“Dr. Green, is everything alright? Are you happy with this place?”
Julian Farley walked into the room just now.
Joseph was not pleased with Julian getting in uninvited. He squinted his profound eyes, turned around
to lean on the balcony railing, and motioned a hand gesture casually with his hands behind his back.
But he did not say a word.
Lucas in the dark was feeling a bit stunned.
That was their unique hand gesture. Joseph was “telling” him to be patient and stay put.
Was Joseph aware that Lucas would come?
Lucas had a slightly surprised smile on his face.
Joseph was a great soldier material, and it was a shame that he wasn’t.
He told everyone to stay put. Instantly everywhere around quieted down.
Joseph wasn’t sure if Lucas had seen his hand gesture though. He gave Julian a cold look and said,
“You didn’t know you should knock before getting in, Mr. Farley?”
Joseph had always been straightforward when he spoke with Julian, as well as with Mr. Frye.
Even though Joseph came prepared, he still felt a bit awkward. He coughed to disguise his
embarrassment, “Dr. Green, I’m here for my son today.”
“I’m not changing my mind. You have to agree to my terms before I save anyone. I can save your son,
but you have to let my family go, my brother Lucas and his future wife included. I won’t back down.”
Joseph insisted on this.
Julian was put into a dilemma.
“It is not that I don’t want to make the deal. But you should know that I don’t have any say in this unless
Mr. Frye gave me the authority. If not, you know, I am just no better than a security guard here.”
Julian said this with bitterness.
Joseph wasn’t sure if Julian was speaking from his heart or he was just feeling it out. He kept a calm
face and raised his head to look outside from the window in plain silence.
It was cloudless sunny outside, which was quite pleasant.
Seeing Joseph stop responding, Julian clenched his lower lip and said nervously, “Dr. Green, as long
as you can save my son, I will promise you three things, no matter what these three things will be.”
His words stunned Joseph.
As a doctor, Joseph had seen enough births and deaths. He learned that it wasn’t granted that all
parents would care for their children.
It stood to reason that the existence of the child directly prevented Julian from getting Mr. Frye’s
attention. If we were speaking from human selfishness, it would make a promising chance for Julian if
the child died, hence Julian would be the only heir to the Mr. Frye family.
So Joseph froze in shock for a while and asked, “Why?”
“Why what?”
Julian looked at Joseph in confusion.
Joseph went ahead and cut to the chase.
“Your son’s existence put you in a very embarrassing position. If he was gone, you would end up being
the only choice for Mr. Frye. Given the situation, you were desperately asking me to treat your son. You
know, I am just trying to sort out the logic in between.”
Joseph spoke so bluntly, and it was obviously beyond what Julian had expected. After hearing that,
Julian was shocked and then self-deprecated, “In your eyes, are bad people like us evil at heart? Are
we so rotten that we would ignore the biological bonds between father and son?”
Joseph did not say a word, which was obviously a tacit consent.
Julian smiled bitterly again and said, “If I got a second chance, who would choose to be the bad guy?
Who wouldn’t like the chance to live in the sun and be an upright person?”
These words made Joseph a little surprised.
Julian didn’t care whether Joseph believed him or not. He sat down on a chair and took out a cigarette
to light it, but subconsciously glanced at Joseph. Seeing Joseph’s brows frowned, he put the lighter
away. Instead, he was playing with his cigarette.
Observing his subtle movements, Joseph knew that Julian had always been used to looking out for
other people’s emotions. Perhaps Julian wasn’t such evil at all at heart.
Working for Mr. Frye would probably help Julian get more attention from his biological father.
Joseph’s facial expression eased a little.
“You are more humane than Mr. Frye, you know.”
“I grew up in a different environment. I never knew that Mr. Frye was my biological father. I used to
think that I was this average kid from the countryside and that my life just got by. I have been all by
myself after my adoptive father passed away. I understand, more than anyone else, how insecure the
children could be to grow up with a single parent. So I hope to have a happy family of my own and be
there for my kids as they grow up. I can’t believe my real father is Mr. Frye. I guess you don’t always
get what you’ve wished for.”
“You’d never know what it was like to find out you were adopted and that your biological father was out
there somewhere. I thought I finally could have a united family and that I got a promising future ahead.
Unfortunately, my natural father didn’t see me as legitimate.”
“He despised that I came from the countryside and thought I was petty. He sent me abroad alone for
education. In that unfamiliar country, I was unaccompanied. I was terrified. I called him and begged for
his help. I said I would like to come back, but he disagreed. And even worse, he threatened me with my
mother’s life. If I hadn’t completed my studies, or if I didn’t do well in the exams, my mother would be in
imminent danger.”
“At that moment I knew that, to my father, I was nothing. However, I would always want to get his
approval, just because he’s my father. I studied hard and tried to settle in as soon as possible. I thought
my father would change his mind about me after my graduation, but unfortunately, he didn’t. What lied
ahead in line for me have been endless tasks, one after another, which was overwhelming.”
Listening to all of Julian’s complaints, Joseph’s eyes showed uncertain gloominess.
Joseph didn’t interrupt him though. He listened quietly as if he was a trash can for all of Julian’s hard
feelings.
Julian seemed to be drowning in his own memories, the bitterness showed on his face was
accelerating and he seemed a bit agitated.
“Dr. Green, it was no one’s fault that I ended up in a situation like this. But I really care about my son.
He is my blood, and I don’t want him to blame his father like I do mine one day. I want to fix things for
my son when I still can. He’s still so young and his life is just getting started. Aren’t you doctors life-
saving angels? Why do I have to negotiate terms with you even when you have a patient like him?”
This was what had been troubling Julian’s mind.
Either Yasmeen or Dr. Ashley, or any other doctors Julian had met would risk doing whatever it took to
save their patients. But Joseph was cold-blooded in a frightening way.
Joseph being like this surpassed Julian’s speculation. Now he realized Joseph was never going to treat
his son.
That was why he panicked.
Joseph saw the confused look in Julian's eyes and he said, “I studied medicine out of my pure interest
in it. I understand there are rules and standards doctors should live up to. All those premises are
implemented only when my family’s safety isn’t under threat. Mr. Farley, you are a persistent father
trying to save your son, and my bottom line is to keep my family safe. If I fail to protect my family, there
would be no point in me staying alive. I’m going to live as a Green and die as one. Just like what you
told me - you would hate to have your son hate you someday. I don’t disgrace the Green’s name,
either.”
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