Chapter 5 You Can't Afford Me

The doctors could operate on Ryan as long as his family signed the consent form. In such a case, even if Ryan did die, it had nothing to do with them. They already tried their best.

However, with Ryan's current condition, he didn't have that much time. If they did nothing, he'd die within 10 minutes.

"Dr. Brown, perhaps we should wait for his family," Aurora Robinson, a young associate chief physician, tentatively suggested.

She thought, 'If we operate on Sir Bourbon, and something goes wrong, Mr. Bourbon won't let us off the hook.

'However, in this case, there's obviously nothing we can do.

'I'm afraid no one can save Sir Bourbon today.'

At the thought of that, she suggested again, "In my opinion, let's give him a shot of a cardiac stabilizer and a dose of a heart relaxant. At least he gets to hold on until his family is here."

The other doctors all knew that Phillipe Bourbon, Ryan's grandson, wasn't someone to mess with, and they had no better ideas. Silent, they looked at Zachary, waiting for his decision.

Zachary said nothing. Seeing that, Aurora decided to step in and make the decision on his behalf. She said to a nurse standing next to them, "Go get the cardiac stabilizer and heart relaxant."

Just as the nurse was about to leave, Abella at the door lazily said, "If you do that, he's gonna die for sure."

She was aware that given Ryan's current physical state, he was too fragile to withstand the medication's effects.

The shots could only make him briefly conscious. He would surely die within half an hour.

"What do you know? Who do you think you are? Who gives you the nerve to tell us what to do?" Aurora glanced at Abella sideways. "Don't get in the way. Leave!"

Her resentment for Abella grew stronger and stronger. She thought, 'We're all experts here. Who the heck does she think she is? How ignorant!'

"Quack," Abella muttered, not wanting to waste time with them and was about to leave.

Aurora happened to hear her and said sternly, "What now? Stop right there!"

While saying that, she thought, 'I'm the best qualified and the youngest deputy chief doctor here, and I've won many awards and been praised by many people. How dare she question my medical skills?'

"Did you say quack? Who were you referring to?" she walked up to Abella and asked, annoyed. "Tell me. I'm listening."

"You, obviously." Abella raised an eyebrow, clearly not taking Aurora seriously at all.

"You..." Aurora was choked on Abella's words, not knowing how to respond momentarily. She thought, 'She's got some nerve!'

Meanwhile, Abella crossed her arms and said nonchalantly, "Given his current condition, surgery is the only option."

"Surgery? Easy for you to say." Aurora was so pissed off that she actually laughed out loud. "He has already had 5 heart surgeries. His heart is so scarred that none of the doctors in the country would dare perform a sixth heart surgery on him!"

The more she said, the more agitated she became. She continued, "Do you have any idea how tricky the surgery is? We've discussed this with countless renowned cardiac surgeons at home and abroad. No one can think of a better way!"

Abella raised an eyebrow, still looking indifferent. "That's because none of you are capable enough."

"And you are?" Aurora sneered. "Yeah, right! Go ahead then! Be my guest!"

Abella glanced at Ryan on the bed and said casually, "You can't afford me."

Aurora found her words extremely amusing. "Just so you know, he's not just some ordinary old man. Money is nothing in his eyes. If you really get to save his life, I'll kneel in front of you!"

Abella raised an eyebrow again. "Deal."

"You're the most ignorant person I've ever seen!" Aurora's face was full of disdain. "Did you even graduate high school? Do you know where the heart is? Is surgery the same as cutting steak in a restaurant in your eyes? You know what? I don't give a damn who you are. Apologize and leave, and I'll let you off!"

Hearing that, Abella glanced at the name tag on Aurora's left chest pocket and said indifferently, "You're the deputy chief of cardiac surgery, and you can't even do prosthetic valve replacement. You want me to apologize? Aren't you ashamed of yourself?"

"You..." Aurora was at a loss for words.

"You're worse than a quack," Abella mocked.

Aurora was furious. "Guys, did you hear that? She's outrageous!"

The female chief physician aside muttered to herself, "The girl actually knows about valve replacement surgery. It's medical terminology. Does she really know something about medicine? But she's just a young girl."

Aaron also realized this, and he looked at Abella with surprise and shock.

He whispered to Aurora, "Maybe we should let her give it a go. Who knows? She might indeed have a way."

"Dr. Hopkins, are you out of your mind? You actually believe an ignorant girl?"

Before Aurora could finish speaking, another doctor whispered, "If something goes wrong, we can blame it on her."

"She doesn't work here, OK?" Aurora turned back, lowering her voice. "You do know who Mr. Bourbon is, right? If something does go off, all of us will be held responsible! You really think you can pin it on some girl?"

After that, she glanced at Abella with disdain. "If she was really skilled in medicine, she would be the chief here! We might as well retire!"

Aaron didn't know what to do. "But we don't have a better solution for now, do we?"

"How about..." the female chief physician chimed in. "How about we get Dr. Smith here?"

Randy was recognized as a genius in the hospital, but he also had a reputation for his temper.

"Dr. Smith is very aloof. He doesn't give a damn about patients who aren't under his watch," Aurora said.

She knew that very well, so, she hadn't bothered him from the start.

She knew that he'd probably throw them out without hesitation at all.

"So, what should we do now? Are we just gonna watch Sir Bourbon die here while doing nothing?"