“Bribe?”
The woman had made herself quite clear. Ryan imdiately understood the subtle ssage she was trying to convey—this was undoubtedly a bribe happening right here in the hospital.
Frank, for reasons Ryan couldn’t quite grasp, had given the Director of the billing departnt a large sum of money, asking her to sneak the cost of a caregiver into Clara’s dical expenses.
“Did he tell you why?”
Ryan studied the woman in front of him, carefully watching her expression. If she showed even the slightest hint of dishonesty, Ryan wouldn’t hesitate to have Mia deal with her.
The woman had brought this up herself, and if it turned out to be a lie, it would seriously mislead Ryan.
The woman could sense the seriousness in Ryan’s tone. But she didn’t know much, and Ryan’s question was clearly beyond what she could answer.
“I really don’t know. I just rember that when he ca to , he seed incredibly anxious. He practically threw the money at and left right after.”
She spoke slowly, recounting every detail, not daring to leave anything out.
It had been a late afternoon, about two weeks ago. She was on duty in her office when a man burst in, drenched in sweat. No matter how much the doctors and nurses tried to stop him, he insisted on seeing the Director.
The woman had seen more than her fair share of situations like this, far more than the doctors and nurses outside. So, instead of stopping the man, she calmly sent the nurses away and led him into her office.
The man introduced himself as Frank Evans, Clara’s father.
Even though she had let Frank into her office, she remained on guard. As a doctor, she had dealt with enough angry patients and their families to know when trouble was brewing. She was already reaching for the security button on her desk.
Frank closed the door behind him and placed a large canvas bag in front of her. It was dusty, like it had just co from a construction site.
“Director, I need a favor.”
As Frank spoke, he began to open the bag. The woman, experienced in these matters, noticed the embarrassed look on his face and quickly realized what was happening—Frank was trying to bribe her.
“Sir, please, you need to be careful. We dical professionals cannot accept anything from patients’ families.”
“It’s our duty to take care of the patients. You don’t need to do this.”
She stood up imdiately, reaching out to stop Frank from opening the bag. Internally, she was already dismissing the situation. She had thought it might be sothing serious, but it was just a bribe.
Not that bribery wasn’t serious, but in her eyes, whatever Frank had to offer was probably worthless.
He looked like a construction worker, covered in sweat, his hands rough and calloused. It was obvious he wasn’t well-off.
And that canvas bag? Sure, it looked full, but she doubted it contained anything valuable. At best, it was probably so local specialty or gift.
Maybe Frank thought it was worth sothing, but to her, it was nothing.
That’s why bribery was easy to handle—she had no intention of accepting it. She could just refuse and kick Frank out, reinforcing her image as a clean and ethical professional.
She firmly rejected him, but Frank only grew more desperate. When she reached out to stop him, he reacted instinctively, slapping her hand away.
What?!
“Director, no… I’m sorry, I didn’t an to do that.”
“Please, just look at this before you decide.”
Frank’s face turned red with embarrassnt. He hadn’t ant to hurt her, but the situation was too important for him to control his emotions.
The woman had no intention of helping Frank in the first place, and now her hand was stinging from the slap. Her expression darkened, and she sat back down, ready to press the security button.
But then, in the next mont, Frank opened the canvas bag and dumped its contents onto the floor.
The entire office fell silent.
Thud…
The woman’s breathing grew heavier as Frank emptied the bag. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she could hear herself gulping.
She never would have guessed that from that seemingly ordinary canvas bag, bundles of cash—U.S. dollars—would spill out, forming a small mountain on the floor. It was a sight she had never witnessed before, and it left her stunned.
“Director, I’m asking for a favor. If you can do it, all this money is yours.”
“This… Sir, please, have a seat. This is… I…”
The sudden turn of events left the woman completely unprepared. Staring at the pile of cash, she felt dizzy. This wasn’t counterfeit money—it was real U.S. dollars, and just by looking at it, she estimated there had to be at least $200,000 or $300,000.
As the Director of her departnt, her annual salary barely exceeded $300,000. Now, in front of her, was an entire year’s worth of pay, just sitting there. How could she not be excited?
But her rational mind still held on. As an adult, she knew that the higher the reward, the greater the risk.
The reward was huge, which ant the risk must be equally significant. This wasn’t sothing that could be handled lightly.
Frank declined her offer of tea, pushing the cup away. He kept glancing at his watch, as if he were in a hurry.
“It’s a simple task. You should be able to do it easily.”
“I want you to make a small adjustnt to the bill. I hired a private caregiver for my daughter, and I want you to add that expense to her dical bill.”
“If anything happens to , a lawyer will co here to retrieve that bill. That’s all.”
“That’s all?”
Frank’s request was straightforward. After saying this, he didn’t linger. He grabbed the now-empty canvas bag and headed for the door.
The woman was still in shock. It wasn’t that Frank’s request was outrageous—it was that it seed almost too simple.
In her position, making a small tweak to a bill was incredibly easy. In fact, even so of the doctors under her would occasionally exploit loopholes in the system when treating their own family mbers, inflating the bill so that insurance would cover more.
But for soone to offer $200,000 just to adjust a bill? That didn’t sit right with her. Was all this money really just for a minor billing adjustnt?
After all, leukemia, a serious illness like Clara’s, had limited insurance coverage, no matter what kind of policy you had. The payout caps were always restrictive—that’s just how insurance worked.
“Sir, is there anything else you need to do?”
The woman couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling. It didn’t seem right for a man to offer $200,000 for sothing so trivial. So, she asked, probing a little further.
“Actually, there is one more thing,” Frank replied. “Have you ever heard of a company called StoneRiver Materials?”
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