Chapter 5
Lily had been boasting for a whole week.
She kept saying that Dr. Samuel, the big-name surgeon she'd contacted, would be the one doing the operation.
But in the end, the surgery was done earlier than planned, and it was Dr. G's unique minimally invasive reconstruction technique that was used.
What did that mean?
It meant the surgeon was Dr. G herself.
Or someone from Dr. G's team.
As for Lily? She was totally out of the loop from start to finish.
Mandy sent me a screenshot of the chat in the Quinn family group.
Peter: [What's going on here? Who arranged the surgery?]
Catherine: [Didn't Lily say she was the one who found the surgeon?]
Lily: [I'm still checking. Maybe the people I talked to helped make it happen]
Michael: [Lily, you were the one who set up Grandpa's surgery, right?]
Lily: [Yeah, I guess it was thanks to the people I know.]
Mandy: [The surgery happened at Harmony Health Affiliated Hospital, but Lily was talking to Dr. Sampson from the city hospital. They're not even in the same place. How could she have arranged it?]
The group chat went quiet for thirty seconds.
Then Catherine spoke up, [Mandy, what are you trying to say? Lily's been working her tail off, and you're giving her attitude?]
Mandy: [I'm not giving anyone attitude, I'm just stating the facts.]
Michael: [Enough, let's not fight. Grandpa's surgery went well, that's what matters.]
Lily didn't say another word.
I set my phone down and took a sip of coffee.
She didn't say anything else because she was feeling exposed.
She knew she had nothing to do with it, but she'd never own up to it.
Her whole place in the Quinn family rested on that "PhD from a top university" and her reputation for having all the right connections.
If that facade ever fell apart, she'd be nothing in the Quinn family.
So she'd keep up the act.
And all I had to do was wait.
On Monday, I got an update from Harmony Health Affiliated Hospital.
Jonathan was recovering well, all his vitals were normal, and he was expected to be discharged in about a week.
That same day, I had a project meeting with my team at the office.
The development of the second-generation minimally invasive equipment was moving forward, and Harmony Health Group had just put in another 65 million dollars.
Nina walked in with the contract.
"Dr. Grant, the contract from Harmony Health Affiliated Hospital is all set. Just need your signature," she said.
I looked it over and signed.
"Oh, and one more thing," Nina said. "Michael showed up at the office again today."
"What did he want?" I asked.
"He said he wanted to discuss a partnership for purchasing medical devices. Apparently, he just set up a new medical investment firm and wants to source products from us," she replied.
"Does he know who the boss is?" I asked.
"Nope. The front desk didn't let him meet any of the execs. He only talked to someone from sales," she replied.
"Just have sales treat him like any other client. Stick to the usual business terms, no discounts, but don't give him a hard time either," I said.
"Got it," she replied.
I didn't want any personal matters interfering with business when it came to Michael.
If he wanted to buy from us, he'd pay the market price, just like anyone else.
Business was business, and personal was personal.
But if he ever found out this company belonged to his ex-wife, that was his problem, not mine.
It was Wednesday afternoon.
I went to Harmony Health Affiliated Hospital to visit Jonathan.
I didn't use the main entrance. Instead, I slipped in through the staff entrance, wearing a white coat.
When I got to the VIP room, the door was open.
He was propped up in bed, looking much better than last week.
A caregiver was sitting nearby.
No one else from the Quinns was there.
I walked in.
"Mr. Quinn," I said.
He looked up, stared at me for a couple of seconds, his eyes welling up with emotion.
"Evelyn, my girl," he said softly.
"How are you feeling?" I asked.
"I'm feeling much better, really. The doctors say I'm recovering quickly," he said, taking my hand. "Was it you, Evelyn?"
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"The surgery. You arranged it, didn't you? Mandy can't keep a secret. She told me you were the one who had her bring me to this hospital," he said.
I didn't deny it.
"Mr. Quinn, you've always been good to me. I'll always keep that in my heart," I said.
Tears streamed down his face.
"You've been through so much, kid. Those people, they're no good. Catherine never shuts up, and Michael's just heartless," he said.
"It's all in the past," I said, gently wiping away his tears. "Just focus on getting better. Don't worry about any of that."
"Evelyn, seriously, what do you really do?" he looked at me, eyes full of curiosity. "How did you pull off something like this? Arranging a surgery like that—most people couldn't even dream of it."
I just smiled.
"Mr. Quinn, once you're out of here, let's grab a meal together. I'll tell you everything then," I said.
"Alright," he said.
I stayed in the room for about half an hour before heading out.
As I walked out, I spotted a familiar figure at the end of the hallway.
It was Michael.
He was carrying a bag of fruit and heading my way.
I slipped into the office next door and waited until he passed before stepping back out.
It wasn't that I was scared of him.
There was just no point.
We were done. No need to stage some awkward run-in in the hospital hallway.
Back at the office, I got a message from Charles.
[Dr. Grant, there's a medical industry dinner on Friday, hosted by Harmony. We'd love to have you there.] he wrote.
[What kind of event is it?] I asked.
[It's half business, half social. All the top people in the industry will be there. It's a tight-knit group,] he replied.
[Sure,] I said.
[I'll send a car to pick you up,] he offered.
[No need, I'll come on my own,] I replied.
[Alright. I'll send you the address,] he said.