counter.“I want to withdraw twenty thousand dollars. All of it in cash.”This was the account where I kept my retirement savings.It was the last money I had.The teller checked the account, then looked up at me.“Sir, your balance is $20,074. You want to withdraw twenty thousand?”I nodded, my fingers digging into the edge of the counter.The teller counted out the cash, bundled it, and placed the thick stacks on the counter.“Sir, please count it.”I didn’t.I pushed the money straight toward Ryan.“You count it.”He froze for a second, then carefully counted through the bills.“Twenty thousand. It’s all here.”I stuffed the cash into a canvas bag, clutched it tightly against my chest, and pulled him back toward the hospital.The same billing clerk was still at the hospital cashier’s desk.I set the bag on the count

Chapter 4

I stood frozen in place, cold all over.Ryan’s words cut deep, but I didn’t have time to fall apart.There was only one thing I could do.I immediately called the visiting surgeon.“Doctor, please give us one more chance. I’ll sell the house. Once it sells, I’ll have the money. I swear I’ll pay the surgical fee.”There was silence on the other end for a few seconds.“Sir, do you know how many times I’ve changed my flight because of you?“Four.“I have other patients who need me too. You keep putting this off over and over again. Do you really want your grandson treated or not?”I knew exactly what she was implying.I begged her desperately.“Doctor, I swear I mean it this time. I’ll sell the house right away. The second I get the money, I’ll pay.“Just give me one more day. Please. That’s all I’m asking.”She sighed.“All right. One last day.”I didn’t even have time to grieve.I told Ryan to give me one final day, then rushed to the police station.But after going thr

Chapter 5

Ryan’s hand froze in midair.He stared at me blankly.“Dad, what did you just say?”I rushed over, grabbed his wrist, and pulled him away from the window.“I said I know where the money went.”He looked at me with nothing but disappointment.“You’re going to start lying again?“Dad, don’t you think you’ve gone too far? What do you even want from me after putting me through all this?“Just leave, okay? I’d rather not have a father at all!”His words cut deep, but I forced myself to ignore the pain.I needed him to hear me out.“It was Lina!”I tightened my grip on his wrist.“Listen to me. Lina planned all of this!”Ryan’s eyes widened in shock.He yanked his arm away from me.“Have you lost your mind?“She’s dead! She died in the line of duty five years ago!“If I’d known you were going to treat me like this, I never would’ve put all my faith in you!”I hadn’t expected him to shove me away so hard.My legs gave out, and I stumbled backward into a storage cabinet.T

Chapter 6

Ryan stared at the enlarged photo, looking as if the life had been drained out of him.“So the money at the hospital was her doing too?”I nodded.“Do you remember what Lina did for a living?”Ryan hesitated.“She studied computer engineering. She was an IT manager at a tech company.”“What kind of work did she handle?”Ryan’s expression slowly changed.“Her company maintained the computer systems for a lot of hospitals across the city.”Neither of us spoke for a moment.Then Ryan understood what I was getting at, and his face went pale.Lina knew those hospital systems inside and out.She knew how the payment records worked, how patient accounts were managed, and where the security system had weaknesses.If she still had access, she could erase payment records, alter account information, and even make sure the security footage conveniently missed the moments that mattered.I continued, “And there has to be something wrong with the account tied to Lina’s death benefits to

Chapter 7

The man holding Lina was the hospital billing clerk.The second I saw her in his arms, everything finally clicked.Why had all three of my payments disappeared?Why was there never any record of them in the hospital system?Why had the security cameras somehow failed to capture the exact moments that mattered?Lina’s company maintained computer systems for hospitals all over the city.And this man worked at the hospital cashier’s desk.She could manipulate the system, and he could cover for her from inside the hospital.Together, they could erase every trace.Lina turned her head and spotted us.Fear flashed across her face.As I stared at her, memories from years ago came rushing back.When Lina first got pregnant, she had been thrilled.She talked to the baby every day, went to bed early, and made sure she ate properly.Then, at her six-month checkup, she found out she was having a boy.After that, everything changed.She started traveling for work constantly and no l

Chapter 8

Lina’s face went completely white.The little girl stayed planted in front of her, glaring at Ryan and me as if she could protect her mother from us.The billing clerk rushed over, scooped the girl into his arms, and took off.Lina tried to run too, but Ryan grabbed the back of her shirt and slapped her again.“You still think you can run?”I stared at the three of them.Then I looked at the little girl, who was about the same age as Ben.Suddenly, everything fell into place.Lina must have met the billing clerk years ago, when she was working on the hospital’s computer systems.Something had probably already been going on between them back then. They had just kept it hidden.After Ben was born, Lina seemed to grow more and more unhappy with her life.All those business trips she claimed she had to take probably had nothing to do with work.She had been sneaking around with another man.And not long after Ben was born, she got pregnant again.This time, she was thrilled.

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