NovelXXXChapter 572 Citrine and the woman followed behind in silence.
Once upstairs, Citrine returned to her suite to change into surgical scrubs. Dr. Austin and Dr. Smith were already prepared, and together, they headed into the operating room.
Several hours passed before Citrine and the team of doctors and nurses finally emerged.
Outside, the woman's eyes were swollen and red-she'd clearly been crying for a long time. The moment Citrine appeared, she jumped to her feet. "How did it go? Was the surgery a success?" Her voice was tight with worry as she searched Citrine's face for reassurance.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"It went well. You can relax now," Citrine replied with a gentle smile.
The relief hit the woman all at once. She sank onto the bench and broke down in tears, the weight of days filled with fear and anguish pouring out of her. She couldn't hold back anymore.
Citrine wasn't sure how to comfort her, so she simply rested a hand on the woman's shoulder.
"Hang in there. As long as you're alive, there's always hope." Maybe it was because Citrine was the only one who'd helped her at rock bottom, but in that moment, the woman finally felt the urge to open up.
With a bitter laugh, she confessed, "You probably won't believe this, but since I got pregnant, I haven't even been able to scrape together fifty dollars." "When I found out I was expecting, my husband's family talkedinto quitting my job to focus on the pregnancy. I agreed without thinking it through, but the moment I left work, they started blamingfor not making any money. Every day, I had to put up with their criticism and constant pressure. I thought things couldn't get any worse. But then, just as I was nearing my due date, my husband cheated on me-and even had a child with the other woman. While I was distracted, he transferred all our assets to his parents' name. After I gave birth, he serveddivorce papers. It wasn't until I signed them that I realized I was left with nothing." Tears streamed down her cheeks as she spoke.
Citrine still didn't know what to say. She handed the woman a tissue in silence.
The woman wiped her face, then suddenly knelt on the floor with a thud. "Thank you. You saved my daughter's life. I swear I'll pay you back for the surgery-every cent." Citrine quickly helped her up. "Go check on your child first," she said quietly.
Stories like this happened every day. Citrine couldn't help everyone. She'd only stepped in this tbecause she happened to see it unfold.
That evening, after returning home, Citrine thought long and hard before contacting the hospital administration. "Starting tomorrow, set up a charity window at the Medical Center. For flu patients, from struggling families, or anyone facing real hardship, once their situation is confirmed, surgery fees are to be cut in half. And if the circumstances are especially urgent, treat them first-let them pay later." "And another thing: from now on,, when the hospital takes in flu patients, priority goes to the elderly and children. Their immune systems are weak, and without prompt treatment, their lives are at risk." With that, Citrine turned off her phone.
What she didn't realize was that not every hospital partnered with the Medical Research Center shared the scompassion. For some, human life was just another number on a balance sheet.
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The new antiviral drugs and related treatments were cheap But for fl e patients whose organs had been damaged, a single surgery coul
cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Shospitals would deliberately detay treatment-either ignoring the NO illness in its early stages or prescribing weak medication that did nothing. As a result, the disease would worsen, leading to organ failure. By then, surgery was the only option.
At that point, surgery was no longer about saving lives it had becjust another way for big business to make a profit.
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