John could not help wondering if the man contracted any illnesses from his imprisonment, considering he was old and frail.
Tara furrowed her brow when she noticed John’s concern. John did not appear to be faking his worry.
According to Brettley, John did not know the man he saved was actually Gwen’s father. Judging from his reaction, Tara knew Brettley was right.
Tara smiled and replied, “He’s fine. He’s just a little malnourished but is recovering well. Unfortunately, he can’t come visit you himself, so he sent me instead.”
With that, she took out a credit card from her pocket and handed it to John. “This is a gift from him, a token of appreciation for your help. There’s about seventy-five thousand dollars in here, and I’m sure it’s more than enough for your needs. I did my research and found out your sister’s surgery requires only about thirty-thousand dollars, but…”
She glanced at Robyn and continued, “Considering that she has multiple organ failure, it’s safe to say she might need additional surgery again in the future, so you should keep the remaining forty-five thousand for the future.
“Seventy-five thousand doesn’t even make a dent in our savings, so don’t worry about using it.”
John furrowed his brow as he stared at the card; he did not know what to say. A split second later, he lifted his head to stare at Tara. Miss Moore, I …cannot accept this gift.”
He did not think the gunshot wound he had sustained for the old man was worth 75 thousand dollars.
“Please do.”
Tara smiled and offered him the card again.”
He would’ve been dead by now if it weren’t for you, and a man’s life is far more valuable than a mere seventy-five thousand dollars, so I insist you accept.”
With that, her tone turned sharp. “Or are you unwilling to accept because you think it’s too little?”
John, who was about to reject her, fell silent at this.
“Thank you, Miss Moore.”
Robyn grinned and reached out to take the card from her instead. “My brother and I will visit him someday.”
Tara glanced at Robyn, wanting to say something, but no words came out. Finally, she let out an exhale. “Alright, I’ll be off, then.”
With that, she turned to leave.
“Wait,”
John called out after her when she reached the door. “Miss Moore, can I… Can I still go to the public bid?”
Tara’s gaze landed on John’s shoulder, where his wound was. “Well, if you think you’re fit enough to go, I don’t see why not. However, I must remind you that we’re looking for a capable company to work with, and I won’t give you special treatment just because you saved my relative.”
“I don’t need any special treatment.”
John grinned at Tara.”
All I want is the opportunity to participate.”
Tara furrowed her brow slightly at this but said nothing. Finally, she turned and left the room.
To her surprise, she ran right into Bethan, who had just gotten off the elevator.
Bethan, too, was just as startled to see her here.
Surely Tara, who was obsessed with Brettley, would be at Moore Group with Brettley at this moment, getting some quality time with her favorite ‘cousin1. Why was she at the hospital, then?
“Hello, Bethan.”
Tara smiled sheepishly when she saw Bethan.
Bethan frowned and shot her a cold glance. “What are you doing here?”
Was Tara here to see Gwen? That did not make sense; she and Gwen did not know each other at all. Why would she visit her?
Tara paused, but before she could come up with an excuse, Robyn’s voice rang out behind her. “Miss Moore!”
Robyn sprinted toward them and handed the card to Tara, panting. Miss Moore, my brother doesn’t want to accept this gift. He hadn’t intended to get any sort of reward when he saved the old man. He did so out of kindness, so we won’t accept your money.
“All he wants is a fair chance to contend with other competing companies at the public bid. He doesn’t want to be indebted to you for anything.”
Robyn sighed.
The truth was, she wanted nothing more than to keep the money. After all, this amount would be more than enough to cover Anne’s medical bills and keep their entire family afloat, so why not?
However, John insisted he did not deserve this money and thus refused to accept it.
He saved the old man out of kindness, and if he chose to motives.
After all, this was 75 thousand dollars. He could not hold this to his conscience!
Robyn knew there was no point arguing with him, so she came out to return the card to Tara.
“Miss Young, is… Is that you?”
Bethan recognized her immediately.
“What a coincidence.”
Robyn’s grip tightened around the card when she saw her a rather awkward smile. “I didn’t know you’d be here, too.”
“Yes, what a surprise.”
Bethan paused for a moment, then asked, “How’s the food? Does your brother like it?”
Robyn nodded. “Yes, he says it’s delicious.”
Alarm bells sounded in Tara’s head at this sight. What was going on? Did Bethan somehow find out John was here?
Not only that, but she even bought food for him.
Was Brettley and her efforts all for nothing?
At the thought of this, Tara glanced at Bethan dubiously and asked, “Bethan, you… How do you know Miss Young?”
“We met briefly,”
Bethan replied, glancing first at Tara, then at the card in Robyn’s hand. “What’s going on here?”
“Um…”
Before Tara could respond, however, Robyn piped in. “Didn’t I tell you my brother suffered a gunshot wound? Well, that’s because he was protecting an old man last night.
“They both got kidnapped, and the man was about to be killed by the kidnapper. If my brother hadn’t leaped out and saved the man just in time, he would’ve been dead by now.
“Miss Moore here is a relative of the man and came to thank us.”
With that, she brandished the card in front of Bethan and added, “She wanted to reward us in return for my brother’s kindness. We desperately need the money, but my brother insisted we not accept it. He didn’t want to feel like his kindness was taken as an act of ulterior motives.”
Bethan froze when she heard this. She furrowed her brow, glancing at Tara. “That ‘relative’ of yours is Gwen’s father, isn’t he?”
Bethan was well aware of what happened the night before. Since Brettley’s men had rescued Andy the night before and Robyn’s brother had gotten shot on the same day, it did not take long for her to connect the dots.
She guessed that Tara came to reward Robyn’s brother on Gwen and Andy’s behalf.
At the thought of this, she frowned. “Did something happen to Gwen?”
Since Robyn’s brother had saved Andy’s life, it made no sense that Gwen would send someone else to do her bidding instead of coming to thank him herself.
The only explanation was that she was preoccupied with something else.
Tara sheepishly chuckled. She never imagined the truth would spill out of Robyn’s mouth.
At this point, she knew there was no point lying to Bethan anymore. “You’re right. I’m here on behalf of Gwen to thank Robyn’s brother. Nothing happened to her or her father. He’s just recovering from malnourishment, that’s all.”
Bethan’s frown grew even deeper when she heard this. “Well, if that’s the case, why didn’t she come herself?”
Since when were Gwen and Tara so close that she would send Tara to do her bidding?
Tara paused, not knowing how to explain this. She knew Bethan would find out the truth eventually, so she decided not to hide it any further.
She turned to Robyn and asked, “Miss Young, can you tell me again what your brother’s name is?”
This confused Robyn. How could Tara not know John’s name? They were soon-to-be business partners!
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.