Chapter 3
Maria grabbed my hand, her eyes full of determination.
"Belle, listen to me. Run. Now," Maria said. "This family is a total swamp. Stay any longer and it'll swallow you whole."
I nodded.
"I know. I'm already working on it," she said.
The spark that set everything off finally caught on a picture-perfect weekend.
Caesar had invited a few business partners out for a round of golf.
Out on the lush green course, he was in his element, strutting around like he owned the place, swinging with confidence and full of swagger.
After nailing a perfect shot, he was just about to bask in the praise when his face suddenly went pale.
He clutched his chest, sweat broke out in big beads on his forehead, and his face turned as white as a sheet.
"Caesar! What's wrong?" someone shouted.
"Quick. Call an ambulance. No, take him to UnitedCare. Now!" another voice yelled.
Everyone was scrambling, the whole place in chaos.
His driver and assistant were the first to react, half-carrying him toward the parking lot.
They sped through the streets, and fifteen minutes later, the car pulled up smoothly in front of UnitedCare, the city's most exclusive private hospital.
The driver and assistant rushed straight to the ER, like they knew the place by heart.
"Hurry. The patient is suffering from angina. Get the VIP fast track ready and call Dr. Johnson," the assistant barked at the nurse at the front desk.
This was a drill they'd run countless times.
Normally, just saying Caesar's name would set the whole hospital into overdrive for him.
But today, things were different.
The nurse at the front desk was young and pretty, her smile perfectly professional.
She checked the computer for a few seconds, then looked up.
Her voice was polite, but her words were like a bucket of ice water.
"Sorry, gentlemen," she said. "According to our records, Mr. Reyes's VIP medical plan expired three days ago.
"I'm sorry, but we can't open the VIP fast track for Mr. Reyes."
The assistant was left dumbfounded.
His eyes bulged. "That can't be. Please check again. It's set to renew automatically every year."
The nurse tapped away on the keyboard, checking again.
She repeated herself, face blank, like an emotionless AI.
"According to the system, the plan was canceled by the person who paid for it," the nurse said.
"Canceled by the payer?" The assistant's voice went high-pitched.
As Caesar was being helped into the lobby, groaning in pain, the assistant was frantically arguing with the nurse. The whole lobby turned to stare.
The other wealthy patients and their families watched, some curious, some nosy, and a few even looked like they were enjoying the show.
For Caesar, nothing mattered more than saving face.
Now, in the place he visited most, Caesar was stripped of all dignity in front of everyone, publicly shamed in the most humiliating way.
His face went from pale to flushed, then to a sickly shade.
"Not... not here..." he gasped, struggling to get the words out. "Take me... take me to the downtown hospital..."
Panicked, the group spun around and scrambled out of UnitedCare, looking utterly disheveled.
Half an hour later, they found themselves packed into the jammed ER at the downtown public hospital, lost in a sea of desperate people.
The air reeked of disinfectant, blood, and puke, a sharp, stomach-turning mix.
All around them were wails, curses, and the constant thud of people rushing by.
Caesar, who used to lord over everyone, was now just tossed onto a makeshift bed in the hallway like he was nobody.
For the first time, he got a taste of what it meant to have no special privileges, just another guy waiting for his turn, at the mercy of fate like everyone else.
After slogging through a pile of paperwork, Faxon, Debra's husband and Caesar's second son, finally got some reception on his phone.
He immediately exploded on the phone as soon as Ivan picked up. "Ivan. Dad's in the hospital.
"What the hell is going on with Dad's VIP insurance? How the hell did it get canceled?
"Did your wife do this?"
Even from across the line, I could hear Faxon Reyes's furious shouting, clear as day.
I was out on the balcony, watering my ink orchid unhurriedly.
The next moment, Ivan's call came in.
His voice was more desperate than ever, almost begging, trembling as he spoke.
"Belle, honey, I'm begging you," Ivan pleaded. "Please, don't be mad, okay? Can you get Dad's insurance back up? I'll send you the money right away."
I held the little spray bottle, carefully misting every leaf of my ink orchid.
Sunlight streamed through the glass, refracting off the droplets and casting tiny rainbows on the leaves.
I spoke in a calm voice, so calm that it was almost unsettling.
"Ivan," I said. "Isn't that what your dad said? The Reyes family doesn't support freeloaders."
There was a sudden silence on the other end.
I could picture the awkward, embarrassed look on his face.
I kept going, my voice carrying a hint of sarcasm.
'I'm just a stay-at-home freeloader, supposedly out of touch with the world,' I said. "How could I possibly afford such a sky-high premium, $200,000 a year?"