Chapter 4

Being questioned, Matthew looked somewhat flustered. He pushed away Clinton's hand, protesting, "How would I know what she's scheming in her mind? "Maybe she's playing the victim. After all, acting is what she's best at." "What's the rush, both of you? Don't worry. The doctor's here. She won't die." As Sabrina said this, her eyes scornfully swept over Madeleine who was lying on the floor. She then moved closer to the doctor, "Dr. Brooks, she has agreed to donate her kidney to Abigail. You should give her a preoperative check-up first to see if her kidney is usable." Reuben Brooks furrowed his brows. "I need to save her first." Sabrina was clearly dissatisfied with Reuben's attitude, reminding him, "Dr. Brooks, considering your father and Tristan are good friends, I'm not making it straight. Anyway, my request is to start the operation first." Sabrina was reminding Reuben not to meddle in affairs that had nothing to do with him. Since the person involved had already signed the surgery consent form and waiver agreement, even if there was a medical accident during the surgery, it wouldn't be related to the doctor or the hospital. Therefore, he should just perform the operation. Reuben instructed the two nurses beside him to take Madeleine to the emergency room. Then, he said to Sabrina, "Mrs. Landry, this is a hospital, and saving lives is my duty as a doctor. As for the rest, it is beyond my duty." With that said, he walked straight out the door. Seeing this, Matthew, standing at the side, felt irritated and wanted to intercept Reuben, but was stopped by Sabrina. "Stop, don't rush. You need to keep your cool. "These young doctors care about reputation and fear causing trouble, so some matters can't be openly mentioned." Next, Sabrina turned to look at Clinton and reminded, "Now, Abigail is your fiancee and you have the responsibility to take good care of her, understand?" Clinton immediately understood what she meant, nodded, and said, "I see. I will take good care of her." After receiving emergency aid, Madeleine was taken to the examination room. "Dr. Brooks, she seems to have been malnourished for a long time. There are also a lot of old and new injuries on her body. It looks like she has been subjected to long-term abuse. Something's not quite right here, should we call the police?" The nurse nervously asked during the examination. "No need." Reuben frowned. Reuben knew that Madeleine was the fake daughter of the Landry family. The news of her identity switch left Pinebrook shell-shocked five years ago, then she went to prison. She should have just recently been released from prison, so her malnutrition was fairly commonplace. "Should we notify her family?" The nurse asked again. Reuben, upon hearing this, looked up at Clinton who was smoking at the entrance of the smoking area. "They're not her family members," Clinton responded. "She's very weak at the moment, showing signs of sinus bradycardia, which is likely related to her long-term malnutrition. Based on her current physical condition, she does not meet the criteria for kidney donation." Reuben informed them of the diagnosis results. "Your name is Reuben, right?" Clinton tossed the cigarette butt he was holding in his hand and looked at Reuben through cold eyes. "Madeleine has already signed the surgery consent form. As a doctor, you only need to carry out the surgery and don't need to meddle in other matters." Reuben closed the folder holding the examination form in his hands. His imposing gaze clashed head-on with Clinton, not falling short in the least. "You now have two options. The first is to take her home and take good care of her, replenishing her nutrition, and when her weight meets the standard, bring her back to the hospital for another examination. "The second is to find a suitable kidney match from the list of volunteer donors I provide you with, and expedite the kidney transplant process for the patient." Hearing this, Clinton knitted his brows slightly, finally answering, "I choose the first one." Subsequently, he directly stepped away. "Dr. Brooks, does she hold a grudge against them? Why do they insist on having her kidney?" The nurse murmured in confusion. Reuben did not respond, only shook his head helplessly. He didn't bother to meddle with the animosity between the Beach and Landry families. ... After Madeleine left the examination room, she was sent to the ward. She was currently lying in bed, hooked up to an IV drip. After the doctors and nurses left, she took advantage of the empty ward, immediately removed the IV needle, and escaped from the bathroom window. She knew that the Landry family and Clinton wouldn't let her go. Even if she managed to escape, she would eventually be caught again. But her only wish at this moment was to see her son, whom she narrowly gave birth to five years ago before her death. She was still unclear about who her child's biological father was, but she knew that this child was her life continuation, her motivation for surviving in prison for five years. Her act of escaping from the hospital completely infuriated the Landry family and Clinton. "I knew Madeleine wouldn't willingly donate her kidney to me." On the sickbed, Abigail said in a choked voice. Her sobbing voice was full of grievances, telling everyone that Madeleine owed her the kidney donation. After she returned to the Landry family, she didn't change her surname back to Landry but continued to be called Abigail Price. Her reason was that although the Price family wasn't kind to her, they at least raised her for twenty-one years. So she had become the girl who was kind to the bone in people's eyes, while Madeleine was the evil and lowly impostor. But in reality, she preserved the last name to constantly stimulate the Landry family, causing them to maintain guilt towards her, allowing her to be compensated unscrupulously for the loss of over twenty years. "Abigail, don't be sad, Madeleine must repay her debt to you. She cannot escape," Matthew said with a distressed voice. "Matthew..." Upon hearing his words, Abigail wept harder. She hugged Matthew tightly and said, "Matthew, do you think Clinton will abandon me now that Madeleine is free? "I don't want to lose him. I'm so afraid!" "Stop worrying. Back then, Madeleine embarrassed the Beach family. Do you think Clinton would still want her?" Matthew soothingly caressed her head. "But what if Madeleine told Clinton we should be responsible for what happened back then? What should we do?" She anxiously looked at him. "Ha... Who would believe her words now? "Moreover, we still haven't figured out who the man she slept with back then was. Who can prove that we were the ones behind it? "Don't worry. The illegitimate child is her weakness. If she wants to protect the child, she will naturally not dare to speak recklessly." Matthew had accurately grasped Madeleine's psyche. "However, it is indeed strange that Madeleine didn't sleep with the man we brought to her back then. I've been investigating for five years but can't find out who that man was," Abigail curiously remarked about the identity of the mystery man. "The identity of that man is not important. The important thing is that Madeleine's reputation is ruined, and Clinton is now yours. "Alright, stop worrying too much. Get some rest," Matthew gently patted Abigail's back. Upon hearing this, Abigail nodded. She thought to herself, 'Damn bitch, you dare to run away? You've wasted 21 years of my life. I must destroy you to relieve the hatred in my heart! 'I will make you return everything you had when you took my identity!' ... After running out of the hospital, Madeleine came to a telephone booth by the road to make a call. As soon as the call was connected, Madeleine desperately pleaded, "Can you please save me?" At that moment, a man's deep voice came through the handset, "So, you finally decided to call me? "I've told you already - if you want to stay alive, there's only one way out, and that's to cooperate with me. "All these years, if it wasn't for me secretly protecting you, you would have died in prison a long time ago." "I promise to cooperate with you, I'll try to get close to Beckett, but I'm really not confident, like a proud son of the heavens like Beckett would take an interest in me." Madeleine knew that Beckett was a genius in the business world, a man standing at the top of the food chain, a level she could hardly reach. "Don't worry, you will have the chance to get close to him because Clinton won't let you off easily. You just need to seize the chance..." Madeleine listened carefully to the man's plan over the phone, nodding quietly. After a while, she finished the call and returned to where she had lived five years ago. Upon arriving, she realized it had become a demolition zone. Wearing a duckbill cap she picked up, she anxiously looked about, eventually slipping into an alley. Suddenly, an excited voice sounded clear next to her ear, "Maddy..."