Chapter 11
288 ¡Vouchers
Ten–year–old Margaret and twelve–year–old Charles were classmates in an after–school tutoring program.
Back when they were changing feed for the lab mice together, the metal cabinet suddenly toppled. Twelve–year–old Charles threw himself at her with unexpected courage.
The cabinet hit the table, forming a stable triangle. When Margaret came to, she only remembered Charles grinning goofily with fine dust on his lashes: “You okay, sis?”
Moonlight swayed, overlapping with the light patterns on the beam back then.
Her fingertips rested on the weathered windowsill as tears suddenly fell. After trembling lips hesitated, she finally an- swered that long–ago question:
“It did.”
Margaret lost track of time kneeling in the rising rainwater until her phone suddenly rang.
Charles was calling.
“Where are you?”
Margaret glanced at the inky darkness overhead. She didn’t feel like answering. “What do you want?”
“The cooling–off period’s almost over. I don’t want you dropping dead now. Get your ass back here.”
Charles spat concern through a venomous tone. Fate knew how his anxiety had multiplied moments earlier until his inner turmoil won out, forcing this call to Margaret.
Under the eaves, Margaret felt a flicker of hope. She parted her lips to give the Clarence town address when a startled cry crackled through the receiver.
“Ms. Smith fainted!”
Well. Charles probably had bigger fish to fry.
Margaret’s face clouded with disappointment once more.
Just as she turned to leave, a thunderous crash echoed–the load–bearing wall before her collapsed without warning. A steel reinforcement bar pierced straight through Margaret’s thigh, blood gushing like a fountain.
The horrific scene stunned everyone present.
“Delayed demolition of aging structures combined with relentless overnight rain made this collapse inevitable,” the
0.0%
00:21
Chapter 11
property manager defended while frantically calling emergency services.
Warm liquid trailed down her leg before Margaret finally succumbed, passing out heavily.
She had no memory of arriving at the hospital. When consciousness returned, glaring white walls surrounded her.
288 Vouchers
Just then, a nurse hurried past the ward: “Doctor! We have a problem! The patient in Room 4 has severe anemia!”
A man’s anxious voice rang out: “How did this happen!”
Was that Charles?
“Why are you standing around? Notify the blood bank for transfusion immediately!”
The nurse looked troubled, her voice trembling as she addressed the doctor: “We’re low on Type B blood. Transfer- ring from elsewhere will take about an hour.”
Hearing this, Charles’s face instantly drained of color. Then, as if struck by an idea, he shot to his feet and declared without hesitation: “Call Margaret. She’s Type B.”
The person beside him glanced at Charles, hesitating slightly.
“Miss Lewis’s whereabouts are still unknown, and the time it takes for her to get here might not be shorter than ar- ranging the blood transfer.”
Charles’s eyes were bloodshot. He slammed his fist into the other person, his breath hot enough to spark. “Having her come is better than just waiting here!”
Just then, a nurse nearby clicked her tongue. “A patient named Margaret was brought in from Clarence town, but she just finished emergency treatment and is still unconscious.”
Charles didn’t hesitate. Following the nurse’s pointed finger, he charged into the ward. Seeing Margaret’s frail form on the hospital bed, he nearly lost his mind. “It’s her. Draw her blood. Now.”
The nurse paled instantly. She had intended to inform Mr. Rivera that Miss Lewis wasn’t fit for transfusion.
Although aware Charles was the hospital’s chief administrator, the nurse advised him: “Miss Margaret just survived a building collapse. With severe blood loss, she’s not suitable for transfusion now. Besides, the blood supply vehicle is already en route-”
“Smack!”
Before she finished, Charles slapped her hard across the face. “Who asked for your opinion?”
He immediately turned to the attending physician, shouting: “Barbara’s fighting for her life in there! Quit if you can’t do your jobs!”
“But drawing Miss Margaret’s blood will kill her,” the nurse insisted through her struck cheek, until colleagues clamped a hand over her mouth.
40.8 %
00:21
Chapter 11
Charles scoffed: “Isn’t Margaret perfectly fine now? Barbara’s the one needing emergency treatment!”
288 Vouchers
“Besides, if it weren’t for her back then, Barbara wouldn’t have been sent abroad to endure that hellish life, leaving her so frail now.”
Margaret’s mind buzzed, the voices around her fading into incomprehensible noise.
00.21
