Chapter 4: The Black Card Mr. Drake Gave Her
1187 Words
Clara Bennett was currently at the hospital.
After escaping from home, she called the person she trusted most—Ms. Grace Warren—only to learn that Ms. Warren had been admitted to the hospital.
When Ms. Warren heard Clara’s family intended to sell her off, she immediately contacted one of her former students and had Clara brought to the city hospital.
Clara rushed in, worry written all over her face.
“Ms. Warren, how are you feeling?”
The moment she saw the frail figure on the bed, Clara’s tears fell instantly.
She had only been gone for three months. How had Ms. Warren become this sick?
Ms. Warren’s complexion was yellowed, her cheekbones sharply visible.
But when her eyes met Clara’s, they softened with familiar maternal warmth.
“Clara, weren’t you attending university in Capital City? And didn’t you find your biological parents? Why are you back?”
Her voice was still as gentle as ever.
Clara held her hand and pressed it against her cheek, feeling the warmth she had missed.
Her adoptive parents had never wanted her to study. Without Ms. Warren’s insistence, Clara would have been forced to drop out long ago.
Many girls had similar experiences—families who valued sons over daughters. Ms. Warren had visited their homes, one by one, even paying their tuition with her own salary.
She had been the only warmth in their lives.
She was the adult Clara trusted most.
Hearing her question, Clara lowered her head, her eyes reddening like a small wounded kitten.
Ms. Warren gently stroked her cheek. “Did they treat you badly?”
Clara blinked, and tears slipped down silently.
She quickly turned around to wipe them away, not wanting to cause more worry.
Her three months at the Bennett estate had been far from happy.
They treated her with caution and distance, afraid she would ask for something—
or expose Evelyn as the fake daughter.
On the surface, Evelyn acted like a loving sister, but in secret, she and her friends bullied Clara viciously.
They pushed Clara into the swimming pool; she choked on water as she struggled, and when her father arrived, they claimed she had jumped in on her own.
Someone hid a snake in Clara’s bed. Terrified, she ran out, only to be scolded by her second brother for “making a fuss.”
But Clara didn’t want Ms. Warren to know any of this.
“Ms. Warren, I don’t want to go back to my biological parents. I want to stay with you and take care of you.”
“You don’t want to go back? Then don’t. But you cannot stay with me.”
Clara looked confused. “Why?”
Ms. Warren had devoted her entire life to teaching, never marrying or having children. Her only family were her students.
So why wouldn’t she allow Clara to stay?
“Silly child. I want you to go far. I want you to soar like an eagle. You must never sacrifice your future for anyone.”
“You worked so hard to get into a university in Capital City. You must not give up this opportunity. If you’re short on tuition, I’ll help you… cough, cough…”
Ms. Warren seemed exhausted, so Clara stepped out to give her a break.
From Ms. Warren’s former students, Clara learned that she had a tumor that required surgery.
Emily Chen, one of the former students, explained:
“We asked around. The doctors here aren’t confident. Only the top hospital in Capital City can perform the surgery.”
Emily was the one who had brought Clara from the village. She worked in Capital City now.
“I’ll contact my colleagues and see if anyone has connections.”
She made several calls but found no one who could help.
She sighed. “We can’t delay the surgery any longer. If we can’t transfer her, she’ll have to undergo the operation here.”
Clara bit her lip. “How much is the surgery?”
“…Around five hundred thousand.”
Emily came from a poor family and had only recently started working. She had almost no savings.
As for Ms. Warren, she never accepted gifts and spent her small salary helping students.
Raising the money would be extremely difficult.
Clara hesitated for a moment, then took out a black card from her pocket.
“Emily, use this.”
She didn’t know how much was in it—she only hoped it could cover part of the cost.
If it wasn’t enough, she would find another way.
Emily’s eyes widened in shock.
“Clara… where did you get a black card?”
It was a global VIP black card—something only people with immense wealth and influence could hold.
Clara felt her cheeks heat up. She lied quietly:
“From… the Bennett family.”
Emily knew Clara’s background and didn’t question it.
“What’s the password? I’ll go pay.”
After she left, Clara let out a breath and sat on the cold metal bench, remembering.
The card had actually been given to her by Alexander Drake.
That night, she hadn’t known who he was.
Later, when the Drake family came to discuss the marriage, the Bennetts had locked her in the garden to keep her from interfering.
Clara had fallen asleep near the flowerbed and was awakened by a man’s voice.
She opened her eyes and found his handsome face inches from hers.
Recognizing him, she panicked and tried to run.
But he casually grabbed the back of her collar and pulled her back.
“Running? Do you think I’d eat you?”
Tall, elegant, and wrapped in a perfectly tailored black suit, he carried a natural air of authority—born a king.
He still smelled of that familiar clean, woodsy scent.
And unless she imagined it, amusement flickered in his sharp eyes.
“You were bold enough last time. Why run now? Feeling guilty?”
Clara flushed crimson, tears shimmering in her embarrassment.
Alexander held a card between two long fingers.
“Take this. Password is six eights.”
Clara lowered her eyes. “I don’t want your money.”
That night had been an accident. She didn’t want to be paid for it.
What would that make her?
Shame and frustration swelled in her chest.
Alexander flicked her forehead lightly. “What nonsense are you imagining?”
“I injured you. This is medical compensation.”
In the distance, someone called:
“Uncle? Where are you?”
Without giving her a chance to refuse, he slipped the card into the pocket of her white dress.
Then he turned and left.
Later, she learned from the household staff that besides the Drake family’s young master, another important figure had come—Alexander Drake.
Back in the present—
The moment the black card was used at the hospital, Alexander received a notification.
During his meeting, he glanced at his phone and saw the payment location.
His narrow eyes lifted, and the corner of his lips curved slightly.
So the little one was hiding here.
- Writer
