In a Haste

Doctor Gerald, who was fatefully the same doctor who had forced him to kneel and beg the last time, now stood stiffly in the hospital corridor, a polite but forced smile plastered across his face.

He didn't know how to respond to such an odd statement. Darren's mother, Pamela Steele, was suffering from intense advanced aortic stenosis. Death was inevitable if she wasn't hospitalized strictly, so the idea of discharging her early, right before surgery too, was a strange one. Ill advised, he would say.

Behind his glasses, his eyes flickered with calculation. He had dealt with many patients and their families — some desperate, some grateful, others too poor to be worth the trouble. But this Darren… What was up with him?

He was something else entirely.

Just three days ago, this boy had been nothing. Another helpless wretch doomed to drown in debt and poverty. But somehow, he had paid the hospital fee of over $100,000 the next day. Just as he said he would.

How and why? He must have borrowed the money! Indeed. But... dressed in such fine clothes, having such tasteful mannerism. One couldn't borrow that kind of presence and style.

What was he? Some secret heir of a family wealth like in those drama shorts? Whatever he was, he had paid the expensive hospital bill they slapped on him, even when they fully never expected him to.

That made him an important client. Someone worth keeping in their established hospital.

"Mr. Steele," Gerald began, his voice smooth and professional. "I do not understand. You have paid the bills. Why would you want to take her away after?"

"Does the why really matter?" Darren asked him with a cold raise of his brow.

The doctor lowered his gaze. "I apologize for acting ignorant. My actions from three days ago must be the reason for this. Please, forgive both mine and the nurse's actions. We had no idea that you were not..."

"What?" Darren urged him on. "Not poor?"

The doctor's eyes widened and they looked away in guilt. He had to use another tactic, and the best route was the boy's mother. Emotional tactics always worked.

"I understand your frustrations, but surely, you wouldn't want to make a hasty decision. Your mother has been receiving some of the best care available. Her recovery is our priority."

Darren's face remained unreadable, his cold gaze drilling into the doctor.

"You've already gotten what you wanted," he said calmly. "The money's in your pockets, isn't it?"

Dr. Gerald's mouth twitched. "I wouldn't say that—"

"But it's true," Darren cut in. "You people don't actually care about patients, do you? You're only concerned about who's worth keeping and who's worth tossing away. When we couldn't pay, you treated us like pests. Now that you see I'm able to pay off such a bill, suddenly, I'm worth negotiating with?"

The doctor didn't respond. But his hesitation said everything.

Darren took a slow step forward, exuding quiet, effortless dominance. When he spoke next, it was like his voice was hammering inside the doctor's heart.

"Don't act so concerned, doctor. At least you've been paid. At least you've made your profit. That's what you really wanted, right?"

Helen, who had been silently watching from the edge of the corridor, swallowed hard.

Gerald exhaled, adjusting his glasses. "Mr. Steele, let's not be hasty—"

"Hasty?" Darren's voice carried a hint of irritation. "You think I'm in a haste, doctor? I don't even think I was fast enough. I wish I had woken up to your shenanigans earlier, though I don't think I would have been able to do anything about it then. The real question is — how many others have you fooled like this?"

The doctor stiffened.

"You gave me a false representation of the costs of hospitality," Darren continued, his voice dropping an octave. "My mother hasn't even undergone surgery, and yet you've drained over a hundred grand from us."

Gerald swallowed.

It was true.

'I used the Insight Protocol to extract some information about the hospital before I came in, including hospital bill costs for varying illnesses pre-surgery. The price they made me pay, it could've covered Mom's intensive surgery, yet it was just for basic care. It's a tool some of the crook doctors in this hospital used, working with the nurses to exploit the desperate. And they've always gone away with it.'

'Until now.'

Nurse Helen took a step back when Darren mentioned the scam they pulled and Doctor Gerald moved uneasily.

Though there wasn't anything he could do to them, Darren was just making it clear that he wasn't some desperate kid as they envisioned him to be at first.

And they realized it too because in fact, he was the first person to find out about this.

Darren slid his hands into his pockets, looking at the shamed doctor with a curious face. "You wouldn't even deny it?" he asked. "Well, at least you have shame."

He sighed. "I'm not unreasonable. I'll wait until the payment for the month's hospital bill runs down by the end of the week. After that, I'll move my mother to a real hospital. One that isn't run by frauds."

Helen let out a tiny gasp.

Gerald clenched his fists, his mind racing.

If they let Darren walk out, they weren't just losing a client—they were losing an asset. If he could pay this much in a day, then how much more was he capable of?

His lips parted, a final attempt at persuasion forming in his mind.

But Darren was already turning away.

"Save your breath," he murmured. "Although I would love to have you two begging me this time, I'd save that for another day, when I decide to take down this establishment and leave the both of you unemployed."

The doctor's eyes widened. 'He's kidding right? He has to be kidding.'

'What the hell is he talking about?!' Nurse Helen pondered with a pounding heart.

After saying goodbye to his mother, dropping the rose and cookies he came with, he walked off, ignoring the two of them standing and watching.

'Don't worry. I haven't even started with either of you yet.'

'Helen…' he paused, standing right beside the nurse before turning to his left to look at her. Both their eyes locked, her confused terrified eyes gazing at his cold, apathetic ones.

'She will be the first to suffer.'

Moments later, he stepped out of a taxi and entered into a large but humble building. It was Holloway Medicals, a growing hospital in the city just starting to make a name for itself.

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┏Insight Protocol Complete: Information on Holloway Medicals is as follows┛

┏Estimated Net Worth: $567 million┛

┏Primary Income: Patient care, innovative medical research, pharmaceutical development, government and private healthcare contracts┛

┏Owner: Dr. Leonard Holloway┛

┏Known for: High-quality patient care, affordable but advanced treatments, ethical medical practices, groundbreaking research into chronic and terminal illnesses┛

┏Public Reception: ★★★★★┛

┏Tactics: Prioritizes medical advancement over profit, invests in cutting-edge treatments, offers fair pricing compared to other private institutions, supports low-income patients through medical grants┛

┏System's Advice: Strong potential ally. Try to secure long-term cooperation with company.┛

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That was completely Darren's mission.

Owned by Dr. Leonard Holloway, Holloway Medicals was also a competing hospital with Morrison's. But because of how big and how sponsored Morrison's was, Holloway Medicals just like others, had to continue to fight for other positions in the hierarchy of medicine for the state.

Nevertheless, the hospital was more focused on their patients and how to save them. This meant that they were the exact kind of people he could trust, albeit they were still very expensive which was why he couldn't admit his mother there in the first place.

Darren understood. Medicine was expensive, and a doctor's reputation in the medical world was currency.

Although Dr James Morrison barely worked now and only had his hired doctors for the work, he was still the most reputable doctor in the state.

Today, Darren was here to offer that title to Dr. Leonard Holloway.

Pretending to a busy nurse that he was there for a routine check up, he managed to gain access into one of the hospital rooms. Soon after, Dr. Holloway stepped inside.

"Hello there, patient. Sorry to keep you waiting, I—" he paused, staring at Darren. "I'm sorry, but I do not think I recognize you."

Darren took a good look at the man.

Holloway was tall and sharp-eyed. Evidently in his late forties and dressed in the expected crisp white coat. His gray-streaked hair gave him an air of wisdom, and his piercing green eyes assessed Darren with curiosity.

"Who are you exactly?" the doctor asked.

Darren didn't give any facial reaction. "I'm the man who's going to make you rich, Doctor Holloway."

The doctor lifted a confused brow.