Now that the food was gone, he wiped his oil-stained mouth and said, “Take a look at the contract. If there aren’t any issues, you can sign it now.”
He passed a thick stack of papers to me. I was blinded by the rows of complex legalese on the sheets. I frowned, unable to understand much of the contents of the contract.
At least I could understand the sums in the contract. I counted the number of zeroes and knitted my brows. “Why is the cost of the surgery suddenly increased to a million?”
He pursed his lips before cleaning his teeth with a toothpick. “Ms. Stanhope, I heard from Mr. Murphy that money isn’t a concern to you. Plus, this is a private operation. The operating theatre, doctors, the equipment; everything has a price. I’m sure you know how expensive these things are. And hey, what about compensation for my efforts? I also need money to settle with that kid’s parents. Please, that one million I quoted you is a discount already.”
I held in my laughter. He’d managed to make a life-or-death operation sound like a business deal. Still, I wasn’t in a hurry to sign. I looked at him directly and said, “You’re right. It’s actually not a big sum. I do have one request, though. Since this isn’t a legal procedure, I want to see the operating theatre, the equipment, and meet the doctor beforehand. There are two children’s lives at stake here, one of which is my daughter. I’m sure you understand my concern.”
He frowned slightly. After some thought, he replied, “I need to think about this.”
I nodded. “Sure.”
Our discussion ended here. I supposed he had to discuss my request with his boss before he could give me a firm reply. If Hailey was right, then Brandon was probably acting under Armond’s orders.
After saying goodbye to Brandon, I walked into an alley. After waiting for a short while, I came out of the alley and followed him. Sometime later, I saw him get into a black Accord. The driver wore a pair of shades, and he looked vaguely familiar. After a brief greeting, the car moved.
I couldn’t walk closer to the car, but luckily the driver rolled down his windows as the car drove off. I was stunned when I realized who he was.
Dante! Why is he hanging around Brandon? Did he end up working for Armond after Abe’s death?
I only managed to collect myself after the car was out of sight. From what I know about Dante’s character, he wouldn’t hang around Armond since he had a hand in Abe’s death. All these men are sticklers for loyalty. Abe treated Dante like his own brother when he was still alive. So why would Dante be chummy with one of Armond’s lackeys? Unless Dante himself is involved in the black market?
Suddenly, I sensed someone behind me. Nerves taut, I broke out in a cold sweat when I realized that I had nothing to defend myself with.
“Sienna!” The gruff, familiar voice turned my surprise into joy. I turned and saw Danny behind me.
I smiled happily at him and asked, “Why are you here? Are you ok? How have you been?” I’d tried to track him down when I was in A City, but he’d hidden his tracks well as if he was trying to avoid me. I learned nothing about him and had never expected to bump into him here.
He appeared to have lost some weight, looking much thinner than his usual muscular self. The angles on his face were sharper as well. With a fairer complexion and a buzzcut, he blended right in with the residents of this city.
Faced with my slew of questions, he replied, “I’ve been well. But how do you know Brandon?”
“Do you know him too?” I asked, surprised.
He nodded. “Yeah, Dante works with him. I’ve met him a couple of times. They operate in the black market, so why are you meeting him? Are you sick?”
I shook my head urgently. “No, I’m not sick. But my daughter is.”
Shocked, he said, “I see. It’s better to steer clear of them if you can, though. If you get involved in the black market, it’s hard to get them off your record.”
I didn’t quite understand his warning but nodded. “Ok, I know.”
Since he didn’t have more to say, I spoke up again. “Since you’re here, shall we grab a bite together?”
He shook his head. “No, I have other things to do. I’ll be off then.”
Seeing that he was ready to leave, I called out to stop him. “Danny, how should I keep in touch with you next time?”
He turned his head back to look at me. “I’m very grateful for how you’ve helped me in the past. If you have any questions for me, you should ask them now. I’ll tell you everything I know, and then we’re even.”
This statement confused me. His brows were furrowed in impatience as he watched me. I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d underestimated the complexity of our history.
After a pause, I asked, “What are you doing in A City? Do you know about Abe’s death?”
He pursed his lips before replying, “I know what happened to Mr. Langston. As for my job in A City, it’s exactly what Dante is doing.”
I frowned. “But it’s illegal!”
He mumbled an agreement but continued matter-of-factly, “I know, but I gotta do what I gotta do to survive. A City isn’t a good place to make a living for us foreigners. At the end of the day, we need money to live.”
I didn’t know how to respond to that. I couldn’t deny the truth in his words. We are but slaves to the money that governs our lives in this world.
“Is it true then, that as long as there’s money, you can carry out a perfect crime?” I blurted.
He knitted his brows uncomprehendingly at my question. A moment later, he said, “You should go home. It’s not safe out here.”
I had more questions to ask but he’d already walked away.
If Hailey is telling the truth, then Armond is really engaged in shady dealings. I couldn’t imagine the number of innocent lives they had harmed each year.
I was caught in a dilemma. If I pursued this to the end, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to accept the consequence. After all, I was a willing participant in an illegal deal, and losses and gains always came hand-in-hand. My decision to seek out Amy in the countryside was entirely due to my wish to save my daughter.
Hailey’s father could bring himself to harm a perfectly healthy child to keep his daughter alive. It’s hard to pin the blame on anyone, but someone was undeniably killed in the exchange.
I knew I couldn’t sort out these dilemmas alone. I called Anthony when I was in the car. The phone rang for a while before he answered. I could hear his clear voice through the receiver. “What’s up?”
Anthony was still angry at me over the name card incident. I sighed before asking, “Where are you? I miss you.”
My words seemed to surprise him, and there was a pause before he replied, “See you at home.”
He hung up on me. Perplexed, I stared at my phone. Why did he just hang up on me like that?
I put down my phone and headed straight for the villa. Anthony was sitting in the living room when I arrived, looking like he’d just reached home not too long ago. His dark eyes showed a hint of surprise as they landed on me.
He pursed his lips and put on a somewhat petty air. “Why did you call me?”
So he’s still angry at me then. I walked toward him and said gently, “I did meet Armond when I was in K City; you knew about that already. When I came to A City to find Amy, it was based on information that Armond had given to me. Anthony, I wasn’t lying to you. I just didn’t want you to overthink things. That’s all.”
Sensing the cloud of anger around him, I let out a frustrated sigh. “I know this is my fault. I shouldn’t have lied to you. Will you please stop being angry at me? Anthony, we shouldn’t be upset at each other over such small things. I suspect that Armond has dealings in the black market and probably the deaths of countless people on his hands. I don’t know anymore if I can proceed with Summer’s surgery. Can we stop arguing and start discussing more important things?”
He frowned slightly as he stared at me. “Black market?”
I nodded. “I found out from my contact that they have their own operating theatre and equipment. On that note, do you remember how we met a girl named Hailey at the public tender in the Oasis Hotel? She has heart disease. Her father colluded with Armond to kill someone so that she could get a heart transplant, though he ended up in jail later on after he misappropriated some funds for his company.”
After some thought, he asked, “I have some recollection of her. How did you get in touch with her?”
“Actually, she looked for me. We already knew each other after meeting on a few occasions. Now, I’m worried about Summer. What if Armond betrays me after Summer gets the kidney from Amy? We’re not the only ones who need to bear the consequences. My parents will be dragged into this mess as well. I can’t let Summer’s affairs disrupt their newfound peace.”
Though Summer’s situation wouldn’t involve something as heinous as murder, as in Hailey’s case, it would be hard to predict Armond’s actions after the operation. He forced me down this path, claiming we wouldn’t be able to proceed with a normal, legal operation. But he could always turn around and threaten us with Amy’s existence. If he fabricates a story to the press, it’ll be a huge blow to the reputation of the Featherstones and the Moores.
I looked at Anthony, who’d pursed his lips as if in deep thought. He looked at me and said, “I think we should postpone Summer’s operation and follow the legal procedure. We shouldn’t touch Amy if we can. You should also look out for your parents. I’ll do my best to find a suitable donor ASAP. I’m sorry, but I think Summer will have to wait a while longer.”
I frowned slightly. Though this went against every instinct I had as a parent, I nodded and agreed with Anthony. I couldn’t drag two whole families into the mud to satisfy my own wishes.
“We’ll stick with our original plan then. Try not to give away too much information to anyone else.” He then pulled out his phone and called Joseph.
He seemed to be discussing some matters about Moranta with Joseph. I wasn’t in the mood to worry about such things. My mind was fixated on my proposed visit to the hospital with Brandon tomorrow.
The next day, Anthony rushed to Moranta on company business. He had left in a hurry, saying that there were problems at a few ports in Moranta that were recently acquired by the Featherstone Corporation.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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