Right away, Mr. Raymond stopped his restless pacing and turned to face his wife, his expression heavy with the same concern that had been eating at both of them for hours. He loosened his tie slightly, a gesture that spoke to how rattled he really was—Mr. Raymond never loosened his tie, not even during the most stressful business negotiations, but this was different.“I hope so too,” he said, his voice carrying none of its usual commanding confidence. “I really hope it's nothing important, nothing that can't be fixed with a proper conversation.” He moved closer to where his wife stood, his hands clasped behind his back in that way he did when he was trying to maintain control over a situation that felt like it was slipping away from him. “But the manner in which Steven actually walked away—the way he just stormed out—it was so alarming. I've never seen him like that before.”Mrs. Raymond nodded, wrapping her arms around herself as if she was cold, though the room was perfectly warm.

At that moment, before Patricia could say another word or offer any kind of response to her parents' growing panic about the contract situation, her phone suddenly started ringing. The sharp sound cut through the tense atmosphere in the living room like a knife, making all three of them freeze where they stood.Then Patricia didn't glanced down at her phone, seeing the screen light up with an incoming call, but she didn't move to answer it right away. Her mind was still processing everything her parents had just said, still trying to figure out if their theory about Jeremy made any sense or if they were just looking for someone to blame for Steven's behavior. The phone continued to ring in her hand, the vibration buzzing against her palm insistently.She let it ring. Once, twice, three times. Part of her didn't want to deal with whoever was calling, not when her family was in the middle of such a crisis. But the phone kept going, refusing to give up, and with each passing ring, she co

Mrs. Raymond was right behind him, practically vibrating with excitement as she grabbed her designer handbag and checked her appearance in the hallway mirror. “Absolutely. We need to present a united front as a family. This could change everything for us.” She smoothed down her hair and adjusted her jewelry, making sure she looked the part of a successful businessman's wife.Patricia felt a wave of unease wash over her as she watched her parents transform the mayor's family emergency into their own networking opportunity. But before she could voice any objections or remind them that her primary concern should be providing medical care, they were already ushering her toward the door.The drive to City Hospital was tense with anticipation. Mr. Raymond drove faster than usual, weaving through the late-night traffic with the kind of aggressive urgency usually reserved for actual emergencies. Mrs. Raymond spent the entire trip checking her makeup in the passenger mirror and coaching Patric

At that moment, the Governor's composure finally cracked completely, his hands moved restlessly as he spoke, gesturing with the kind of raw emotion that rarely showed up in his carefully crafted public appearances.“Dr. Patricia,” he said, his voice thick with both gratitude and desperation, “I want you to understand something very clearly. If you succeed in healing my mother, if you can bring her back from this, I'm going to reward you and your family handsomely.” His eyes were intense as they locked onto Patricia's, and there was no mistaking the sincerity behind his words. “You can name what you want anything at all and I will make absolutely sure that it happens. Resources, connections, political favors, business opportunities, funding for research or hospital expansions—literally anything within my power to give.”The Governor paused, his voice dropping to something more intimate and personal. “My mother isn't just family to me. She's the reason I'm standing here today, the reas

At that moment, hearing what Kai just said, Patricia found herself in an incredibly uncomfortable position. Her mouth opened slightly as if to respond, but no words came out. She glanced desperately toward her parents, hoping they might have some way to address Kai's very specific and well-informed request, but Mr. and Mrs. Raymond were equally speechless.The silence stretched on for several awkward seconds, and Patricia could feel the weight of the Governor's family's expectant gazes bearing down on her. The problem was that Kai had done his research too well he knew exactly what he was talking about, and he was asking for something that the Raymond family simply couldn't provide.The truth was as uncomfortable as it was infuriating: that particular drug Kai was referencing, the one that had been keeping the little girl alive, was only being produced by Jeremy. That good-for-nothing Jeremy, as they thought of him, was the sole creator of that miraculous medicine. It had never occurr