From Rags To Riches

Chapter 6

Leo Vance hit the floor so hard his knees made a loud cracking sound on the hospital marble. The sound echoed through the lobby, causing several patients and staff members to stop and stare. His expensive phone lay forgotten and cracked a few feet away. The man who had been laughing and mocking Elias just minutes ago was now trembling, his face a mess of sweat and desperation.

"Elena, please," Leo sobbed, reaching out as if to grab the hem of her white trousers. "My father, he didn't mean anything by it. He’s a good man. He’s worked his whole life for that affiliation. You can’t just end it like this over a misunderstanding. I was just joking with Elias. We were classmates, you know? It was just a bit of schoolyard banter."

Elena stepped back, her expression showing nothing but pure disgust. She didn't look at him like a rival; she looked at him like something she had accidentally stepped on in the street.

"There is no need for someone of your nature to work for us, Leo," Elena said. Her voice was flat and final. "My company values integrity and professional conduct. You’ve shown tonight that you possess neither. You tried to use my company’s influence to block a child from receiving life saving surgery. That isn't banter. That is malice."

Leo turned his head toward Elias, his eyes wide and bloodshot. "Elias, help me. Tell her. Tell her we’re cool. I’ll pay for everything. I’ll give you whatever you want. Just tell her to give my father another chance. If he loses this contract, he’ll kill me. We’ll lose the house, the cars, everything."

Elias looked down at Leo. He remembered the years of being pushed into lockers, the jokes about his worn out shoes, and the way Leo had just called Lily half dead. He felt a strange lack of satisfaction. It wasn't that he forgave Leo; it was that Leo had become so small that even hating him felt like a waste of energy.

"You should have thought about your house before you opened your mouth about my daughter," Elias said.

"Elias, please!" Leo cried out, trying to crawl forward.

The hospital manager, a man who had been watching the scene unfold from the shadows of the administration office, finally stepped forward. He snapped his fingers at two large security guards.

"Get him out of here," the manager ordered. "We can’t have this kind of disturbance in a place of healing. Mr. Vance, you are barred from this facility. If you set foot on these grounds again, we will have you arrested for trespassing."

The guards didn't be gentle. They grabbed Leo by the armpits and hauled him to his feet. Leo continued to scream and beg, his voice fading as they dragged him through the sliding glass doors and out into the night. The lobby felt suddenly, peacefully quiet.

Elias turned to Elena as they walked outside. 

She was standing there, adjusting her sleeve, her face a mask of indifference. The warmth he thought he had seen earlier, the way she had leaned into him and called him a friend, seemed to have vanished into thin air.

"Thank you," Elias said. "I mean it. You didn't have to do that."

Elena looked at him, her eyes cold and distant. The heiress was back, and the girl who had played along with his story was gone.

"I saw your daughter through the window of the ICU earlier," Elena said. She began walking toward the exit, her heels clicking sharply on the floor. "I was only trying to help her. I don't like people being maltreated around me, especially children. It’s bad for the atmosphere."

Elias followed her out onto the sidewalk. The night air was cool, but Elena’s tone was colder.

"I get it," Elias said, catching up to her. "But still, what you said back there, about being a girl who would do that for me. It helped."

Elena stopped and turned to face him. She didn't smile. "Don't get the wrong ideas about what I said back then, Elias. It was a performance to silence a loudmouth. Nothing more. I don't know you, and you don't know me. We are not friends."

Elias nodded, taking the hit. He was used to people looking down on him, though it felt different coming from her. "Right. Well, about the money. Ten million is a lot. I have the means to return it to you. Just give me an account number and I’ll have it transferred tonight."

Elena let out a short, sharp laugh. It wasn't a mean laugh, but it was full of a strange kind of amusement. She looked at his simple suit and then at the sleek car waiting for him.

"I don't need a refund," she said. Her voice softened just a fraction, lacking the disdain she had shown Leo. "Keep your money, Elias. Even if you actually have it, ten million is pocket change to me. Spend it on your daughter’s recovery."

"I’d still like to pay you back in some way," Elias persisted. He wasn't used to being in debt to anyone, especially not a woman who looked at him like he was a stray cat she had just fed. "How about dinner? My treat. Somewhere nice, or somewhere quiet, whatever you like."

Elena looked at him for a long beat. She seemed to be measuring him, looking for a hidden motive. Finally, she shook her head.

"I would be the one treating you instead," she replied. "I don't let people like you pay for my meals. It’s a matter of principle."

She turned to walk toward her own waiting limousine, a silver beast that looked like it cost more than a suburban mansion. Elias stood there, feeling a bit foolish, but he couldn't help but admire the way she carried herself. She was a force of nature.

She was about to reach for the door handle when the world seemed to shift. Two black SUVs skidded around the corner of the hospital driveway, tires screaming against the asphalt. They moved with a precision that suggested military training. Before Elias could even process the movement, the doors flew open and six men in tactical gear and balaclavas jumped out.

They weren't carrying handguns. They were carrying submachine guns.

Elias instinctively stepped in front of Elena, his hand reaching for the holster that wasn't there anymore. He was a civilian now, but his reflexes were still those of a cop.

The men formed a semi circle around them, their weapons leveled at Elena’s chest. The hospital security guards at the door took one look at the heavy weaponry and dove for cover behind the concrete pillars.

One of the men stepped forward. He was taller than the others, and through the gap in his mask, Elias could see the glint of a golden tooth. He didn't look at Elias at all. His focus was entirely on the woman standing behind him.

"Miss Elena," the man with the golden tooth muttered, his voice muffled by the fabric. "We finally got you."