Chapter 5; They Will All Pay One By One
1028 Words
The cold air struck Berry the moment he stepped through the hospital doors. It crawled across his skin, sharp and unforgiving, the same way yesterday had carved itself into his memory. The humiliation. The crowd laughed at him. Skye emptying her drink just to watch him lick the floor like an animal. Caleb’s voice echoing in his skull, dripping with arrogance. Every scene returned to him like a cruel replay.
A voice sliced through the fog of memory.
“Ahh, Mr… Alon.”
Berry stiffened. Dr. Kenneth. His mother’s doctor. The man whose eyes never seemed to lose their smug gleam.
Berry breathed out slowly. “I have the money now. Whatever the bill is, I can pay it.”
Dr. Kenneth chuckled. Not kindly. Not even politely. Just a cold, dismissive sound.
“Mr. Alon, I am sorry, but your time is up. The hospital has already seized your aunt’s body.”
For a moment, Berry did not move. His pulse slowed, not with fear, but with the kind of rage that boiled quietly, steadily, until it reached the bone. His jaw tightened.
“What did you just say?”
“Well, Mr. Alon,” Dr. Kenneth continued with a shrug, “your aunt’s body has already been sold. If you want it back, you will need to pay double the amount.”
Berry’s fists curled so tightly that the veins in his hands strained. A flicker of something dangerous lit in his eyes.
“Fine,” he said, his voice steady. “Give me the account.”
Dr. Kenneth blinked. Then he grinned, amused. “It is now $300,000.”
Berry did not argue. He did not speak.
In less than ten seconds, his phone screen glowed with the confirmation.
A moment later, Dr. Kenneth’s phone vibrated.
The doctor’s smile froze.
Then vanished.
“Impossible,” he whispered.
Before he could form another word, Berry spoke. “Release my aunt’s body.”
Dr. Kenneth’s phone buzzed again. This time it was an incoming call. Caleb.
The doctor answered quickly.
“Sir, yes. Mr. Alon came for the body. He made the payment, but—”
On the other end, Caleb burst into laughter.
“Berry? Paying? That bastard must have stolen the money. Or maybe he used a fake transfer. Listen carefully. Do not give him the body. I don’t care what lie you come up with. Just stall him.”
Dr. Kenneth swallowed.
Caleb’s voice darkened.
“And remember… Mr. Ellis is expecting his revenge. If you let that nobody take the body, you will explain to your biggest donor why you failed to punish the bastard who hospitalized his son.”
The call ended.
Slowly, Dr. Kenneth put the phone down. He turned to Berry with a rehearsed sigh.
“You are too late. You paid after the deadline. The hospital has concluded the deal with the organ harvesters. Nothing can be done. They own the body now.”
Something snapped inside Berry.
The anger in his voice was no longer mild. It was a storm, shaking the air around him.
“What did you just say?”
But Dr. Kenneth raised a hand and waved over the guards.
“Security! Throw him out. And never allow him into this hospital again.”
He turned to walk away—
His phone rang again.
He almost didn’t answer… until he saw the caller ID.
All the color drained from his face.
His back straightened. His hands trembled. He pressed the phone to his ear with a shaky breath.
“Yes, sir. Of course, sir. I… I did not know. Please, sir. Forgive me. It won’t happen again. Yes, sir. Yes… I understand completely.”
Each “sir” was smaller than the last. He hung up slowly.
Then he turned.
Then he dropped to his knees.
The guards stared.
Nurses stared.
Even Berry froze.
Dr. Kenneth bowed so low his forehead touched the floor.
“Please, forgive me,” he begged. “I did not know. I swear on my life, I didn’t know. Please, sir… have mercy.”
Berry stared at him, stunned but controlled. “Stand up.”
Dr. Kenneth trembled. “Please, don’t make me—”
“Stand up,” Berry repeated, colder this time.
The doctor obeyed, shaking violently.
“Here is what you will do,” Berry said quietly. “Place my aunt’s body in the best morgue you have. Return every cent I sent you. And after that… I never want to see your face again.”
“Yes, sir. Right away, sir.”
He rushed to his phone and transferred the full $300,000 back to Berry. Then he spun toward the guards, panic flooding his voice.
“Throw me out of this hospital!”
Both guards froze. “Sir?”
“I said throw me out!”
Still confused, they lifted him and dragged him out of the building as he begged them to be gentle.
For the first time in days, a soft breeze brushed Berry’s face.
He exhaled, long and slow.
His aunt was gone.
Nothing could ever change that.
But for the first time, he felt something steady, something sharp, anchoring him. Strength.
He sat in the hallway, hands folded, chest tight but calm.
They would all pay. One after the other.
Minutes later, a senior doctor walked towards him briskly, his tone respectful.
“Mr. Alon, your aunt’s body has been moved to the premium morgue, and the arrangements for a befitting burial have started. Is there anything else you need?”
Berry’s eyes hardened slightly. “Yes. One thing. Whenever any member of the Ellis family comes in for treatment or a check-up, you will delay them. Inform me before giving them any care.”
The doctor hesitated for a fraction of a second, then nodded. “Understood.”
Berry’s phone vibrated.
He pulled it out. It was Luna.
He answered.
“Berry, where the hell are you?” Luna shouted, her voice cracked with fea
r. “Leo has been kidnapped.”
The hallway suddenly felt colder.
And the war he had been preparing for…
had just taken a darker turn.
- Writer
