The Price of Pride

Finally, I pulled up to the hospital's emergency entrance and grabbed a passing nurse by the arm. "I'm Ms. Jaclyn Prescott's husband! Her parents need medical attention immediately! One was beaten unconscious, and the other is having a severe allergic reaction. Get someone to take them to the ER now!"

However, the young nurse just rolled her eyes at me. "Sir, you've got to be kidding me. Everyone at this hospital knows Ms. Prescott's boyfriend is Mr. Rupert Williams. If you want to skip the line, at least come up with a better story!"

I froze for a moment, but the situation was far too critical to waste time explaining.

I gripped the nurse's arm tighter and said, "Go find Jaclyn right now and tell her that Ivan Shaw sent you. Tell her everything I just said; she'll handle it!"

Seeing the urgency in my expression, the nurse did not dare delay any longer and hurried upstairs to find Jaclyn.

Before long, Jaclyn came down with her.

The moment she saw me, she snapped coldly, "What is wrong with you?! Rupert just called me. He was kind enough to offer your parents dinner, and instead of being grateful, you lied about your mother having an allergy and even attacked Rupert with a knife. You're getting more out of control by the day!"

I was stunned speechless by these false accusations, but there was no time to argue.

I pointed frantically at the car I drove. "They're not my parents; they're your parents! They're both unconscious in the car right now. You need to get them to the ER immediately!"

Jaclyn did not even glance at the car. She yanked her hand away from me and turned to leave.

She simply replied, "My parents? My parents settled abroad years ago and never came back. You'll say anything just to skip the line! Rupert has a PhD in nutrition, and he said your mother just overate. She's fine. I'm the hospital director, and you're my family, so I have to avoid any conflict of interest. I can't let you cut the line."

She added, "Go register and wait your turn like everyone else. Stop trying to use the Prescott family name to take shortcuts."

Realizing I could not count on Jaclyn, and knowing that waiting in line could take forever, I decided to drive Richard and Leona to the nearest public hospital instead.

Just then, hospital security suddenly set up barriers around the car.

I stared in disbelief. "What are you doing?!"

The guard looked at me with contempt. "Mr. Williams just called and said the car you drove here belongs to him. You took it without his permission, which makes it stolen property. Until Mr. Williams arrives at the hospital, I can't let you drive this car away!"

My face burned with anger. "This is my family's car! How can Rupert claim it's stolen property?!"

The guard remained unmoved. "I'm sorry, but Ms. Prescott has made it clear to all of us that Mr. Williams' orders are equivalent to her orders. Please don't cause a scene."

My vision blurred just thinking about the two elderly people lying unconscious in the car.

Rupert was basically committing murder!

I tried calling Jaclyn, but this time the call showed I was blocked. With no other option, I called the police and briefly explained how Rupert caused Richard and Leona to fall unconscious and how the hospital security was unlawfully detaining my car.

Before long, a police car arrived at the hospital. Just when I thought things might finally take a turn for the better, Jaclyn stepped in as the hospital director and spoke to the officers before I could.

"My husband, Ivan, had a little disagreement with our butler. The two elderly people just overate; he's lying about an allergic reaction to frame the butler. And that car at the emergency entrance isn't our family car. Although it used to be registered under my name, it was transferred to Mr. Williams a long time ago. Ivan did, in fact, steal someone else's car. I apologize on his behalf for wasting your time. I'm truly sorry."