Hoffman's Illegitimate Son

Chapter 3: Unprofessional Nurses 2

The corridor fell silent. Arthur held up his phone, his hand still shaking, showing the confirmation screen directly to the three nurses. Vanessa's face went completely still, her mouth hanging open. Ashley and Megan looked like they'd been struck.

“There,” Arthur said, his voice hoarse, tears burning his eyes. “Payment successful. The forty-five thousand is paid in full.”

Vanessa's eyes narrowed as she pushed his hand down with a look of disguised disgust. “Who knows what account you actually manipulated? Your piece of junk phone was freezing and lagging like crazy. For all we know, you tailored a local receipt image and think you're clever.”

“I can check the system record with you right now,” Arthur said quickly. “Just let me—"

“Check the record?” Vanessa snatched the phone from his hand before he could react. “Who knows if you'll just fake another screen? We're checking the main financial terminal directly. The real account.”

She pulled out her own phone, dialing with sharp, aggressive jabs at the screen. “Yes, this is Nurse Vanessa Wilson from the ICU floor. I need you to check if we've received a payment for medical expenses under patient Margaret Vance. The amount should be forty-five thousand dollars.”

Arthur held his breath, his heart pounding. The payment had gone through. He'd seen it clear.

Vanessa's expression shifted from professional inquiry to smug satisfaction. “Uh-huh. I see. No, nothing? Are you absolutely sure?” She paused, listening. “Right. Thank you.”

She ended the call and turned to Arthur with a venomous smile. “Finance says no payment of forty-five thousand dollars has been received. What a shocker.”

“That's impossible,” Arthur protested, stepping forward. “I saw the confirmation on the bank apk—!”

“You saw what you wanted to see,” Ashley cut in, her voice dripping with contempt. “Probably got confused by all those random numbers.”

“Give me my phone back,” Arthur demanded, reaching for it. “I'll show you—"

Vanessa held the phone high, well out of his reach. “I don't think so. You've wasted enough of our time.”

She turned to the security desk phone mounted on the wall and pressed the call button. “Security? This is Nurse Wilson. I need two guards up here to the fourth-floor corridor immediately again. We have a disruptive individual—"

Before she could finish, the sound of rapid, heavy footsteps echoed up the corridor stairs.

A middle-aged man in an immaculate executive suit came rushing down from the upper administrative floor, his face flushed, breathing heavily as he clutched a glowing tablet in one hand and his phone in the other.

Vanessa's eyebrows rose in recognition. “Mr. Daniel? What are you doing down here?”

Daniel was the hospital's chief financial officer, a man who rarely ventured to the patient floors.

Vanessa's smug expression returned full force. “Actually, perfect timing, sir. You can personally confirm for this con artist that he hasn't paid a single cent toward his mother's bills.”

Daniel barely glanced at her, his attention fixed frantically on his tablet screen. “I don't have time for this, Wilson,” he muttered irritably. “The system just flagged an absolute anomaly. A massive wire transfer hit our primary reserve account a minute ago—one hundred million dollars. From Hoffman's corporate banking. I can't reach Director Carter and I need to find out who authorized this entry immediately—"

Vanessa's jaw dropped. Then she quickly recovered, turning to Arthur with even more vicious mockery. “Did you hear that? One hundred million dollars. That's what real wealth looks like. Someone out there just funded this entire facility.” She leaned closer to Arthur, her voice dripping with scorn. “And you? You couldn't even scrape together standard fees without throwing a tantrum. You're nothing.”

Megan nodded sagely. “Some people have class, and some are just leeches.”

Daniel was already pacing past them, muttering under his breath as he scrolled. “Wait... looking at the transaction sub-logs attached to that main wire... there was a secondary domestic settlement processed from the exact same patient name right before it. Forty-five thousand dollars... clearing the balance for a patient named Margaret Vance.”

The corridor went utterly, terrifyingly silent.

It was as if all the oxygen had been sucked out of the space. Vanessa's face, twisted in smug satisfaction just seconds ago, went deathly pale. Ashley's mouth fell open. Megan actually stumbled backward against the wall.

Arthur stood frozen, his hand still outstretched where his phone had been snatched.

“What...” Vanessa's voice came out as a strangled croak. She lunged forward, grabbing Daniel's arm so forcefully he nearly dropped his tablet. “What did you just say? Whose name was attached to that clearance?”

Daniel frowned, pulling his arm free with obvious annoyance. “Arthur Vance. The first clearing note came directly from the Hoffman's Cooperation for the same patient as another from the name “Arthur Vance, probably her son or husband.” He looked up at the nurses. “Why? Do you know him?”

All three nurses' heads swiveled in absolute unison toward Arthur, their faces locked in expressions of dawning, paralyzing horror.

“If you do tell me quickly, this name Arthur Vance can't be an ordinary person. Even Hoffman's family is moving millions for this person's relative…”

Finally Megan mustered up enough strength raising her hands and pointing at Arthur. “Sir, he's the one… he's the son of the patient ‘Arthur Vance’.”

“Really good good… please sir follow me to my office so we can get your mother's body settled at the earliest.” David said, moving towards Arthur who stood frozen in shock as well. The name Hoffman was the same name his mother insisted on as his father's family before going quiet.

“Sir…?”

"Yes, but..."

"My God." Dr. Daniel blanched. His fists clenched at his sides. "You're here to acquire the hospital, aren't you? You're going to do a hostile takeover."

"What? No..."

"Please." Dr. Daniel's voice cracked a little, losing his professional tone. "This hospital has been serving this community for sixty years. It was established by my father, his father before him. This is more than a business. It is a legacy. You can try to acquire control over it if you wish, but I implore you, do not destroy what we've built here. These people need this hospital."

"Director Daniel, stop." Arthur raised both his hands. "I'm not here to acquire anything. I don't need to buy this hospital or anything like that."

"Then why..."

"I'm here only to pay my mother's outstanding bills." Arthur's voice hardened. "Honestly, I'm not in any way connected with the Hoffman's Corporation or their family. These hundred million dollars they sent has nothing to do with me. Actually, you can even call them and do whatever you want with the money, but all I want to do is pay since your staff..." Arthur pointed sharply at Vanessa, who was still lying on the floor, "...refused to treat her. They were literally trying to drag my dying mother out of the room and throw her out on the street."

Dr. Daniel's expression changed from fear to confusion and then to growing anger. "They were doing what?"

Dr. Daniel turned to Vanessa slowly, his face becoming darker. "Nurse Wilson. Stand up."

Vanessa tried to stand but was still crying. "Director Daniel, I can explain..."

"Explain?" Dr. Daniel's voice was icy. "How can you explain expelling a critically ill patient? How did you dare to violate everything this hospital stands for?"

"She... she hasn't paid anything for weeks." Vanessa stammered. "There are some policies..."

"We have payment plans!" Dr. Daniel yelled. "We have hardship waivers! There is a charitable care program! I established all these things personally! I have waived or reduced fees for hundreds of families in this community, and you think that I would ever allow you to throw a dying woman out of the hospital?"

Ashley and Megan, who were trying to hide quietly, froze as the director's gaze passed over them.

"Were you also involved in this?" Dr. Daniel asked.

Neither of the women could look him in the eyes. It was obvious enough.

Vanessa knelt down. "Please, Director Daniel. I am sorry. I was wrong. I was just... I was following orders."

"Orders?" Dr. Daniel's eyes narrowed. "Whose orders?"

Vanessa's voice became barely a whisper. "Marcus Dwen, the Dwen Corporation young master. He... he offered me fifty thousand dollars to remove his mother from the hospital today."