My Mother-In-Law Had A Mob Stop My Ambulance

Miranda led the long, snake-like procession as they started their power walk.

The crowd was packed shoulder to shoulder. They took over the entire street while blaring their music.

The ambulance did not dare to force its way through. It had no choice but to pull over to the side with its siren wailing while it waited. The doctor already started emergency treatment on Bradley, but it barely helped his condition.

His vital signs dropped fast.

Fifteen minutes later, the power-walk mob finally cleared out and gave way.

The ambulance sped off at full throttle as it raced to the hospital. Bradley barely hung on by a thread.

My phone was crushed under their feet. I had no choice but to use a landline at the hospital to call Caleb.

The phone rang twice before he picked up.

The moment he heard my voice, his tone turned impatient.

“Shirley, my mom already told me about your father. Not to be harsh, but you know our situation. How can you waste money like this?”

I froze. “Caleb, how is treating an elder’s illness a waste of money?”

“How is it not? Your father’s just a country bumpkin, yet he insists on coming to the city for treatment. Do you have any idea how expensive medical care is? How much is this going to cost?”

My chest felt so tight that I almost felt like I had difficulty breathing.

My father, Peter Langley, had always been in poor health. After much persuasion, he finally agreed to leave our hometown and come to the city where I lived for treatment.

He had medical insurance, so he paid the medical expenses with his money.

He only needed to stay at my home for a few days.

Caleb was worried that Peter would take advantage of us. Hence, Caleb insisted on bringing his parents over as well. The five of us ended up squeezed under the same roof.

Miranda repeatedly told Peter that Caleb was the one who had bought the house, and that he could not be so thick-skinned as to come and stay in the house.

It was true that Caleb and his family had been the ones who paid the down payment for the house. But Caleb was still a PhD student. He needed to prepare his thesis at home, so he did not generate any income for the household. As a result, I was the one who paid the mortgage all along. Yet in Miranda’s version of events, everything somehow belonged to Caleb.

But it was not the time to argue about any of that.

We delayed the treatment window. Hence, Bradley needed an emergency surgery. The doctor held a thick stack of consent forms and payment notices.

“We need to operate as soon as possible. Are you going ahead or not? If we wait any longer, it’ll become truly life-threatening!”

On the other end of the phone, Caleb shouted, “Don’t do it! We don’t have the money!”

“Caleb, how can you…”

I was so angry that I could not even finish my sentence.

Caleb hung up. I called again, only to find that he had blocked my number. As a result, I could not get through anymore.

This was the man who once swore he would love me for a lifetime.

Thinking back on everything, I felt nothing but exhaustion and ridicule.

But Bradley was lying on the bed, so what could I do?

I could not just stand by and watch him die.

My phone was already broken, and my cards were not with me. I had no way to pay for the surgery. If I return home to get them, it would be time-consuming. Should I really give up on Bradley?

“Shirley…”

Just then, someone called my name.

I turned around, and my eyes immediately reddened. “Dad!”

Peter was still in his house clothes as he rushed toward me in panic. “Shirley, how’s Bradley?”

I shook my head. I did not know what to say to him. Tears spilled down my face.

“Take this.”

Peter pressed a credit card into my hand. “We’re family. This is urgent. Use it now.”

After settling the payment, they pushed Bradley into the operating theater.

The red light outside the operating theater lit up.

With no phone working, I had no way to contact anyone. I could only sit outside the operating theater with my father and wait.

After all night long, I persuaded him to go home and rest.

He shook his head. “Miranda and Caleb must be busy. That’s why they didn’t come. How can you handle everything here alone? Let me help you.”

I was about to say something when Peter’s phone vibrated.

The word “Caleb” showed up on the screen.

I quickly answered, “Hello.”

“Bah! So your dad’s phone’s with you!” he said. “Where are you?”

I froze.

Caleb pressed on impatiently. “Hurry up and speak. I’m already at the hospital entrance. I’m coming in to find you.”

I immediately told him I was at the emergency building on the eighth floor.

But before I could add on that I was outside the operating theater, he hung up again.

Peter was beside me. He reached out and wiped away the tears at the corners of my eyes. “Caleb’s a good man. He has a sharp tongue, but he’s soft-hearted in nature. Although his words are a bit harsh, he still comes for you at the end of the day, right?”