Chapter Thirteen

John felt his world spin….

“Dad…” Cole screamed as he ran to catch John before he fell. John had a sickly pallor and his eyes were fluttering.

Caroline caught up to them and ordered, “Cole, call the ambulance.”

“Okay.” Cole said with a shaking voice. As he pulled out his phone to call the hospital, Caroline tried her best to resuscitate her uncle. She had no first aid knowledge but she carried John over to the sofa, laid down flat in hopes of easing his breaths.

The landlord and the gathered crowd were shocked by the sudden turn of events. The crowd slowly dispersed, afraid that they would be roped into a nasty situation if anything serious was to befall John.

“This has nothing to do with me, I barely touched him. He fainted on his own,” the landlord said hurriedly as he made to leave. Caroline lifted her head and shot him a withering glance. It stopped him in his tracks.

The startled landlord said, “I told you I had nothing to do with it, I won’t let you pin it on me!”

“If you leave now, I swear I will use every ounce of my energy to take you to court. Leave if you dare.” Caroline said with a smile. Her tone was eerily friendly considering her threat. The landlord wanted to argue some more but Caroline had already turned her head away. Flustered, he stood right there, heeding her warning….

After the ambulance came and John was carried away in a stretcher, Caroline took deliberate steps towards the landlord. Sizing up the small and thin woman before him, the landlord inexplicably heard his inner voice telling him that this woman was not to be crossed. Then he started to have second thoughts. He was physically so much stronger than her that he could possibly strangle her with just one hand, so why was he so afraid of her?

Before he could do anything though, Caroline opened her mouth to ask, “Who ordered you to do this?”

“What?” The landlord was taken aback.

Caroline didn’t have the time to go around in circles with him so she repeated, “Tell me who ordered you to throw us out of our home and I’ll let you off. Or else the next time we meet would be in the courthouse.”

This woman is not kidding. She is not bluffing. This was what his instincts told him. He decided it was best to come out with the truth.

Even though he was advised against revealing the real instigator, but Caroline was obviously not going to let him off if he didn’t give her a name. He measured everything in his mind and concluded that it was not worth getting himself into a lawsuit for the sake of shouldering another person’s problem. The landlord shrugged and said, “it was a woman who gave me the money to chase your family away. I know nothing about her except that her surname is Brown.”

Alice Brown! Her stepmother!

The name immediately appeared in Caroline’s mind. She already had plans to deal with that despicable woman but Alice found her first. Since she yearns for an early death, I’ll give it to her! Caroline turned swiftly and got into the ambulance. The landlord let go of the breath he didn’t know he was holding.

At the hospital, Caroline and Cole were told that John had already missed two dialysis sessions. Earlier, John told them he did come. Turned out he was saving the money from his own treatment to pay for Caroline’s recovery. His illness was exacerbated and they almost lost him.

The doctor explained to them in a somber tone, “The patient’s situation has stabilized somewhat but he can’t survive much longer without an immediate transplant. Thankfully, there is a last minute opening, so with your agreement, we would like to schedule the operation for tomorrow.”

“Doctor, how much is the operation?” Cole asked with a heavy heart.

“The total f*e is about 300,000 dollars”

“300,000?” Cole could barely wrap his head around the astronomical figure.

Even if they sold everything they had then, it would only add up to less than 5000 dollars. They had been surviving on a budget of 2000 dollars every month so this 300,000 dollars was a number he couldn’t even envision. However, he knew his father’s health was at a critical juncture. He had been watching his father’s condition deteriorating before his eyes for the past two years. As much as he dreaded this day, he knew it would eventually come.

Furthermore, a kidney transplant was practically impossible to find. The fact that there was an opening available even at such short notice was something that only occurred in fiction. In other words, there won’t be another chance like this around. But where would he find that kind of money? Cole suddenly thought of something and he told the doctor, “Doctor, could you please keep the option open for us? We’ll give you an answer after we have our discussion.”

The doctor nodded, “Of course, but if you intend to go on with the operation, please remember to pay the hospital bill and operation bill at the billing counter. I don’t mean to rush you, but you should know that this kind of opportunity is extremely rare.”

“Thank you doctor. We’ll get back to you as soon as possible.” Cole said with a series of nods. After the doctor left, he told Caroline, “Sis, we can’t pass on this transplant. I’ve got an idea, since senior already promised me he’ll let me work at his company, I’ll sign a lifetime working contract with him in exchange for a quick loan.”

Caroline sat quietly looking at the unconscious John. When Cole addressed her, she turned to him and said, “How much money do we have left?”

A downcast Cole replied, “Not much, after paying the hospital bills, we’re only left with 50 dollars…”

“Give it to me,” Caroline said as she extended her hand.

Cole was surprised but still have his last remaining money to her. “Also, give me your bank account number.” Caroline added.

Cole finally asked, “Sis what are you planning?”

“I need to go out and do something. If you receive messages from your bank citing incoming money transfer, approve of the transaction.” Caroline explained.

Cole was instantly alerted. He stopped her, “Sis, what are you planning? Don’t do anything crazy, I swear I can find us the money, my senior is rich and he has been looking out for me, I’m sure he’ll grant my request.”

“You worry too much, I won’t do anything illegal. Give me your account number, we’re running out of time,” Caroline entreated. Cole had his doubts but he also believed that his sister wouldn’t do anything she would later regret so he gave her his account number.

Befire caroline left, Cole asked apprehensively, “Sis, what are you planning on doing? Computer crime is a criminal offense…”

Caroline left him with a smile and an assurance, “Cole, all I can tell you is that your worry is completely unfounded. Remember to approve the transaction.”

Cole couldn’t figure out how she could earn 300,000 dollars in such a short time. Her programming skill was impressive, but it shouldn’t allow her to earn a large amount of money within their time constraint.

After all, if the profession was so lucrative, everyone would be a programmer. Like every other profession, it was a slow paying job. However, Cole was left with no other choice but to have faith in his sister. The memory of Caroline’s calm countenance kept him sane as he fidgeted in the hospital, tossing an outdated phone between his hands.