Chapter 4
Author: Sky Runner
last update2025-06-15 05:49:18

Ryan barely heard the guard’s breath over his shoulder or the noise in the corridor anymore. His eyes were locked on his phone screen, begging it to respond. And then—it did.

The app loaded.

The spinning circle vanished, replaced by his banking dashboard.

Without a word, Ryan shrugged off the guard’s grip. He didn’t yell. Didn’t even look at anyone. He simply tapped the screen and transferred $300,000 straight from his account to the hospital’s payment portal. The numbers on the screen glowed in confirmation, and he let his thumb linger there for a moment longer.

Then, slowly, he lifted his eyes and looked directly at the nurse who had mocked him the loudest. His voice was calm as he spoke.

“Check your system.”

The nurse blinked, confused for half a second. An arrogant response was already forming on her lips when the hospital receptionist’s desk phone rang sharply across the corridor.

The receptionist picked up, murmured a few words—and then her eyes widened.

She shot to her feet.

“We just got an alert!” she shouted. “three hundred thousand dollars—just came through to our system! It’s real!”

The hallway fell into silence.

The guards, who only seconds ago had been gripping Ryan like a criminal, released their hands like they had touched fire. They stepped back, with their faces turning pale.

Everyone in the room froze. Even the ones who had been chuckling behind their phones stood there like statues.

For a moment, no one moved.

No one could make a sound.

Ryan remained standing there, his gaze at them was calm. He looked like a different man to everybody at that moment.

“That’s two hundred and fifty thousand for my mother’s surgery. Keep the rest for medicine and care.”

The nurse’s face drained of all color. Her lips parted, but no sound came out. She staggered a step backward, looking at Ryan like she had just seen a ghost.

Dr. Jerry looked from Ryan to the receptionist, as though trying to make sense of the moment. His mouth was opened, but nothing came. The numbers couldn’t lie. The man they had dismissed like trash had just paid a quarter of a million dollars without blinking.

Whispers spread like wildfire along the corridor. Those who held up their phones to record Ryan's humiliation had brought down their phones.

“I can’t believe it.”

“Where did he get that kind of money?”

The nurse finally found her voice. It was weak and trembling as she spoke up.

“I… I didn’t mean what I said,” she stammered, attempting to laugh it off. “I was just joking—of course I didn’t really mean I’d resign. It was sarcasm, you know, just to lighten the mood.”

But her voice shook with each word she let out of her mouth.

She turned to the receptionist’s desk, leaning over the monitor. “Check again. Maybe it’s an error. Maybe the alert was for someone else, maybe… maybe another patient’s bill got mixed into our account or—”

Now, to life the shame from herself, she was looking for everyway to say the payment that entered was just a coincidence and not from Ryan.

Ryan’s voice cut through her rambling.

“Check the name of the sender.”

The nurse froze.

Her hand hovered over the mouse. Her mouth opened again, but nothing came out. Her pride was crumbling, her denial growing louder as she struggled to face the crowd to tell them Ryan really sent the money.

“There’s no need to check,” she said, flustered. “The money could have come from anyone. He probably just walked in when it happened. Coincidence, that’s all.”

Her argument was becoming ridiculous. Everyone could see it. She just didn’t want to believe that Ryan could be the source of that money. She didn’t want to believe that she had mocked and humiliated someone who could pay her salary for several months, if he wanted to.

Ryan said nothing, just looking at her with patience, waiting for her to check for confirmation.

He didn’t argue or raise his voice.

But the doctor had had enough.

“Check the name, miss Rosa,” Dr. Jerry snapped. “Read it out loud.”

The nurse flinched as though she had been slapped.

She looked at the screen, her face twisting. Her eyes darted to Ryan, then back to the monitor repeatedly. The nurse stayed silent, already knowing what was there, but shame won't let her say it out.

“Read it,” the doctor ordered again.

The nurse’s hands trembled as her eyes scanned the sender information. She swallowed hard, then whispered, “Ryan… Ryan Walker.”

Her voice echoed through the corridor as everyone else was silent.

The silence that followed was heavier than anything that had come before.

Even the nurses at the far end of the hallway stopped what they were doing.

The same Ryan Walker they had mocked, insulted, and tried to throw out had just paid more than the average doctor earned in a year, and he sent it out without flinching.

Dr. Jerry turned slowly toward her.

“You’re fired.”

The words dropped like a bomb.

The nurse gasped and fell to her knees in front of Ryan, grabbing at his pant leg with both hands, her voice was desperate now.

“Please, please sir. I beg you, please…I- I was just… doing my job. Please don’t let them fire me. I didn’t mean it, I swear—I didn’t know. Please, forgive me.”

But Ryan didn’t even look down at her.

He didn’t speak.

Her voice broke as she clung to his leg, sobbing now. “I- I… please. I was wrong.” She stammered, begging.

Still, Ryan didn’t look at her. His silence said everything. Her apologies had come too late.

Around them, the rest of the staff stood quietly. Some whispered in shock, others exchanged glances, unsure what to do or say. Even the guards looked ashamed now.

No one laughed anymore. No one dared to. Even the ones who had recorded the earlier mockery had quietly lowered their phones.

Ryan finally turned to Dr. Jerry, his eyes were cold.

“Make sure my mother’s surgery is done today,” he said. “If anything happens to her because of the delay you caused, you will lose your job too.”

The doctor nodded quickly, his voice tight with fear. “Of course. Right away. I’ll personally supervise everything, Mr. Walker. Please, don’t call the management board. I—I’ll take full responsibility.”

Ryan said nothing more.

He turned and walked away, his steps calm and unhurried. The crowd stepped aside without a word, parting like water as he passed. No one dared to look him in the eye.

By the time he reached the hospital entrance, Ryan’s phone buzzed in his hand. A new message.

Elizabeth.

He stared at the screen, not moving for a long second. Then he opened it.

Ryan, I’m so sorry for how I treated you earlier tonight. I shouldn’t have embarrassed you in front of Julian. Please forgive me. I want you to come with me to Julian’s birthday party tonight. I’ll introduce you to everyone as my husband. I promise. In front of them all, I’ll give you the respect you deserve.

Ryan stared at the message, his face was blank.

It didn’t sound like her.

Not the woman who had told him to beg in the street just hours ago. Not the woman who had laughed as he pleaded for his mother’s life.

Why the sudden change?

Why now?

Something wasn’t right.

Continue to read this book for free
Scan the code to download the app

Latest Chapter

  • Chapter 8

    “Well, after borrowing the clothes, he Still deosn’t seem to fit in. I mean, he can’t even afford a descent suit,” someone said loudly enough for everyone to hear.Ryan stood quietly with his hands at his sides, scanning the crowd with a calm expression. No one defended him. Not a single person said a word—not even her parents.The embarrassment hit him hard, and now it was out in the open for everyone to see.He remained frozen on the stage, struggling to make sense of what was happening. The noise from the crowd felt distant, like it was coming from far away. He had expected Elizabeth to do something unusual, but this felt like a planned attack.“The worse thing is… even if you had to borrow, why these cheap set of clothes?” Elizabeth said, looking at his outfits with lack of interest.Before he could collect his thoughts, Elizabeth’s parents stepped forward and stood proudly beside her there on the stage, wearing an overconfident look on their faces.Then a tall man in a grey suit

  • Chapter 7

    Ryan sat in silence waiting for Claudia inside Ricco Store’s private VIP chamber. She had gone to an inner cubicle within the VIP chamber.Claudia returned shortly, not with clothes, but with a warm, genuine smile and a leather folder in her hand. She placed the folder on the table and took the seat across from him.“Mr. Walker,” she began, her voice softer now, “I didn’t bring you here just because of what happened outside. I brought you here because I’ve been looking for you.”Ryan blinked, unsure what she meant. “Looking for me?”She nodded. “I’m not just the owner of Ricco S-Class Store. I’m also a shareholder and global ambassador for Nova Inc.”Ryan sat up straighter, a small knot forming in his chest. He was sitting in front of an influential woman.“I know you already saw the message,” Claudia continued, tapping lightly on the folder in front of her. “The one informing you that you’ve been appointed as the new CEO of Nova.”“Yes,” Ryan said slowly, “I saw it but have no idea w

  • Chapter 6

    The security guard stood stiff, holding Ryan’s arms tightly like they were restraining a criminal. He thought Ryan would escape at the slightest chance. The saleswoman who had started the entire mess, stood beside him with an overconfident look on her face.All Ryan did was stay silent.He didn’t argue. He didn’t beg.“I just called the police and they are on their way to pick you up,” the manager said to Ryan, hoping he would be trembling and begging. But Ryan knew he was clean and didn’t have any intention to steale.But something in his calmness made a few customers watching feel uneasy.“Why is he so confident looking like that?” one of the customers whispered to one other person that was standing there.“I guess he has been stealing for years now. The polic doesn’t scare him anymore,” the second person responded. Their words provoked Ryan and he was about to open his mouth to confront them before the glass door slid open.It caught everyone’s attention at once and all of them tu

  • Chapter 5

    Ryan stood just outside the hospital, staring down at his phone. The message from Elizabeth was still on his screen. He read it again.He frowned slightly, his thumb hovering over the screen. It didn’t make any sense. “How about I get to the bottom of this?” he muttered, staring at screen.Ryan wasn’t sure what her game was, but one thing was clear—this wasn’t coming from a place of love or remorse. She was planning something, and he intended to find out what.He slipped his phone into his pocket and turned away from the hospital entrance. He made up his mind to go to the party, but not because he wanted her forgiveness. He wanted to see for himself what Elizabeth was trying to pull. “I have to get changed into something different,” he muttered as he took a cab.When Ryan got home and entered his room, he opened his closet and stared at the clothes hanging inside. Every shirt looked tired and faded. Most of the clothes were over three years old, the kind he had worn since moving int

  • Chapter 4

    Ryan barely heard the guard’s breath over his shoulder or the noise in the corridor anymore. His eyes were locked on his phone screen, begging it to respond. And then—it did.The app loaded.The spinning circle vanished, replaced by his banking dashboard.Without a word, Ryan shrugged off the guard’s grip. He didn’t yell. Didn’t even look at anyone. He simply tapped the screen and transferred $300,000 straight from his account to the hospital’s payment portal. The numbers on the screen glowed in confirmation, and he let his thumb linger there for a moment longer.Then, slowly, he lifted his eyes and looked directly at the nurse who had mocked him the loudest. His voice was calm as he spoke.“Check your system.”The nurse blinked, confused for half a second. An arrogant response was already forming on her lips when the hospital receptionist’s desk phone rang sharply across the corridor.The receptionist picked up, murmured a few words—and then her eyes widened.She shot to her feet.“W

  • Chapter 3

    Ryan walked into the hospital, holding his phone like it was his last hope. His hands were still shaking from the shock of what he had just acquired, becoming a billionaire overnight. He had already moved some of the money, just a million dollar, from his Nova Coin wallet to his bank.As he got closer to the corridor leading to his mother’s ward, he heard raised voices. People were gathered, whispering and staring. Curiosity got the better of him and he pushed through the crowd, with his heart pounding. The he heard a high pitched voice. “Take her way, don’t waste time. Her son has abandoned her because he has no money. So she can’t just stay here and waste space!”Breaking through the crowded corridor, Ryan froze at the sight before him. It was his mother they were yelling at.His mother was being dragged toward the exit by two hospital guards. She looked weak, barely able to stand, her hospital gown hanging loosely on her thin frame. Her legs scraped the floor, and her eyes were sh

More Chapter
Explore and read good novels for free
Free access to a vast number of good novels on MegaNovel app. Download the books you like and read anywhere & anytime.
Read books for free on the app
Scan code to read on App