Chapter 5

I watched Brynn put on her act and sneered in my heart.

I said quietly and firmly, "Brynn, after all that, you only want me to donate blood again, right?"

Brynn nodded eagerly, as if she'd grabbed onto a lifeline. "Yes, Nora. As long as you agree, you can name your terms. Money or position, anything."

"Alright." I nodded. "My term is simple."

Brynn's eyes lit up instantly. "Go ahead."

I looked at her and said seriously, "You and Howard go to the Altaris Central Plaza. Walk across it holding apology signs for me, and say that you're ungrateful. Record everything and post it online. If you do that, I'll donate blood."

The moment I finished speaking, the entire office fell silent. Everyone looked at me in disbelief.

Brynn's face went ghostly pale in an instant.

Her lips trembled as she pointed at me. "This is humiliation and extortion."

"That's right," I said calmly. "I am humiliating you."

I stepped forward, looking at her sharply. "When you humiliated me with that fine back then, did you ever think it would come to this?

"You treated my kindness like something you could step on, like I was disposable. Now what makes you think I still owe you kindness?

"Brynn, go tell Howard this. My blood isn't something he deserves. I'd rather lose it all than ever donate to people like his family again. Now take your things and get lost. You're not welcome here."

I pointed at the door, telling her to leave.

Brynn was so stunned by the way I confronted her that she couldn't say a word.

Her face turned ashen. In the end, she grabbed the gift and fled in embarrassment.

After she left, Nicolas started clapping. "Well said."

The rest of my colleagues quickly joined in.

"Damn, that was a great clapback. No need to be polite with people like that."

"Ah, so that's what was going on. This is like someone helping the wrong person and getting bitten for it."

I smiled at everyone, thanked them, and then went back to my seat.

I knew Howard would never let this go without a fight.

He was like a shark that smelled blood. He'd do anything to save his daughter.

*****

Sure enough, my feeling was right. That afternoon, someone unexpected appeared.

Later that evening, as I walked out of the building, I saw a black Bentley parked by the roadside.

The door swung open, and a woman in a Chanel suit and sunglasses stepped out. She looked polished, but I could still see exhaustion and despair.

It was Howard's wife and Sasha's mom, Rebecca.

Rebecca walked to me and took off her sunglasses. The eyes that had once been swollen in the hospital were now bloodshot. Her gaze was hollow, as if all hope had been drained.

"Hi, Ms. Sherman." Her voice was hoarse and dry, completely different from the one I had heard in the hospital when she cried with relief after my blood matched. "Can I talk to you?"

My feelings toward her were complicated.

She was part of the family that had treated me coldly, but at the same time, she was a desperate mother.

I stared at Rebecca for a bit, feeling all sorts of things inside, then finally nodded. "Okay."

We found a quiet café nearby.

Rebecca didn't order anything. Her hands were tightly clasped on the table, her fingers trembling slightly with the pressure.

"Ms. Sherman, I know what we did before was way out of line," Rebecca apologized immediately, her tone far more sincere than Brynn's.

She said, "Howard is a businessman. All he ever thinks about is rules, profits, and costs. He's not a bad person. He's been shaped by a business mindset that made him forget humanity."

She tried to defend Howard, but her words sounded weak.

I didn't say anything.

She said, "That fine was drafted by Brynn, and Howard signed it. I was at the hospital taking care of Sasha at the time and had no idea about it. By the time I found out, you had already left."

Tears rolled down her face. "I'm sorry, Ms. Sherman. I apologize on behalf of my husband."

As she spoke, she stood up from her seat, about to bow to me.

I quickly stopped her. "Mrs. Jones, you don't need to do this."

I couldn't be as cold as I was with Brynn when facing a mother worn down by worry for her daughter.

"I accept your apology, but I can't agree to donate blood," I said, not budging an inch.

Rebecca swayed for a moment. She sat back down, her face pale.

"Why?" she whispered, looking confused. "Is it because of those 600 dollars? We know we were wrong. We can pay you 300 thousand or 600 thousand. Why won't you give Sasha another chance?"

I looked at her in silence for a moment, then asked something I had always wanted to ask. "Mrs. Jones, Sasha had a car accident last time and now has acute hemolysis. Don't you think that's a bit too coincidental?"

Rebecca flinched at my question, her whole body tensing up.

She looked up at me in panic. Her lips trembled, as if she wanted to say something but was desperately holding it back.

Her reaction confirmed my suspicion.

There had to be more to it.

"Seems like you know something," I said, looking her straight in the eye. "If you want me to help, you should at least tell me the truth."