When the Loser Became rich heir

CHAPTER 4

Chapter Four

Luca's heart soared. "It went through! The payment was successful!"

Patricia's face twisted in disgust. She glanced at her own phone, then back at Luca's cracked screen. "Who knows how much you actually paid? Your prehistoric phone was lagging so badly—for all we know, you sent ten dollars and think you're a hero."

"What?" Luca looked down at his phone, his euphoria evaporating. The screen had already gone dark. "I paid a hundred thousand. I'm sure I—"

"Sure?" Patricia's laugh was cruel. "You didn't even see how many zeros you entered, did you? Admit it."

Luca's hands trembled as he tried to unlock his phone again. "I can check the transfer record. Just give me a second—"

Patricia snatched the phone from his grip before he could open the banking app. "Oh no, you don't. Who knows what fake screenshots you'll pull up? We're checking the hospital account right now. The real account."

She pulled out her own phone and dialed, her eyes never leaving Luca's face. The contempt in her gaze was like acid.

"Hi, this is Patricia from ICU. Yeah, I need you to check if we received a medical payment of one hundred thousand dollars in the last five minutes." She paused, listening. "Patient name: Maria Moretti. Account number ending in..." She rattled off the numbers. "Uh-huh. Yeah, I'll wait."

Sophie crossed her arms, smirking. "This is going to be good."

Luca's pulse thundered in his ears. He tried to remember what he'd typed. The screen had been frozen, his thumb jabbing desperately at the numbers. One, zero, zero... how many zeros? His mind had been blank with panic.

Patricia's expression shifted from anticipation to vindication. "No payment? Are you sure? Check again." Another pause. "Nothing. Okay, thanks."

She ended the call and turned to Luca with a smile that could have cut glass.

"Well, well, well. Guess what, Mr. Billionaire?" Patricia's voice rose loud enough for everyone in the corridor to hear. "Finance says no payment of one hundred thousand dollars was received. Which means you're exactly what I said you were—a lying piece of trash."

"That's impossible," Luca whispered. "It said payment successful—"

"Security!" Patricia barked. Two uniformed guards appeared from around the corner. "This man is harassing staff and attempting to defraud the hospital. I want him and his sickly mother thrown out. Let them beg on the streets where they belong."

"No!" Luca lunged forward, but Sophie and the other nurse blocked his path. "Wait, please! I must have pressed the wrong amount. Maybe it was ten thousand instead of a hundred thousand. Let me check—let me pay the rest right now!"

Patricia's laughter was shrill. "Ten thousand? Oh, that's rich! I think you paid ten dollars and you're trying to scam us into believing it was more. You're not just a loser—you're a criminal loser."

"I'm not lying!" Luca struggled against the security guards' grip on his arms. "Just let me see my phone. I can prove—"

"The only thing you can prove," Patricia spat, "is that you're the most pathetic excuse for a man I've ever seen. Thirty-five billion dollars. You actually thought we'd believe that. You're dumber than dirt, you know that?"

Sophie giggled. "At least dirt has some value. You could plant flowers in it. What's he good for?"

The guards started dragging Luca backward. His mother's gurney remained in the hallway, abandoned, her chest barely rising with each shallow breath.

"Please!" Luca's voice cracked. "Don't do this! My mother—"

"Should've raised a better son," Patricia finished coldly.

Suddenly, rapid footsteps echoed from the stairwell. A middle-aged man in a rumpled suit burst through the door, his face flushed and sweaty. He clutched a tablet to his chest, his eyes wild.

Patricia's eyebrows shot up. "Mr. Ricci? What are you—"

"Where's Director Fontana?" Antonio Ricci, the hospital's finance officer, demanded breathlessly. "I've been calling him for ten minutes. Where is he?"

"I think he's in surgery, but—"

"Damn it!" Ricci ran a hand through his thinning hair. "This can't wait. The hospital just received the largest single transfer in its history. Someone deposited enough money to buy this entire building outright!"

Patricia blinked. "What? How much?"

"One hundred million dollars!" Ricci's voice pitched higher. "One hundred million! I need authorization to process it. I need the director's signature. I need—"

Patricia's face split into a condescending grin. She shot Luca a look of pure scorn. "See that? That's what real money looks like. Someone just paid a hundred million without even blinking. And you couldn't scrape together a hundred thousand. Hell, you can't even afford a hundred dollars."

The guards tightened their grip on Luca's arms, ready to haul him away.

Ricci turned toward the exit, muttering under his breath. "Who even is this mysterious benefactor? Luca Romano... never heard of him. Must be some tech billionaire or hedge fund manager. Luca Romano... where have I heard that name?"

The world stopped.

Patricia's smile froze on her face.

Sophie's hand flew to her mouth.

The security guards' fingers went slack on Luca's arms.

Luca himself felt like he'd been struck by lightning. One hundred million. He'd meant to type one hundred thousand. But in his panic, with his phone lagging, his desperate thumb hammering the screen—

He'd added three extra zeros.

Patricia's face had gone from smug to ghostly white in seconds. She grabbed Ricci's arm with shaking hands.

"W-wait," she stammered. "What... what did you say the name was?"

Ricci looked at her impatiently, annoyed at being detained. "I don't have time for this. The payer's name is Luca Romano. Now if you'll excuse me—"

"Luca Romano?" Patricia's voice was barely a whisper. Her eyes, wide with dawning horror, slowly turned toward the

man the security guards were still holding.