2
at
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Dylan stepping forward instantly rekindled hope in my parents.
“Dylan! You… do you really have confidence?” My mom, Eleanor, gripped his hand
excitedly.
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Dylan glanced at the two elderly people on the ground, then at me, a look of profound compassion on his face.
He spoke with a heavy heart, “Audrey isn’t willing to act, and I understand.
After all, she carries the prestigious title of ‘The Hand of God, she cannot afford to fail. But I can’t just stand by and watch Chloe die!”
His words, while seemingly understanding of me, subtly nailed me to the pillar of shame for “abandoning someone to die out of concern for my reputation.”
The colleagues who had rushed over to see what was happening now looked at me with
even greater disdain.
Dylan turned back to my parents, requesting again, “Richard, Eleanor, please trust me! I’ve followed Audrey’s microscopic dissection technique in every surgery she’s done. I’ve memorized all the theory and the essence. Please allow me to combine traditional surgical
methods with her theories to take a risk for Chloe!”
“Good! Good boy!” My dad, Richard, was so moved that old tears streamed down his face.
“Dylan, if you save Chloe, our Stevens family… half of our family fortune, it’s yours!”
Upon hearing those words, I, who had been silent all this time, finally lifted my eyes.
I looked at my ecstatic parents and the righteous Dylan, calculating silently in my mind. Half of the Stevens family fortune was at least a hundred million.
But…
I slowly stood up, looking at Dylan, and said mockingly, “You want to use my technique? Did you get my authorization?”
Dylan froze for a moment, then looked at me, exasperated.
“Audrey Stevens! What time is it now? You’re still arguing about this? Saving a life is what
matters!”
“Saving a life is one thing, patents are another,” I said, shrugging indifferently, my tone
firm.
“Without my authorization, if you dare to touch that scalpel, I’ll sue you until your reputation is ruined, and you’ll never wear a lab coat again for the rest of your life.”
“You!” Dylan’s face turned pale with anger.
My dad, Richard, was trembling all over, pointing his finger at my nose.
“Audrey Stevens! You’re utterly unreasonable! For money and a patent, you’re willing to disregard your sister’s life?!”
I looked at him coldly, as if he were a stranger. “Make your decision quickly. The patient
can’t wait.”
Time ticked by, second by second, and the murmurs around us grew louder, but I showed
no sign of impatience.
“Fine! I agree!” Finally, my dad gritted his teeth and accepted my terms.
“As long as you authorize it, I’ll immediately hire a lawyer afterward and transfer half of all
the shares in my name to you!”
I smiled, pulled a voice recorder from my pocket, and pressed the record button.
“Dad, please say it again. You are voluntarily granting me half of the Stevens Group’s shares as authorization fees for my patent.”
My dad’s face turned purple with rage, but he humiliatingly repeated the statement. I pocketed the recorder with satisfaction, then nodded at Dylan.
“Go on. I hope your hand is steadier than mine.”
With that, I walked straight out of the office, ignoring the disgusted looks from my parents and Dylan’s disappointed gaze.
I didn’t go home. Instead, I went to a coffee shop across from the hospital and ordered the bitterest black coffee.
Through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, I could see the lights on in the surgery ward building.
They got what they wanted.
And so did I.
