Chapter 28


    “What’s wrong, sis?” Han furrowed his brow as he looked at Floris with concern.


    “It’s nothing. My husband is working overtime today and can’te to take care of our child. I can


    handle it alone,” Floris forced a smile to hide her inner turmoil.


    Despite her efforts, the smile on Floris’s face looked lonely and betrayed her inner turmoil.


    Han’s frown deepened as he noticed it.


    He couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was amiss between Floris and her husband, but since


    she didn’t borate further, he didn’t feelfortable probing.


    Just then, a nurse walked into the room and addressed Floris with a cold tone, “Floris Hammond, you


    need to pay the bill now.”


    Floris asked politely, “Excuse me, how much is it?”


    “4,600 dors. And remember, you cannot give your child any food or water after 10 PM tonight. The


    surgery is scheduled for tomorrow!” the nurse replied sternly.


    “Now, please go and settle the payment.”


    The nurse left firmly, without any hint ofpassion in her voice.


    ?


    After the nurse left, Floris looked pale. Her hands trembled as she clutched the edge of the hospital


    bed, her eyes filling with tears.


    “What’s the matter with Tracy? What sort of ailment is she grappling with that calls for surgery?” Han


    inquired, creasing his brows with concern.


    At the sight, Tracy recoiled in terror and hastily sought refuge behind Floris, obstructing Han’s view


    of the nature of her affliction.


    “She’s grappling with pneumonia and pediatric hernia. While the former can be remedied with


    injections, thetter necessitates surgical intervention. Floris conveyed with a troubled countenance.


    The thought gnawed at her, causing her anguish as she pondered, “How on earth are we going to


    come up with the exorbitant sum of money required?”


    “Having acquired some rudimentary medical knowledge over the past eight years, let me examine


    Tracy. Perhaps there has been a misdiagnosis.” Han suggested with earnestness.


    Floris shook her head in dissent. “It’s unnecessary. We’ve already consulted with numerous medical


    professionals who have verified the diagnosis, and surgery is the only viable course of action,” she


    replied firmly.


    “I’ll phone my husband and request him to transfer the requisite amount,” she added, determined to


    leave no stone unturned in securing the funds for Tracy’s treatment.


    As she spoke, she stepped out of the doorway to ce the call.


    Tracy harbored a palpable apprehension about being alone with Han and hence endured the agony


    of her ailment to remain steadfastly entrenched in her mother’sforting embrace.


    Regrettably, Han’s efforts to examine Tracy privately were foiled, and he was denied the opportunity


    to assess her condition without the presence of her mother.


    Having exited the ward, Floris absented herself for a prolonged interval to avoid any chance encounter


    with Han and then whispered furtively on the phone.


    “Sir, my daughter is hospitalized, and I urgently need financial assistance. Could you kindly extend a


    loan to me?” she implored in a hushed tone.


    “Apologies, Ms. Hammond, but I’m currently experiencing a financial shortfall, came the regretful


    response from the other end of the line.


    “Madam, my daughter is hospitalized and scheduled for surgery tomorrow. I humbly request your


    assistance in providing me with a loan.” She appealed, her voiceced with a sense of urgency and


    desperation.


    “Floris Hammond, are you here to solicit another loan from me? How many times have you approached


    me for financial assistance this month? I cannot oblige your request, so kindly leave!” retorted the


    individual on the other end, his tone brusque and unsympathetic.


    “Landlord, I am in dire need of a loan. Would you be able to extend your assistance?”


    “Borrow money, Floris Hammond? You are already three months behind on your rent! Let me warn you,


    if you fail to pay your dues by tomorrow, you will be evicted!” bellowed thendlord, his voice


    resonating with palpable anger and frustration.


    “Have you no shame to ask for a loan while you owe me three months’ rent? Outrageous! Begone!”


    sneered thendlord, his toneced with contempt and disdain.


    Floris found herself facing insurmountable difficulties in procuring a loan from anyone. Despite reaching


    out to over thirty individuals, she was met with nothing but refusals and reluctance to extend any form


    of financial assistance.


    Desperate and on the brink of tears, Floris slumped onto a chair in the hallway, ovee with a sense


    of hopelessness and despair.


    “How can I possibly manage this?” she contemted, feeling utterly defeated and at a loss for a viable


    solution to her predicament.


    Tomorrow is the day of my daughter’s surgery, and I have no means to fund it. Must I be forced to


    watch Tracy endure such agony?” Floris pondered, consumed by a sense of dread and anxiety.


    I’m sorry, Tracy. It’s all my fault. I’m sorry…”


    Floris wept inconsbly, holding her daughter tight as tears flowed freely down her face.


    Ovee with emotion, Floris feared Han overhearing her sobs and deliberately distanced herself


    from him as she wept, her despair weighing heavily on her as she cried softly and despondently.


    Han stood inside the hospital room, his eyes brimming with tears as he struggled to contain his


    emotions.


    Han possessed an acute sensory acuity, with his hearing in particr honed to a remarkable


    degree, surpassing that of an ordinary person by a hundredfold.


    With his keen sense of hearing, Han could discern even the slightest disturbance up to a distance of


    three kilometers as long as he listened with focused attention.


    As he listened to Floris’ anguished sobs, Han was gripped by an overwhelming sense of difort,


    as if a heavy boulder had been ced atop his chest, rendering it almost unbearable. The thought


    dawned on him that a mereck of funds had pushed Floris into such dire straits, leaving him to wonder


    about the extent of misery and hardship that she must have endured over the years.


    Han realized that his usually strong-willed sister was nowpelled to conceal her predicament and


    cry privately to protect her self-esteem and pride, fearing that he might discover her dire straits.


    Han was ovee with heartbreak, particrly for his sister, as he realized the depths of her


    struggles and the challenges she had faced alone.


    As a child, Han was the apple of Floris’s eye. During every New Year, Floris would set aside candies


    for him to relish, and when the family ughtered chickens, she would snatch the coveted


    18:39 1


    chicken legs for him.


    The realization that his beloved sister was now living in such dire straits filled Han with unbearable


    difort and anguish.


    Han wiped away his tears and strode out of the room with determination. He made his way. directly


    to the hospital’s payment office, where he promptly paid 20 thousand dors toward Tracy’s medical


    expenses.


    Regardless, any unused portion of the medical expenses could be refunded, and Han was not


    deterred by the prospect of paying more if the need arose.


    As he walked back, Han pondered over the situation, resolving to find an alternative course of


    unless absolutely necessary.


    action for Tracy’s diagnosis, determined to avoid resorting to surge


    Han was acutely aware that surgery entailed breaking the body, which constituted a form of injury


    regardless of the medical benefits.


    He knew that a hernia was essentially a misced intestinal tract and that traditional medicine. offered


    a plethora of massage techniques for its treatment.


    The thought of inflicting any harm upon his little niece was unbearable for Han.


    “Floris Hammond, have you no conscience? Why didn’t you inform me of our daughter’s illness.


    sooner?”


    “I should not have allowed Tracy to follow you back then. You, a penniless and destitute woman with no


    aplishments to your name. What means do you have to support our daughter?”


    “Look at you. How have you raised your daughter? You are not fit to be a mother at all!”


    As Han returned to the ward, he heard a man’s angry voice from within.


    Frowning in concern, Han entered the ward.


    Upon entering the ward, Han was confronted with the sight of a middle-aged man, impably


    attired in a suit and leather shoes, with carefully groomed hair, berating Floris in the harshest of terms,


    casting me upon her for the situation at hand.


    N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.


    “Liam Hammond, I did not summon you here for a quarrel. My daughter requires 4,600 dors for her


    surgery, and I implore you to lend me the amount.”


    Suppressing her anger, Floris red at the man in the suit with bloodshot eyes, her emotions


    simmering just beneath the surface.


    “I can lend you the money, but on the condition that you sign an agreement with me, transferring


    custody of our daughter to my care,” Liam stated icily, his wordsced with a sense of cold.


    detachment.


    “You are taking advantage of the situation!” Floris retorted, her tone marked by simmering anger at the


    man’s callousness.


    “What’s wrong with me taking advantage of the situation? You, an unsightly and impoverished woman,


    have only two choices – sign the agreement, or watch your daughter suffer. The decision is entirely up


    to you,” Liam sneered, his grin betraying a cruel and calcting nature.


    “Liam Hammond, Tracy is also your daughter. How can you bear to see her suffer?”


    Floris’s fury boiled over as she pointed an usatory finger at Liam andunched into a scathing


    tirade. “If it weren’t for your dissatisfaction, our family would not have been torn apart like this. You


    abandoned your wife and daughter to please other women. And now, you dare to ask for custody of


    your daughter? Shame on you!


    “Liam Hammond, you are nothing but a beast, lower than even a swine!” Floris spat out in disgust, her


    words seething with anger and contempt.


    “You, penniless woman, keep your mouth shut!”


    Upon hearing this, Liam was consumed with rage andshed out, striking Floris hard across the face


    with a vicious p.


    Liam’s blow was brutal and powerful, and Floris, with her frail and delicate frame, could not withstand


    its force. She recoiled from the impact, her face swelling up instantly, the corners of her mouth bleeding


    as she copsed onto the hospital bed in agony.


    “You shameless slut! It seems I haven’t hit you hard enough in a while for you to have grown so bold as


    to speak to me in such a manner. Do you wish to die?”


    Liam was incensed, his eyes glinting with a vicious gleam as he red at Floris. “You dare to insult me


    in front of my daughter. You want to die! Today, I will teach you a lesson!” he spat out, his words.


    seething with anger and hostility.


    With a cruel sneer, Liam raised his hand and struck Floris once again, the force of the blow resounding


    throughout the room.


    Tracy, a silent witness to the violence unfolding before her, let out a piercing scream, her face pale with


    fear and horror.


    Fear etched across her features, Floris quickly gathered Tracy in her arms, shielding her from the


    violence as she raised her hands to fend off Liam’s blows.


    “Smack!”


    As Liam’s hand drew back, poised to strike Floris once again, arge hand reached out and caught his


    wrist in midair, halting his attack.


    Han had arrived on the scene, his eyes zing with icy fury as he confronted Liam. “Kneel and


    apologize to my sister,” he ordered, his voice ringing like steel. “Otherwise, I will beat you to death!”