The Medical Doctor's mother died in his arms

4

Walter Thompson dropped the ten billion dollar offer into the silent room like a massive bomb.

Tyler trembled with pure greed and completely forgot his previous anger.

"Ten billion dollars for us?" Tyler squealed. His eyes bulged out of his head like a starving street dog seeing fresh meat.

"We are going to be the richest family in the city," Diane gasped. She clutched her expensive pearl necklace in absolute delight.

"Director Morgan is a true genius and a queen," Ashley praised loudly. She clapped her hands together like an obedient seal performing for fish.

Sophia felt a sudden rush of extreme heat flood her cheeks. Her bright eyes lit up with sheer triumph before her brain caught the unfamiliar name.

"The Phoenix Remedy?" Sophia asked. Her smooth forehead wrinkled in genuine confusion and deep thought.

She had absolutely never heard of such a product in her entire life. Morgan Pharmaceuticals never manufactured anything with that specific name.

Walter Thompson noticed her slight hesitation immediately. He assumed this young woman was just playing a brilliant negotiating game.

"I will raise my offer to twenty billion dollars for a twenty percent stake," Walter countered. His voice carried the heavy weight of a man who always got his way.

"Twenty billion dollars?" Tyler choked. He looked like he might pass out from the sheer excitement.

"Take the deal right now before he changes his mind," Diane hissed. She nudged her daughter sharply in the ribs with a bony elbow.

"Chairman Thompson I must be honest with you," Sophia stated. She maintained her professional posture despite her racing heart.

"I do not have the recipe you are talking about," Sophia confessed. Her voice wavered just a tiny bit as she spoke the truth.

Walter Thompson lost his wide smile instantly. A look of deep concern washed over his wrinkled face.

"That is impossible because someone burned it at a hospital last night under your exact name," Walter revealed. He tapped his wooden cane on the floor in absolute frustration.

The word hospital moved through Sophia like a bucket of freezing ice water. Her entire body went totally numb and rigid.

The scattered pieces of the puzzle suddenly assembled themselves in her horrified mind.

Helen died last night in that exact hospital. The medical bills were under Sophia Morgan because she handled Ethan and his expenses for four years.

The person standing in that dark hospital room burning papers was her husband.

The recipe Helen pulled from under her pillow was the Phoenix Remedy. Ethan watched it turn to ash on the dirty floor.

"That worthless mutt burned our money," Tyler shouted. His face turned purple with explosive and violent rage.

"He is a rabid dog destroying things he cannot understand," Diane screamed. She stomped her feet on the expensive rug like a toddler.

"He is worse than a stray animal biting the hand that feeds it," Ashley agreed. Her voice dripped with nasty venom and pure malice.

Sophia felt the blood drain completely from her beautiful face. She turned as pale as a white ghost.

She knew the legend of the Phoenix Remedy well. It was the creation of a legendary American herbal medicine master.

The formula caused a massive sensation decades ago and wealthy people sought it ever since.

If Walter Thompson came personally to offer twenty billion dollars without any hesitation the real value was astronomical.

Her mind easily arrived at the number one hundred billion dollars. The thought stayed there and tortured her deeply.

Ethan did not just burn an old piece of paper. He burned the entire future she could have easily ruled.

He burned her massive empire because she chose a stupid dog birthday party over his dying mother.

"You did this to me," Sophia whispered. Her voice was weak and completely broken.

She turned slowly and pointed a shaking finger directly at Ashley.

"You told me to go to that dog party instead of the hospital," Sophia accused. Her eyes rolled back into her head as the room spun.

Walter Thompson watched in total bewilderment as the powerful woman pitched forward.

Sophia collapsed completely unconscious onto the hard floor. The sheer fury took her far past the absolute breaking point her body could sustain.

Across the massive city in the South Side of Chicago a small clinic sat in total darkness.

White mourning cloth draped heavily over the front windows and the wooden door.

Ethan crouched low before a painted portrait of his dead mother. He slowly fed yellow paper into a hot fire basin.

"I did not listen to you Mom," Ethan whispered. His voice was thick with heavy grief and unshed tears.

"I will make those people in New York pay for absolutely everything," Ethan promised. His dark eyes reflected the dancing orange flames perfectly.

The painful story he carried was seven long years old. It ran far deeper than a simple miserable divorce.

His cruel father Edward Ingram framed Helen perfectly. Edward let his new wicked wife manipulate him completely into destroying their lives.

They forced Helen to take the ultimate fall for the Ingram family enemies.

"The Seven Core Lotus toxin still runs through my blood," Ethan muttered. He gripped his own chest tightly in sudden phantom pain.

His mother suppressed the deadly poison but she never truly cured it.

"I just need three rare herbs to regain my full strength," Ethan stated. His face hardened into a mask of pure cold determination.

Two sets of hurried footsteps suddenly echoed loudly in the quiet back alley.

The clinic door burst open violently. A tall woman in a black dress entered the room with great urgency.

She half carried a much younger woman whose white blouse was completely soaked red at the shoulder.

"We need treatment right now," the tall woman demanded. Her tone belonged to someone who was always obeyed immediately.

"If you save her I will reward you heavily like a good loyal dog," she added. Her voice dripped with arrogant wealthy entitlement.

Ethan remained crouched on the cold floor. He kept his eyes locked firmly on the burning memorial fire.

"The clinic is permanently closed," Ethan replied. His voice was completely flat and totally indifferent.

"I do not treat gunshot wounds anyway," Ethan added quietly. He tossed another piece of yellow paper into the hot flames.

The two wealthy women stopped dead in their tracks. The room fell into an absolute and terrifying silence.

From the very start to the absolute finish Ethan never turned around to look at them once.

He could not have possibly seen the bloody wound on the young girl.

The tall woman stared at his broad back in pure shock.

The only explanation that fit the situation was completely impossible.

This man crouching before a memorial fire in a dark back alley clinic was something considerably more than an ordinary doctor.