The Long-Awaited Heir

Chapter 09 Hospital Transfer

Ricardo becomes jealous as Cindy’s friends insinuate that she should have continued dating Matthew because of the apparent influence he has with Abner Sterling.

Cindy, however, recovers from her shock and laughs. Wanting to reassure her boyfriend, she brings her cell phone to her mouth and records another audio, “You’re crazy. Don’t you realize that I was the reason Mr. Sterling banned gossip in the university forum? The fact that Matthew was mentioned was pure formality. After all, you were talking about him too. And be thankful that my current boyfriend doesn’t demand any compensation for having his name involved in sordid rumors.”

Cindy finishes and puts her cell phone in her purse, “There, honey, problem solved. Thanks to your influence, Mr. Sterling took matters into his hands and ended the gossip.”

Ricardo, however, keeps insecure and severe, “Are you sure that the dean and the owner of the university don’t have a strange fondness for the poor guy? His name was mentioned first, not yours.”

“Does it really matter?” Cindy frowns and opens the car door, “I don’t care. I just know we won’t be bothered by cyberbullying anymore. Let’s get to work.”

Cindy gets out of the car. Ricardo is not reassured. He thinks Cindy didn’t refute enough.

******

Matthew enters the Public Hospital looking for his mother. He approaches the reception desk.

“Good afternoon. I came to visit my mother.”

The receptionist enters some information, “Your mother’s name?”

“Sheila Silva.”

“Young man, this patient is no longer here. She has been transferred.”

Matthew goes pale and his eyes widen, “What did you say? My mother... PASSED AWAY?”

The receptionist doesn’t know if she explains or if she just laughs, “No, Mr. Silva...”

“When a person is transferred, it means they have died!” Matthew screams desperately, “Where else would my mother go?”

“Wouldn’t Andrade Clinic be a suitable place for you?”

Matthew gets another bump. He feels like the receptionist is making fun of him.

“Miss, don’t joke about something so serious. I’m looking for my mother, Sheila Silva, who until yesterday was hospitalized here.”

“And I’m informing you that earlier today she was transferred to Andrade Clinic, for private treatment.” The receptionist starts to lose her patience.

“But how was this possible if I don’t have health insurance from this clinic?” Matthew clings to the counter, distressed, thinking that his mother has died and they don’t want to let him see her.

“Mr. Silva, I suggest you check for yourself. I’ve already informed you three times that your mother is no longer here.”

“You’re a liar!” Matthew starts heading towards the gate to jump over it.

“Guards!” The receptionist stands up and points to muscular guards watching the lobby.

They spring into action and stop Matthew from entering.

“Hey, young man! Don’t make a fuss, this is a hospital!”

“Let me go! I want to see my mother! What did you do to them, you bastards?”

The guards drag Matthew and throw him outside as if he were a simple bag of cement.

Matthew falls to the floor. If his clothes were already dirty, now they became dirtier.

When he gets up, Matthew feels a slight pain in his knee. What the hell!

He takes out his cell phone and dials the only person who can help him.

On the other side, Walter is in the pool at his mansion, wearing swim trunks and enjoying the sun to get a tan. He has already taken a swim and is now resting on the sun lounger.

His cell phone is on a side table. When he hears the ring, he sees who it is and is surprised to see Matthew’s number on the caller ID. He knows Matthew went to see his mother...

“Matt, hello? Don’t tell me the worst happened.”

“I don’t know what’s worse: my mother dying or disappearing from the hospital!” Matthew yells.

“What are you talking about, man?” Walter sits down, intrigued.

“I came to the hospital to visit my mother, but the receptionist said she was transferred to your family’s clinic! You know I don’t have health insurance with you.”

“And you know how that offends me.” Walter jokes.

“No, man, you don’t understand...” Matthew’s voice shakes, “I feel like my mom died and they don’t want me to see her.”

“Why would they do such a thing?” Walter is perplexed.

“You know how famous this hospital is!” Matthew yells, his eyes watering, “People die from medical negligence or lack of government resources, so they try to hide it and the patient’s family doesn’t sue them. They decided in my case to say that my mother was transferred to a private clinic!”

“You know we have affordable plans for lower-class people, Matt.” Walter squints.

“Walt, I’m sorry, but I don’t believe it for a second—”

“Mr. Silva?”

Matthew is interrupted by someone calling out to him curiously. He turns to see the owner of the voice...

...And he’s surprised to see Evan around.

“Oh, the new university inspector.” Matthew greets him.

“Mr. Silva, is everything okay with you sir? I noticed you were desperate.”

Matthew puts his hand on his cell phone and narrows his gaze at Evan, “Ehr... Excuse me, but are you trying to help ME with something?”

“Why couldn’t I?” Evan smiles friendly.

“Because I barely know you, and you don’t have any power in this hospital to help me,” Matthew responds, feeling obvious. Who does this man think he is?

Evan takes the cell phone from Matthew’s hand, “Try me.”

Matthew becomes more and more astonished. What a weird dude!

“OK, can you get my Mom back? She passed away, but the hospital won’t let me in to see her. It looks like they’re in on some illegal organ transplant scheme.”

“You have to call the police and get a good lawyer.”

“I don’t have money for a lawyer.” Matthew lowers his head.

“But what did the hospital say? They can’t just leave you outside!” Evan is very convincing.

Matthew continues talking, not paying attention that he is venting to a stranger, “They said my mother is transferred to Andrade Clinic.”

“Perfect, let’s check at the clinic—”

“Hey, inspector, didn’t you hear me say I don’t have any money?” Matthew groans, “Sure enough, my mom isn’t there!”

“Have you checked?” Evan smiles out of the corner of his mouth.

Matthew freezes for a few seconds. Is no one listening to him?

“Mr. Silva, you cannot accuse the hospital of having killed and hidden your mother before checking whether the information they gave was correct. No police station will accept your complaint.” Evan speaks wisely.

Matthew shakes his head, “OK, let’s waste time at the clinic!”

“My car is right there. I’ll give you a ride.”

“I don’t have money to pay you,” Matthew repeats the phrase that irritated Patricia.

“No need to remind me, young man.” Evan laughs.

Matthew, without really understanding why, follows Evan.

******

At Andrade Clinic, Walter is dressed socially, walking through the halls, looking for Matthew’s mother.

He was talking to his friend when the call suddenly ended. Unable to call back, he decided to check before his friend did something stupid. He was very nervous on his cell phone.

He walks through the hallways with vinyl flooring and white walls with blue details on the baseboard. Walter finds a door and enters a room.

Sheila was sleeping in a much more comfortable hospital bed, one of those reclining ones, with soft pillows and clean, scented blankets. The room was just for her, there were no other patients crowded around. This contributed to her improvement.

Meanwhile, Matthew is shocked when the receptionist confirms Sheila Silva’s admission.

“Yes, patient Sheila Silva was transferred here hours ago.”

“This is impossible!” Matthew is stunned, “Who’s paying for all this?”

Evan has the same concerns as Patricia, “Mr. Silva, is money your only concern? Aren’t you grateful that your mother is still alive and is being treated more appropriately?”

“It must have been some mistake...” Matthew can’t help it. In his mind, he can only see the bill full of zeros arriving in the mail for him to pay.

“There’s no mistake. The Public Hospital was full and needed to release some patients. Luckily, we had vacancies.”

“And who will pay?” Matthew punches the counter, scaring the receptionist.

“The city hall, sir! Don’t worry, we won’t charge you a penny.” The receptionist flinches.

Evan takes the liberty of taking Matthew by the arm and leading him inside, “Let’s go find your mother. She’s probably in the tuberculosis ward or something.”

Matthew is so stunned that he doesn’t even notice that they didn’t ask the receptionist which room Sheila was in.

When they turn a hallway, they meet Walter.

“Matt! What happened? We were talking, but the call dropped.” Walter is surprised to find Evan, “What are you doing here?”

“I found Mr. Silva dazed at the entrance to the Public Hospital. I gave him a ride.”

Matthew just needs to cry, “Walt, they said City Hall moved my mom here. How is that possible? I’ve never heard of that.”

“Me neither.” Walter smiles at the corner of his mouth, “But you don’t have to worry anymore, buddy. I found your mother. You won’t believe how lucky she was!”

Without waiting for Matthew’s whimpers, Walter leads him to the room where Sheila is resting.

Matthew gaped at the bed and top-of-the-line hospital equipment. A monitor displayed Sheila’s heartbeat rate. It felt like Matthew was in ‘General Hospital’ or ‘E.R.’.

He slowly approaches the bed, still barely believing that his mother managed to get herself admitted to a top-quality hospital.

“Mom... How do you explain being here... Did God have mercy on you?”

Sheila seems to have heard Matthew’s voice because she opens her eyes immediately afterward. Her voice is firmer than before.

“Son... I’m glad you found me. When they announced my transfer, I didn’t know if you would be able to be informed.”

“Were you transferred here at government expense?” Matthew never seems to believe the explanation given.

“I don’t know...” Sheila leans back against the pillows, “Do you remember that someone complained about me coughing among the other patients, accusing me of having COVID? Well, it looks like I was ‘selected’ to come here. That’s good, right? Look, there are times when I’m not coughing.”

“Very well, Mom, I’m happy for you. And when we have money, we’ll sign up for a health plan. My friend still doesn’t forgive me for that.”

Mother and son laugh. Walter approaches them.

“How are you, Mrs. Silva?”

“Walter, thank you so much for everything. Sometimes I think it was you who arranged all of this. Matt is very lucky to have you as a friend, practically the only college student who doesn’t judge him for who he is.”

Walter smiles kindly. Matthew stares at him, thinking about this possibility.

Before questioning his best friend, Matthew’s cell phone rings, “Excuse me, I’ll answer it in the hallway.”

Matthew notes that the number is unknown. Who would it be...?