My throat tightened, tears welled up in my eyes and afraid of losing my composure in front of her, I forced myself to say, "Mom, don't say that. You still need to get treatment. I'll go pay your hospital fees."
I ran out of the ward as if escaping, my emotions so complicated that I couldn't help but shed tears and couldn't calm down for a long time.
As I handed over the last two thousand eight hundred dollars I had and returned to the ward door with the towels and water bottles I had bought, I heard a conversation coming from inside and my steps faltered instantly.
"Isabel, didn't we use all the money to pay off Viola's debts? Where else do we have money?"
My heart sank and my hand, which was about to open the door, froze in mid-air.
I heard Isabel lower her voice, her tone completely devoid of the vulnerability she had shown moments before. "That card was empty. I lied to Isla."
