Chapter 1
I had arranged a full-body check-up for my in-laws, Paul and Mavis Lancaster. We had just arrived at the VIP ward when Caleb Lancaster's private doctor, Mandy Fox, yanked the IV tube from Mavis's hand.
Blood spurted out instantly. Mandy, her face twisted in disgust, grabbed a bottle of disinfectant and sprayed it directly on Paul and Mavis's faces.
"Ms. Townsend, I know you come from nothing, but Mr. Lancaster's exclusive VIP ward isn't some place for your country bumpkin parents to mooch off," Mandy sneered.
"Mr. Lancaster pays me millions every year, and my job is to keep leeches like your kind away.
"This imported miracle drug costs 30 thousand dollars a shot. Giving it to your parents who are practically at death's door is a total waste. I've already replaced it with the cheapest saline drip."
I looked at Paul and Mavis, their faces twisted in rage and pain, and immediately realized that Mandy had mistaken my in-laws, Belleville's wealthiest, for my parents, who were just farmers from the countryside.
I was about to speak when Paul, clutching his chest in anger, was about to leave.
Mandy let out a cold laugh and immediately ordered the security guards to hold them down firmly.
"Do you think you can just leave after dirtying Mr. Lancaster's sterile ward? No way!" she snapped.
"Toss these two old geezers out into the snow. Let them freeze a bit and remember what pathetic lives they really have."
*****
I had arranged a full-body check-up for my in-laws, Paul and Mavis Lancaster. We had just arrived at the VIP ward entrance when Mandy Fox, Caleb Lancaster's private doctor, yanked the IV tube straight out from the back of Mavis's hand.
Blood spurted out instantly, splattering across the white sheets. It was a horrifying sight.
Mavis cried out in pain, clutching her hand and curling up in a ball.
Mandy didn't show a hint of remorse. Instead, her face twisted in disgust as she grabbed a bottle of disinfectant and sprayed it right in Paul and Mavis's faces.
The sharp smell of alcohol filled the air, causing Paul to cough nonstop while tears streamed down Mavis's face.
"Ms. Townsend, I know you come from nothing, but Mr. Lancaster's exclusive VIP ward isn't some place for your country bumpkin parents to mooch off," Mandy sneered.
Mandy stood over us in her high heels, looking down with a mocking smirk.
"Mr. Lancaster pays me millions every year, and my job is to get rid of leeches like your kind away."
She grabbed the syringe from the table and hurled it into the trash can, the loud clatter echoing through the room.
"This imported miracle drug costs 30 thousand dollars a shot. Giving it to your parents who are practically at death's door is a total waste. I've already replaced it with the cheapest saline drip. Whether they survive or not, it depends on their miserable fate."
I stared at Paul and Mavis, their faces contorted with anger and pain, and my heart dropped.
Oh no.
What a moron. Mandy had mistaken my in-laws, Belleville's wealthiest, for my parents, who were farmers from the countryside.
I was just about to explain when Paul, trembling with fury, clutched his chest and started to head for the door.
"Where's Caleb? Tell that bastard to get over here right now!" he barked.
Paul was always a commanding presence, and even in a hospital gown, the aura of someone who'd spent a lifetime at the top was impossible to ignore.
But Mandy just sneered, like she was watching a circus, and with a flick of her wrist, ordered the burly security guards behind her to hold them down firmly.
"Do you think you can just leave after dirtying Mr. Lancaster's sterile ward? No way!" she snapped.
Mandy shot them a venomous glare, then pointed out the window at the blizzard raging outside.
"Toss these two old geezers out into the snow. Let them freeze and remember what pathetic lives they really have. And don't think you can ride your daughter's coattails to the top just because she managed to crawl into Mr. Lancaster's bed."
The security guards, following her orders, manhandled Paul and Mavis, hauling them out of the room.
Mavis, already frail, was yanked off her feet and went sprawling. Her forehead struck the corner of the bed with a sickening thud, a dark bruise blooming instantly.
"Stop! What the hell do you think you're doing?" I shouted.
I couldn't hold back anymore. I rushed forward, shoved the nearest guard aside, and threw myself in front of Paul and Mavis, shielding them.
"Mandy, are you out of your mind? These aren't my parents. They're Caleb's actual parents. If you so much as touch them, Caleb will kill you."
Mandy paused for a second, then cracked up as if she'd just heard the dumbest joke ever.
"Jocelyn, at least make your lies sound halfway convincing," she snorted.
She looked Paul and Mavis up and down, her gaze dripping with disdain.
"Mr. Lancaster's parents are recuperating in Sveland year-round. How could they possibly show up in cheap rags like that? And a full-body check-up? Please. The Lancasters have their own elite medical team. Why would they bother coming here and slumming it with nobodies?" she scoffed.
I glanced at what Paul and Mavis were wearing. I'd bought them pure cotton loungewear without designer logos, just something comfy and practical for their check-up.
But in Mandy's eyes, that just screamed cheap stuff.