Chapter 4 Striking a Deal

The water didn't wake Yvonne up. Instead, it plunged her into a fever. A doctor was patrolling the wards, and he noticed the state Yvonne was in.

"What is happening here?" He checked on Yvonne. "We need to save her! Take her to the ER!"

Zacharias stood petrified, his fingers numb. He couldn't control himself and grabbed Chester's collar with agitation. "You said she was acting!"

Chester was panicking as well, but he smacked Zacharias' hand away. "How am I supposed to know that this would happen? She's always been a liar. She's the girl who cries wolf."

"She won't die." Melissa stood up, radiating the air of an aristocrat. "Doctor, she's the one who's going to donate her kidney to Lara. Make sure her kidney's usable."

The doctor frowned. "We should save her first."

"Dr. Grounds, your father is good friends with my husband. You should know what I'm trying to say," Melissa said. She wanted the doctor to stop pursuing this matter and go on with the transplant.

Yvonne had agreed, after all, and she would sign the papers. Even if she died, the doctor and hospital wouldn't have to take any responsibility.

Yvonne was taken to the ER, and Colton Grounds stood up. He straightened out his coat and looked at Zacharias and Chester. "Mrs. Starr, I am a doctor. It is my duty to save any patient I come across. Everything else is beyond my duty."

"Why you…" Chester was miffed and he wanted to argue, but Melissa stopped him.

"Don't worry. Your father is going to talk to his dad. Doctors care about their image. We shouldn't talk about some things openly." Melissa looked at Zacharias. "Zacharias, Lara is your fiancee. Your job is to tend to her."

Zacharias nodded. "Yes, Mrs. Starr."

…

Yvonne was in the ER, lights shining on her. She was feeling groggy.

"Hang in there, Von. I'm here. Don't be scared. There's nothing to be afraid of. I'm here for you. I won't leave you behind."

Five years ago, her baby was born prematurely, and she suffered excessive blood loss. No one cared about her. The irony was that the only one staying by her side was her brother. It wasn't Chester, but her biological brother she had never met—Caleb Summers.

Back in the examination room, a nurse asked nervously, "Dr. Grounds, you should look at this. The patient suffers from malnutrition, and her body is covered in wounds old and new. I think we should call the cops."

It was obvious the patient was abused.

"There is no need for that." Colton frowned. He knew who this woman was—Yvonne, the fake princess of the Starrs. Her scandal was the talk of the town five years ago. She probably just got out of prison, so malnutrition was par for the course.

"What about her family?" Colton raised his head and glanced at Zacharias, who was smoking in the smoking zone.

"She has no family," Zacharias said solemnly.

"She suffers from a weak constitution and bradycardia. It might be related to her malnutrition. She does not fit the criteria of a donor," Colton announced. He didn't care what Zacharias had to say.

"Colton, is it?" Zacharias tossed his cigarette butt away and looked at the doctor coldly. "She has agreed to the donation. You're a doctor, so just mind your own business."

Colton slammed the report shut and radiated an aura powerful enough to rival Zacharias, or perhaps even more powerful. "You have two options. One, take her home and tend to her. Give her enough nutrients until she is of a healthy weight, then take her back here for a checkup."

He continued, "Two, you pick a donor you want from the list I provide, and we can do the transplant ASAP."

Zacharias frowned. "I'm going with the first choice." Then, he left.

The confused nurse muttered, "What is wrong with them? Why do they want this woman's kidney so much?"

Colton said nothing and just shook his head. He didn't want to bother with the grudge between these families.

…

Yvonne was in a ward, hooked to an IV infusion. After the doctors were gone and no one was around, Yvonne yanked the needle out of her arm and escaped through the window in the restroom.

She knew the Starrs and Zacharias wouldn't show her any mercy, so she had to save herself. She had to survive, even if it was only for her son. The boy was something she went through hell to give birth to. Even though she had no idea who his father was, the boy was innocent.

Yvonne never blamed him, not even once. He was the extension of her life and the only thing that kept her going in prison.

Eventually, she came to a payphone and made a call.

"Finally, you're calling me," the man said huskily. "I told you there's only one way for you to survive—that is to work with me. If it weren't for me, you'd have died in prison a long time ago."

"Alright, you have a deal. I'll try to get close to Christopher," said Yvonne tremulously. "But I'm not sure if he'll be interested in me."

Christopher was a genius in the business world and the scion of the Gunthers. He was at the pinnacle of the social hierarchy and out of Yvonne’s current league.

"Don't worry. Zacharias won't let you off the hook that easily. You'll have plenty of chances to approach Christopher. Just seize them."