Chapter 3:The Price Of A Heartbeat
743 Words
POV: Dr.Benson
I have been a surgeon at this hospital for twenty years. I have seen rich men walk through these halls many times. Usually, they are arrogant. They demand the best rooms, the fastest nurses, and they think their money makes them immortal.
But I had never seen a man like Elias.
An hour ago, he was the most powerful man in the city. Now, as I prepared for the surgery, I looked out the small window of the operating room. I saw him. He was sitting on a plastic chair, leaning his head against the cold white wall. He looked like a ghost. He had no bodyguards, no fans, and—according to my latest medical office update—no money left in his name.
"Is the patient ready?" I asked, snapping my latex gloves onto my hands.
"Yes, Doctor," the head nurse replied. "This is Bella. Seven years old. Multiple injuries from the plane crash. Internal bleeding in the brain."
I looked down at the little girl on the table. She looked like a broken doll. Her skin was the color of ash. Without this surgery, she wouldn't last another hour. I thought about the billions of naira that had just hit our hospital’s account. It was the largest single payment we had ever received.
Elias hadn't just paid for a surgery; he had bought the entire hospital’s soul for the next twelve hours.
"Scalpel," I said.
The room went silent, except for the steady beep... beep... beep of the monitor. This was the sound of a billionaire’s sacrifice. Every time that machine moved, it was costing Elias a piece of his old life. His mansion, his cars, his pride—it was all being traded for this tiny, rhythmic sound.
Halfway through the surgery, the monitor suddenly changed.
BEE-BEE-BEE-BEE!
"Her blood pressure is dropping!" the nurse shouted. "We're losing her!"
My heart hammered against my ribs. I looked at the girl's face. I thought about the man outside. If she died on this table, Elias wouldn't just be poor; he would be destroyed. He had nothing else to go back to. No wife. No home. No future.
"Stay with me, Bella," I whispered, my sweat fogging my mask. "Your father gave up the world for you. Don't let him stay out there alone."
We worked like machines. We stitched the torn vessels. We stopped the bleeding in her brain. My back ached, and my eyes burned under the bright surgical lights. Time didn't exist in that room. There was only the struggle between life and death.
Finally, after six long hours, the monitor slowed down to a peaceful rhythm. Beep... beep... beep.
I stepped back and took a deep breath. My hands were shaking. I walked over to the sink to wash the blood from my arms.
"Is she stable?" the nurse asked.
"She's alive," I said, exhausted. "But the hit to her brain was very hard. She is in a deep coma. We've done the physical repair, but now... it’s up to her. She might wake up tonight, or she might stay in this sleep for a long time."
I walked out of the double doors. The hallway was quiet and dark. Elias was still there. He hadn't moved an inch. He looked up at me, his eyes wide with terror and hope.
"Doctor?" he asked. He didn't even stand up. He didn't have the strength.
"The surgery was successful, Elias," I said, sitting down on the chair next to him. I didn't care about hospital rules. "She is breathing. But she hasn't woken up. She is in a coma."
Elias let out a long, shaky breath. He covered his face with his hands and wept. Not loud screams, but quiet, heavy sobs that shook his whole body.
"I have no more money, Doctor," he whispered through his tears. "I sold the houses to pay for this room today. What happens tomorrow?"
I looked at the man who used to own the city. "Tomorrow is a new day, Elias. For now, just be glad she's still here."
I walked away to my office, leaving the "Former Billionaire" alone in the dark. He had no kingdom, no crown, and no bed. But for the first time in his life, he was truly a hero.
- Writer
