Chapter 104: Only I Can Take Everything from You
No need to think.
The moment the answer exploded in Cecilia's mind, there was only one name.
Rufus.
Charles's account was frozen, and Mabel had only scraped together four hundred thousand dollars from selling the house.
In this world, besides Rufus, who else would throw her this lifeline in such a way, at the last moment when she had nowhere to turn?
This wasn't Rufus saving her.
This was his declaration.
He made her beg, made her borrow, made her exhaust every ounce of strength, made her taste every hope only to watch them shatter one by one.
He wanted her to see clearly, crystal clearly, one simple fact.
No one but him could save her.
No one but him could she rely on.
A sharp pain shot through her palm. Cecilia looked down to find her nails had dug deep into her flesh, leaving several blood-red crescent marks.
"Ms. Martinez? Ms. Martinez!" The nurse's urging pulled her back from the icy emotions.
Cecilia snapped back to reality and followed, though her mind remained in chaos.
She signed the pre-surgery consent form and watched as Robert was wheeled into the operating room. That heavy door slowly closed before her eyes.
Outside the operating room, the red light came on.
Mabel had been waiting outside. She rushed over and grabbed Cecilia's arm, her wrinkled face showing both enormous relief and deep confusion.
"Amelia, the money—we have enough? The four hundred thousand I just transferred wasn't enough! Which relative lent us more? I need to go thank them!"
Cecilia's body stiffened, her heart suddenly clenching.
What could she say?
Tell her this money came from Rufus, the devil who had nearly driven her to death?
She couldn't.
"It's a friend, Mom," Cecilia said, looking down, not daring to meet Mabel's eyes.
"A very good friend of mine. She heard about what happened and helped cover it for now."
"A friend?" Mabel was stunned, then her face filled with enormous gratitude. "How embarrassing! This is no small amount! Amelia, this is a huge favor. We must thank your friend properly!"
Mabel rubbed her hands together excitedly, asking urgently: "What's your friend's name? Is it a man or woman? What do they do? Once your father's condition stabilizes, we must invite your friend to dinner! No, dinner isn't enough—we need to give a gift! We must thank them in person, absolutely in person!"
Mabel's string of questions felt like knives stabbing into Cecilia's heart.
How could she fabricate a kind friend to cover up Rufus's devil's face?
"Mom!" Cecilia quickly interrupted, her voice carrying a sharpness she didn't even notice. "She's not available. She doesn't want people to know—she just wanted to help."
Mabel was startled by her reaction, then thinking she was worried about being misunderstood, patted her hand even more considerately.
"Okay, okay, I understand. Your friend is truly a wonderful person! When we have money later, we must pay her back double. Amelia, having a friend like this is your good fortune."
Good fortune.
A bitter, metallic taste rose in Cecilia's throat.
She brushed it off: "Don't worry about it. I'll handle this. You stay here and wait. I'll go get you some water and food."
She didn't dare stay any longer. She was afraid one more word would make her completely break down in front of Mabel.
Cecilia brushed past Mabel and walked quickly to the other end of the corridor, finding an empty stairwell to lean against the wall.
The cold wall couldn't cool the burning sensation in her heart.
One lie required countless more lies to cover it up.
That dirty transaction between her and Rufus now had to be dressed up under the beautiful guise of "a friend's kindness."
This felt more humiliating than being killed outright.
Her phone vibrated, breaking the silence.
An unknown number, but Cecilia knew it was him.
She stared at the screen, letting it ring stubbornly, once, then again.
Finally, she swiped to answer but didn't speak.
From the other end came Rufus's familiar, nauseating voice—calm, composed, carrying a condescending sense of control.
"Surgery arranged?"
He asked so matter-of-factly, as if he wasn't asking about surgery but about whether some trash he'd casually discarded had been dealt with.
Cecilia remained silent, jaw clenched tight.
Hearing no answer, Rufus wasn't annoyed. Instead, he laughed softly.
"Amelia, remember this feeling."
"Remember how you had nowhere to turn for help. Remember how powerless those so-called friends of yours were."
"Remember that only I can give you everything you want, and only I can take away everything you have."
His voice dropped lower, drilling through the phone line into her ear with a chilling declaration.
"We'll see each other again."
With that, he hung up without giving Cecilia any chance to respond.
The cold busy tone drained the last bit of strength from her body.
Humiliation, anger, disgust, and boundless despair completely consumed her.
Before she could compose herself, her phone vibrated again.
Not a call—a text message.
Cecilia numbly pulled it out, thinking it was some notification from the hospital.
What appeared on the screen was a bank transfer notification.
In the note, there was a brief line of text.
"Sorry it took some time. I borrowed money from a friend—use it first. Don't worry about me."
It was Charles.
Those words contained no complaints, only regret for not being able to help sooner and his usual gentleness.
In an instant, Cecilia's emotions, stretched to the breaking point, completely collapsed.
Her tears could no longer be controlled, falling in large drops onto her phone screen, blurring those warm words.
In this cold, cruel world full of schemes, Charles's existence was the only glimpse of warmth she could see.
He was the only one who, when she was at her most desperate, reached out without hesitation, and even after falling into trouble himself, was still trying desperately to find ways to help her.
But precisely because of this, she couldn't taint this purity.
Without a moment's hesitation, Cecilia roughly wiped the tears from her face and immediately opened her mobile banking app.
She found the transfer function, entered the account number that had just sent the money, and transferred every cent back.
In the note, she typed a message.
"Mr. Smith, thank you so very much for reaching out during my most difficult time. However, just now, I was able to borrow the surgery fees through another channel, and the hospital has confirmed the surgery can proceed as scheduled, so please don't worry about me anymore. Therefore, I've returned the money you just transferred—please check your account. Your company needs the funds more than I do right now. I hope this money can help you through this difficult time. In any case, thank you for your kindness."
She clicked confirm.
The successful transaction notification popped up.
Having done all this, she felt as if all her strength had been drained, letting out a long breath.