Natalie frowned. She hated Lauren’s hypocrisy, so her voice grew a decibel louder.
“Oh, cut the crap and give me my money. What? Are you trying to deny it? If that’s the case, I will tell everyone the truth about how this marriage is a hoax.”
George and Lauren attached great importance to their reputation. The truth would tear their facade and reveal their true faces. It would be a huge blow on their image.
“All right, Natalie. That’s enough. Let’s stop arguing. Some people have returned the money they owed us. How about I give you one hundred thousand first?” George looked around and saw the people watching him. He wanted to deal with Natalie as soon as possible and return to his business.
He took out a bank card from his pocket and placed it on Natalie’s palm. “There is one hundred thousand in this card. I’ll send the pin number to you later.”
Natalie silently took the card. George was better than Lauren. He was at least an honest man.
Ever since Natalie was a child, her adoptive father had been neutral toward her. He neither cared for her nor tortured her in any way. He didn’t hate Natalie as much as Lauren and Cassie did. But he was too weak that he listened to the two women’s every word, and never bothered to stop them when they bullied Natalie.
Natalie looked at the card and nodded. “Okay.”
“Well, you better leave now. I will give you the rest of the money soon.” George smiled apologetically.
The one hundred thousand was more than all the money they had given Natalie before. Natalie looked at Lauren and saw that she was appalled by what her husband had done. She sensed that getting more money today was impossible, so she finally left.
Lauren’s eyes blazed with rage as she watched Natalie leave. “Are you crazy?” she growled, pinching her husband’s arm. “The wires have come loose in your head! One hundred thousand? Are you kidding me? Why did you give her so much money?”
George sighed and tried to persuade her, “What’s the matter with you? You promised to give Natalie money before. One hundred thousand is far from enough.”
Lauren was burning with anger. Her husband’s words infuriated her. “That’s not true.” She leered. “Natalie is our adopted daughter. We adopted her when she was little. We have fed her and supported her all these years. Marrying Sebastian would be her way of repaying us for everything we have done for her. How could she demand money from us? You’re too kindhearted.”
“Yes, Dad. Why did you give that bitch money? You have no idea how badly she bullied me at the banquet last time!” Cassie gnashed her teeth as she saw Natalie’s receding figure.
Looking at the indignant mother and daughter in front of him, George shook his head and walked into the club without saying anything.
Lauren followed him inside. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
She felt she had to end this. Otherwise, Natalie would continue to ask her for money.
Lauren glanced at her phone. Just then, an idea occurred to her. She pursed her lips and dialed a number.
“Good evening, doctor. I’m Lauren Quinn. Is there a patient named Hannah Stone in your hospital who needs a liver transplant? Yes, that’s her name. As we talked before, doctor, your promotion is kind of in my hands. Now I’m in trouble, and I need your help. Could you do me a favor?”
Moments later, Lauren hung up the phone and took a sip of the black tea. Her red nail polish dazzled under the lights.
“Mom, why are you grinning happily?” Cassie quickly descended the stairs and stood beside her mother, eyeing her with curiosity.
A faint smile stretched across Lauren’s lips. “Well, good news. I have connections with a few people in the hospital. I secretly asked someone to give the suitable liver they had allocated for Hannah to someone else. Let’s see how long the old woman can hold on.”
Cassie was putting on lipstick, looking at herself in the mirror. “That’s great, Mom. That old bat should have died a long time ago. She has been relying on our money to survive. She is already in her eighties. It’s time for her to die.”
Natalie put a call through to the hospital as soon as she got home.
She didn’t have all the money yet for Hannah’s medical bills, but it was good news that the hospital had found the perfect match liver.
Money was hard to come by these days. Natalie had barely had time to work for it. From her calculations, the money she had wouldn’t be enough, but she still wanted to communicate with the hospital. She wanted to inquire if the operation could be carried out and she would pay the balance later.
“Hello, I’m the relative of the patient that needs a liver transplant. Her name is Hannah Stone. I want to make an inquiry. A perfect match liver has been found for her, right? How soon can she get the transplant?” Holding her phone pressed to her ear with one hand, Natalie put all the food she had bought into the fridge with the other.
“Did you say Hannah Stone? Please wait for a moment. I need to check our database. Oh, I’m so sorry, ma’am. We were just about to call you. A few minutes ago, we received a call from our superior. The liver can’t be used for her anymore. The patient who wanted to be euthanized and donate the liver has decided to continue treatment instead. Since there’s no matching donor, you would have to wait.”
The vegetable Natalie was holding fell to the floor as soon as she heard this news.
It was a bolt out of the blue for her. She suddenly froze like a statue.
“Why did the patient have a change of heart? How come? Why? No, no… I didn’t mean… But…” The shock was too much that Natalie could barely think straight, let alone speak coherently.
Although she badly wanted the liver to be donated to Hannah, she couldn’t decide the potential donor’s life and death.
“Is there any other matching livers?” she asked anxiously.
“I’m sorry, ma’am. We understand how you feel. However, there’s nothing we can do to help you now. Your relative isn’t the only patient waiting in line for a liver transplant. You will be contacted when another perfect donor comes forward. Have a great day,” the nurse said and then hung up the phone.
