Chapter 456

“That won’t happen. You’re amazing at your work, and no one would dare make fun of you. You won’t lose your job. I’ll take care of everything, so just trust me,” Donald said, holding Jennifer tightly in his arms. He helped Jennifer out of her wrinkled, dust-covered coat, set it aside, then guided her to the couch and poured her a cup of water to freshen up. “Just get some rest and don’t go out, okay? I’ll fix this.”

After making sure Jennifer was settled, Donald went to find Blake to figure out what was going on. Fortunately, Brynn had already regained consciousness, was out of danger, and had been moved to a general ward. When Donald heard the news, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He went to see Blake and said, “Hello, I’m Dr. Nelson’s family. You can call me Dr. Lynn.”

Blake glanced at Donald and said, “Family?”

“I’m her husband,” Donald clarified.

Blake sneered and said, “Oh, she’s your wife. I don’t want to talk to you. You’re both the same—no ethics at all.”

Donald took a deep breath and lied, “Look, my wife is pregnant, and she was really exhausted when she performed the surgery. Can’t you just let this go? Please, don’t make things harder for her.”

“If she was tired, she could have taken time off. She didn’t have to do it. Since she chose this job, she should do it right. The fact is, she almost killed my wife, okay? How can I not hold it against her?” Blake said.

Donald gritted his teeth. “You’re right. My wife’s mistake this time can’t be excused. How about this? Since my wife is awake now, let’s settle this privately. Whatever you need, just say the word.”

Blake, seeing how patient Donald was, let out a cold laugh and suddenly held up several fingers. Donald caught on quickly. “15 thousand dollars? No problem.”

“No, I want 150 thousand dollars,” Blake said.

Donald fell silent. He didn’t have that much money, not with the wedding coming up and most of his savings already spent. Seeing him hesitate, Blake sneered and said, “What? Can’t you come up with 150 thousand? Then no way this is going to be settled quietly. I’m telling you, this is medical malpractice, and I’m going to sue your wife for attempted murder.”

Donald couldn’t hold back anymore. “It was just a mistake, and your wife is awake now. Why is that attempted murder? Don’t you think you’re overreacting?”

Blake said, “We’re the real victims here, okay? My wife trusted your hospital to deliver our baby, and instead, your wife caused her severe hemorrhaging. 150 thousand is already less than I want. If you can’t come up with that, I’ll sue your wife and your hospital.”

Donald hoped to settle the matter quietly, so he decided to sell his car to raise the 150 thousand. Without telling Jennifer, Donald took his Audi A7 to the dealership and put it up as collateral, planning to sell it. He also scraped together all the money they had saved for their wedding, and in just one day, he managed to raise 150 thousand. He was ready to hand over the cash to Blake, but the latter suddenly changed his mind.

Blake said, “Wait, your last name is Lynn, right? I did some digging, and it turns out your cousin is Jonathan, the CEO of Horizonlead Group. I changed my mind. What I asked before was too little. Now I want 1.5 million.”

Blake was getting greedier, and Donald’s patience was wearing thin.

He said, “Jonathan is my cousin, not my brother. We barely even talk. I’m just a doctor. I brought you the 150 thousand we agreed on. How can you just go back on your word now?”

Blake sneered. “You said you didn’t have that much money, but you managed to gather it all within a day. You don’t seem like someone short on cash. Give me 1.5 million, or I’ll sue your wife and have her sent to jail.”

Donald clenched his fists. Having no other choice, he sighed and tried to play the sympathy card. “My wife and I haven’t had our wedding yet, and I gave you everything we saved for it. Why do you have to make things harder for me?”

However, Blake wasn’t buying it. “You’re a member of the Lynn family, and your cousin is a billionaire. How could you possibly be short on money? You should be grateful I didn’t ask for 15 million dollars.”

Donald was helpless. He had no choice but to go to Jonathan for help. He didn’t want to ask Jonathan at the beginning. After all, Jonathan was busy, and this had nothing to do with him.

“Jonathan, I have nowhere else to turn. Please, Jennifer needs your help. I know she can be a little harsh with you sometimes, but she’s Teresa’s sister. Please help her this time,” Donald said.

As Donald spoke, he was about to bow, but Jonathan cut him off. “Enough.”

Only then did Donald stop pleading. His eyes were bloodshot, his face haggard, with faint stubble on his unshaven chin. He looked utterly defeated.

Jonathan said, enunciating every word, “There’s no way I’m giving you 1.5 million.”

Donald panicked and quickly looked at Jonathan. Jonathan added calmly, “People like that are never satisfied. Today, he asked for 1.5 million, and tomorrow it could be 150 million dollars. If I agree now, we’ll never shake him off.”

Donald was helpless. “If we don’t, he’ll go after Jennifer and sue her. I don’t think he’s bluffing. Our wedding is coming up, and I don’t want this to ruin everything.”

Jonathan didn’t say anything. He tapped his fingers on the table, pausing for a moment before saying, “You agreed to give him 150 thousand, then stick with that.”

Donald hesitated. “But—”

“That’s it. Don’t you trust me?” Jonathan raised an eyebrow.

Donald couldn’t and wouldn’t dare to question Jonathan. Jonathan moved fast. He had his assistant look into Blake, who tried to blackmail Donald for 1.5 million. It turned out he was just a thug with a shady background. That was why he wasn’t there when his wife was giving birth and only showed up later pretending to be a good husband.

Jonathan settled it with 150 thousand, plus another 30 thousand as a birthday gift for the baby. Although he was rich, his money didn’t come easy; he wasn’t going to hand it out to just anyone; it depended on whether they were worth it. Seeing that Jonathan wasn’t as easy to negotiate with as Donald, and mindful that Jonathan held leverage over him, Blake had no choice but to accept the 180 thousand dollars.

“I want cash, not a transfer. Mr. Lynn, just give me cash,” Blake demanded.

“I’ve already had my people give the money to your wife,” Jonathan replied.

“What? Why did you give it to her? You could have just given it straight to me!” Blake was angry.

Seeing how desperate Blake was, Jonathan let out a mocking laugh. “Your wife risked her life to give birth to the child. She’s the one suffering in the hospital. Of course, the money should go to her. If you still consider yourself her husband, then treat her and your kid right.”