Chapter 188
“Thanks, Emilia I’ll come in for the interview tomorrow” Carter finished sendin one look nearly scared him to death:
hit unire message and glancud bark
without thinking. That
“Mr. Patell” Carter rushed over and yanked the cat door open. He w Clayton struggling to breathe, his face pale as paper, and quickly loosened collar, Just beng in there, I’m going to get a doctor”
The car door was open and the breeze flowing into the vehicle helped ease Clayton’s feeling of suffocation.
Luckily, they’d parked right outside the medical building, so the medical staff quickly rushed over with a stretcher and wheeled Clayton into the emergency room
Carter had originally planned to drop Clayton oll and head back home that sam opportunity for him that he needed to get back and prepare for
day. Work was hard to find these days, and Emilia had fired up a job
But with Clayton’s current condition, Carter couldn’t leave. Even worse, he’d have to help cover the medical bills,
The money itself wasn’t much, but the problem was that Clayton still owed him a month’s salary plus compensation for wrongful termination from the company–none of which had been paid.
Carter wasn’t going to throw more money into this mess. He went upstairs to find Valerie and told her that Clayton was in emergency care, then pretended to take a phone call about some urgent business and left.
Valerie didn’t think much of it at first, but when the doctor asked her to pay the medical fees, she started making a scene. “My husband is still unconscious and you’re already pushing me to pay? Can’t you wait until he wakes up?”
The nurse was speechless. “Ma’am, hospitals require payment before treatment. Your husband came in as an emergency case–a life–or–death situation
so we treated him first. You can’t be unreasonable about this.”
Valerie snapped, Who’s being unreasonable? You think just because I’m not from around here, you can push me around. My uncle is from Haldenwick, and I’ve been living here for five years.”
E
“My husband controls all our finances, and he’s unconscious right now. What am I supposed to pay you with? The police brought me here–you think I’m going to run away?
“I’m telling you right now. If you delay his treatment and my husband develops complications, I will absolutely file a complaint against this hospital”
Valerie got into a shouting match with the nurse outside the hospital room. She didn’t have any money.
to cover her losses,
The auction had been a complete disaster, and Valerie had lost everything. She still had no idea where she was going to find money to so there was no way she could pay even a penny for medical bills.
The nurse’s face turned bright red with anger. She couldn’t understand how someone who dressed so nicely could be so unreasonable. “If you don’t pay the fees, we can’t give your husband his medication.”
Valerie immediately turned to the police officer who had accompanied her. “Officer, I need you to witness this. The hospital is delaying treatment if something happens to my husband, they’re completely responsible.”
Inside the room, Clayton had already woken up. He turned his head toward the wall and silently let bears roll down his cheeks. Valerie kept saying everything she did was for his own good, but when his life was actually on the line, she wouldn’t spend a dime.
The man in the next bed had been brought in for a stroke and had woken up earlier than Clayton. When he heard the commotion outside, he patted his daughter’s hand. “That voice sounds familiar, fsn’t that your old classmate?”
“Yeah” His daughter nodded and poured him a glass of water. “Your mouth looks dry. Take a sip
A blue curtain separated the two beds. After a moment, the man spoke again, “is her hand okay now?”
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Chapter 188
“There was never anything wrong with it, his daughter said with a sness, “She just made op that are about not being able to paint anymore she was afraid people would find out she’d steden aanther dudent’s artwork for the competition”
Clayton spun around sharply, his eyes liked on the blue contain. Valerie’chand was never actu competition?‘ he thought.
red? Sa dole another student’s painting for the
Clayton desperately wanted to ask them if they were talking about his Valeria partly because he thought Audrey had hurt her hand and mined her
w what Valerie had done was wr
one was wrong, but he’d till defended her
But if everything has been lake from the beginning Clayton thought. Its lips trembled as he struggled to prop himself
ying to reach for the
“Robin Davidson” Valerie walked into the hospital room just as the woman was grabbing a pitcher to get water, and they nearly en Robin gave her a polite but distant greeting. t your childhood sweetheart take you to fronhaven for the good life? What brought you burk
- ng. “Didn’t y
Valerie glanced toward the inside of the room and quickly pulled Robin out into the hallway. Their footsteps faded away, and Clayton couldn’t hear they were saying anymore.
But the truth was already crystal clear. The person they’d been talking a
about–the one who taked a hand injury and claimed she could never paint again
that was Valerie.
Clayton closed his eyes as another tear slipped down his cheek. ‘What the hell have I done?‘ he thought
Everything had been Valerie’s elaborate act, and Clayton had bought every bit of it. He’d hurt Audrey over and over again, which was why she’d been so determined to divorce him.
Ever since Clayton lost Audrey, his luck seemed to have dried up completely. His home life was chaos, his career was falling apart, and even his health was in serious trouble. Everyone had turned their backs on him, and he didn’t even have money for medical treatment.
The more Clayton thought about it, the angrier he got, and the angrier he got, the more determined he became. After struggling for a long time, he finally managed to pull out his phone and send Emilia a message,
Clayton: [Can you help me prepare divorce papers?
Emilia: Are you serious?
The message caught Emilia completely off guard.
She called him right away. “Mr. Patel, I was just about to call you. Mr. John Patel’s case has gone through the system–he’s been cooperating with returning the stolen funds, and since the amount wasn’t huge and his attitude was good, he got eight months.”
Clayton said nothing.
“The law firm obviously can’t operate under these circumstances. Now that Mr. John Patel’s case is wrapped up, I think we should call it quits and go our separate ways.”
Clayton’s voice shook as he pressed his hand to his forehead in pain. “You’re going solo?”
n felt like an abandoned orphan, ww firm was finished, and now his best partner was leaving too. For a moment, Clayton
The law
Emilia let out a soft laugh. “Mr. Patel, you come from money and don’t have to worry about your next meal. I’ve got a whole family to support.”
Clayton knew there was no convincing her to stay. Emilia had handled John’s case without charging a dime. She’d already done more than ano
“Well, I wish you all the success in the world then,” Clayton finally said.
“I will” Emilia hung up first.
Chapter 188
Clayton stared blankly at the ceiling. His law license had been invoked, and now his possibly find to handle my divorce case?‘ be thought
ving too. “Who she could t
While Clayton was lost in these gloomy thoughts, Valerie returned. She walked up to Clayton’s bedside with Bobin on her arm, and the moant the e he was awake, her face lit up with a bright smile.
“Clayton, let me introduce you to someone. This is my best friend, Robin. Her dad is right in the bed next to you. He came in with a stroke Valerie said,
Then, she turned to Robin “Robin, this is my husband. His law form is really well known here in Ironhaven, and both his father and brother work in government positions. Just call him Mt. Patel,”
Robin wasn’t sure if Clayton had overheard her earlier conversation with her father, so her smile felt a bit stiff. “Mr.
“Mr. Patel. So you’re slaper?”
She forced a smile. “Lawyers are like doctors, I guess. It’s good to have connections, but you hope you never need to use them.”
Valerie completely missed the underlying meaning and kept bragging “Oh no, it’s totally different. When you see a doctor, it’s definitely became something’s wrong with your body. But you might need a lawyer for all sorts of reasons–labor disputes, insurance fraud, copyright infringement.” Valerie emphasized the words “copyright infringement heavily, reminding Robin not to play the hero. Clayton was a lawyer who could protect her in these matters.
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