By the time Meredith arrived at the hospital, her mother, Alayna Sawyer was on her knees begging
Nia’s doctor, “Doctor Logan, please don’t kick Nia out.
My daughter is in the middle of getting the money. She will have the money…please, I’m begging you,
Doctor Logan…” Looking perplexed, Doctor Logan said, “Miss Alayna, it’s really not that I don’t wish to
keep Nia around, but the hospital has got its rules, and you have to pay the bills before we can
continue treating her. I have already tried to negotiate with the director of the hospital, but the debt you
owe the hospital is simply too much. I really can’t keep Nia around anymore.”
“But Nia will die if she leaves the hospital! Our poor Nia…” Alayna wailed in despair.
“Mom!” Meredith shouted as she walked quickly toward the both of them. Alayna turned around to see
Meredith and asked immediately, “Meredith, so? Did you get the money?”
“I did,” replied Meredith as she reached into her backpack, took out a stack of cash, put them into
Alayna’s hand, and went on, “Here’s a total of five million and three thousand dollars. Mom, please use
this to pay for Nia’s medical bills.”
“This much?” Alayna sniffed as she looked toward the cash in her hands and asked, “Edith, where did
you get this big sum of money? And why are some of them stained with blood?”
“Edith, are you hurt?” Alayna asked when she finally realized the band-aid on Meredith’s forehead.
Shaking her head, Meredith replied, “I’m fine. I accidentally tripped over on my way here and the blood
somehow got onto the cash.”
Meredith did not plan to let her mother know about the injury on her back as she did not want to worry
her mother.
Alayna did not ask further and simply left to pay the medical bills. Meredith turned to look at the doctor
and apologized,
“I’m so sorry for troubling you for the past months, Doctor Logan.” Doctor Logan was right. If it was not
because of him taking pity on Nia and trying to negotiate with the hospital director, Nia would have
already been kicked out of the hospital a long time ago due to the mountain of medical bills.
Doctor Logan answered, “Don’t mention it. But I do hope you understand that treating Nia constantly
requires a huge amount of money. The money that you paid just now would only clear your previous
debt but there will be more coming after this.”
“I am well aware of that, Doctor Logan. I will do my best to pay the medical bills,” replied Meredith.
“Sigh…” Doctor Logan let out a sigh before continuing, “Miss Leighton, I know that Nia is your
everything and I know that you hate to hear this, but I still have to say this…you should give up and
stop torturing yourself and the child.”
“No!” As always, Meredith shook her head and insisted strongly, “I will not give up on Nia. Please stop
persuading me, Doctor Logan.
“Miss Leighton, this treatment is simply to drag out the time to keep Nia alive. The most important thing
that Nia needs is surgery. The fees needed for the surgery are the heaviest. It would even add up to a
hundred million dollars. Where are you going to get all the money then?” Doctor Logan asked.
Doctor Logan was only being thoughtful and he continued to persuade Meredith, “Plus, Nia’s surgery…
can only happen when we find a suitable donor, and the chances of survival are really low. What if…”
“It’s just money, isn’t it?” Meredith suddenly shouted furiously, “I can always sell my blood, sell my body
to get the money for surgery, can’t I? How could you say such devastating words when you are Nia’s
doctor?”
Doctor Logan was startled by Meredith’s sudden rage. He simply shook his head and left. Feeling her
legs gone weak, Meredith slumped onto the floor. After crying silently on the floor for a moment,
Meredith dragged herself into Nia’s ward. Looking at all the different medical equipment and machines
that were hung over her child’s body, Meredith found herself choking in tears again.
That year when she was saved from the sea, Meredith was unconscious for a month. She was later
told that it was because she had lost the will to live.
It was when her mother came visiting her with baby Nia in her arms and told her that Nia was going to
be an orphan if she continued staying unconscious. That was when Meredith regained her
consciousness.
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