Chapter 102
"But..." Sidney wanted to say something.
"No buts." I cut him off. "Your sister is still waiting for money to save her life. This isn't the time to worry about your pride."
I looked him in the eye and continued, "I know you have your dignity and don't want to owe anyone favors, but saving a life comes first."
Sidney's eyes filled with gratitude. He opened his mouth, his lips moving, and finally picked up the bank card, his voice hoarse beyond recognition.
"Thank you... Sophia... thank you..."
"Don't mention it." I smiled. "Just remember to pay me back."
I deliberately repeated it to help him feel okay about taking the money.
Sidney nodded hard, gripping the bank card tightly in his hand.
He stood up and bowed deeply to me. "Thank you so much. Don't worry, I'll pay you back as soon as I can!"
My eyelashes lowered slightly. "By the way, I'll also arrange for a specialist to treat your sister. I'll let you know later."
"You've already done so much for me. You don't need to arrange a specialist for my sister." Sidney refused, embarrassed.
"There's a saying - if you're going to help someone, help them all the way. If I don't see this through now, what kind of person would that make me? I wouldn't feel right about it myself."
Before Sidney could speak, I made the final decision. "It's settled then."
Sidney bowed to me again, his eyes slightly red. "Don't worry, I'll remember this kindness forever and will definitely repay you someday."
"I'm going to check on my sister's condition. I'll contact you later."
I nodded.
Watching Sidney leave, I took out my phone to contact Andrew and asked him to help me find a cardiac surgery specialist.
Sidney's sister, Eleanor Lawson, had a congenital condition. To cure her disease, she needed a heart transplant, which required enormous resources and manpower. I still need to rely on Andrew for networking.
After hearing about it, Andrew agreed without hesitation. "Leave this to me. I'll definitely get in touch with someone as soon as possible."
Andrew was true to his word. Just a few hours after the call, he found me a cardiac surgery specialist.
I told Sidney and asked him to come with me to meet this specialist.
The specialist's name was Raymond Carter, one of the top cardiac surgeons in the country.
I gave Sidney a brief introduction.
"When you meet him, show him your sister's medical records so he can understand the situation."
Sidney: "Okay."
When we met Raymond and exchanged greetings, Sidney pulled Eleanor's medical records from his bag and handed them to Raymond.
"Dr. Carter, these are my sister's medical records. Please take a look."
Raymond took the records and carefully read through them page by page.
After finishing, his expression was grave. "If your sister wants to fully recover, there's no doubt she'll need a heart transplant."
"However, your sister's heart is positioned awkwardly. I can't say this surgery will be one hundred percent successful."
Sidney's face went pale. "Dr. Carter, how confident are you?"
Raymond held up four fingers. "I can only say I'm forty percent confident."
Sidney's eyes turned red as if they were about to bleed.
"Dr. Carter, is this surgery necessary? Is there no other way?"
Raymond shook his head regretfully.
Seeing Sidney's tears, Raymond sighed. "Don't panic yet. Just because I'm not very confident doesn't mean someone else can't do it."
Sidney wiped away his tears. "Dr. Carter, tell me who can do it, and I'll go beg them right now."
"With your connections, I'm afraid you won't be able to reach him." Raymond's gaze shifted to me. "Mr. Anderson might be able to get me here, but he might not be able to get that person, unless..."
An ominous feeling rose in my heart.
"Unless it's a top-tier family, the Smith family. If Mr. Smith asks that doctor, there might be a chance of success. That doctor has quite a bit of history with the Smith family."
I couldn't help grinding my back teeth.
Sidney looked dejected. "The Smith family - how could I possibly get in touch with anyone from the Smith family?"
After muttering to himself for a moment, he suddenly thought of something and looked at me. "Sophia, I remember you seem to be..."
Can you help me talk to him?
He couldn't bring himself to say these words, but I could see it in his eyes.
Help others to the very end. Even if I didn't agree, it was too late now.
I couldn't just stand by and watch his sister die.
"Don't worry, I'll talk to Mr. Smith and ask him to help make the connection."
I looked at Raymond. "Dr. Carter, who is this specialist you mentioned?"
"His name is Conrad Wall. He comes from a medical family and has extensive and advanced medical experience."
"His family runs their own hospital, which only treats wealthy people. Of course, they also accept ordinary people - they do free clinics."
"But your sister can't wait that long, so you need to find a way to connect with people in that circle and have them introduce you."
I thanked Raymond. "Thank you, Dr. Carter. I understand."
I glanced at Eleanor, told Sidney to take good care of her, and went back to The Smith Mansion.
James wasn't home.
I asked the household staff, "When will James be back?"
The servant shook her head and asked curiously, "Mrs. Smith, Mr. Smith didn't say when he'd be back."
I waved my hand. "I'll ask him myself in a bit."
I sent him a message.
James replied after a while.
[What's up?]
[I need to talk to you about something.]
His message showed he was typing for a long time, but nothing came through.
I frowned at the screen for a while and couldn't help asking him.
[What are you doing?]
His side went completely quiet - no more messages.
I furrowed my brow.
What was he doing?
I waited another hour, but still no message from him, and he didn't answer when I called.
The longer I stayed here, the more time I wasted, and the more danger Sidney's sister would be in.
I had no choice but to go to his office to find him.
When I got to the company and told the receptionist I was looking for James, she said, "Mr. Smith is in a meeting. It's not convenient."
"Is he really in a meeting, or does he just not want to see me?" I figured it out - James was deliberately avoiding me, wasn't he?
"Well... how could Mr. Smith possibly be avoiding you?" The receptionist was startled by my somewhat harsh tone and stumbled over her words.
"Then go tell him right now that I need to see him. If he won't let me see him, I'll have to ask Grandma to come with me to see him."
The receptionist quickly agreed. She made a call and looked very troubled. "Mrs. Smith, could you wait a bit longer?"
I narrowed my eyes slightly. "Open the elevator for me right now."
The receptionist looked like she was about to cry. "Mrs. Smith, I... without Mr. Smith's permission, I can't let you go up."
"I'll take responsibility if anything happens. Open it."
The receptionist had no choice but to swipe her card and open the elevator for me.
I made it all the way to the CEO's office without any obstacles. Through the crack in the door, I saw Amelia sitting on James's lap.