Wife's Bitter Revenge Against Neglectful CEO Husband-Chapter 143: Touring Bright Future

Alec

Bright Future was a state-of-the-art facility that catered to patients who could afford above-average care. It was heavily staffed, and each nurse cared for no more than four patients. The cafeteria food was gourmet and prepared to order. The patient rooms resembled luxury hotel suites. Patients could request hair and nail salon services, personal massage services, and spa treatments.

Each suite included an additional room outfitted for the patient’s needs. For kids, it was a playroom. Businessmen got an office. Artists might request a studio. Whatever the needs, the Bright Future staff aimed to comply.

Dorms were available to patient families and staff. The dorms included full gyms and swimming pools, equally as opulent and service-oriented.

I was impressed. This was the type of upscale luxury most people couldn’t afford in their private lives, let alone include the kind of medical services some of the patients needed to stay alive.

Kahlil arranged for Jake, Min, and me to do rounds with Doctor Ren Samuel, one of the hospital’s leading surgeons.

Doctor Samuel was a short little man who would have passed as a teenager if it wasn’t for the deep lines across his forehead. He spoke swiftly in short sentences that sounded more like commands than a series of informational statements.

We were in the pediatrics ward when I glanced into a room and saw Kahlil sitting at the bedside of a young boy who looked much like him.

I did the one thing Teela told me not to do. I excused myself from the group. I wasn’t surprised when Min followed me.

The little boy was pale. He had tubes and sensors trailing between him and a variety of machines.

I put a hand on my friend’s shoulder. "Is he yours?"

"My younger son, Micah."

"What’s wrong with him?"

"He needs a heart. He has a congenital heart defect. Without a new heart, it is only a matter of time before we lose him."

"So taking the job with Bright Future is about more than the schools and raising your children in a small community."

"Yes. Micah has a rare blood type—AB-negative. We’ve been looking for a heart for him since he was an infant. We are running out of time how."

"I’m sorry. Is there anything that I can do?"

"Thank you, my friend, but no. Micah is in the best facility for recovery. We must be patient."

"How long has he been hospitalized?"

"Almost two years. We’ve come close to a donor match twice."

"Mind if I sit with you for a while?"

"I would enjoy the company."

Colby had AB-negative blood. Judging by the size of the child, it was possible Colby was kidnapped to save Micah. What had changed? Why was Micah left to suffer while Colby was piecemealed out to others.

I had to see whether Kahlil was involved. I motioned to Min to go. He slipped out of the room.

I leaned in close and kept my voice barely above a whisper. "Kahlil, what do you know about the residents in the dorm in the center of the complex?"

"What do you know about them?" Kahlil answered.

"More than I should."

"The official story is they are terminal patients rescued from the foster system and put into a hospice setting."

"But?"

"But the costs for operating the dorm are the only expenses that do not come through me. We have other charitable endeavors. Those run through a subsidiary set of accounts, but those accounts are still managed by my staff. Additionally, no one has seen anyone other than staff enter or leave the building for as long as I’ve been here, and yet, there have been mentions in the board meetings of losses and gains. Very cryptic. Very below board, but I’d say at least three members are aware of the full scope."

"Have you ever questioned them about it?"

Kahlil nodded. "Once. It was made clear to me that I needed to mind my own business if I expected to keep my job.

"It’s like those kids live on their own little island in the middle of everything. Amber asked last year if we could hold a holiday party for the sick children or at least collect gifts for them. That is the kind of woman she is. Always looking out for others.

"We were told it wasn’t necessary. The staff would take care of them, but no one saw a Christmas tree delivered or Christmas lights shining from the windows."

"What if I told you Bright Future kidnaps children from around the world and house them in that center dorm?" I asked.

"But why?"

"To use as organ donors. They’ve had a boy there for over three years with your son’s blood type."

"How does that help Micah? The boy can’t donate a heart while he is still alive."

"It’s easy to rectify that condition for the right price."

"I don’t believe it."

"Think about it, Kahlil. How else do you explain the success rate of Bright Future?"

Kahlil considered my news. "But why? If what you are saying is true, why haven’t they tried to sell me a heart for Micah? I mean, what you are suggesting is horrific, but they know I have the means to pay any price to save my son."

"I suspect as long as Micah’s condition is stable, they have time to harvest less vital materials from the boy. Plus, they can maximize the asking price for the heart if they wait until Micah condition worsens."

"Impossible. Micah is on death’s doorstep now. No, Alec, you are wrong. You have to be. I work with these people. They wouldn’t let my son die when the solution is right next door."

"You forget, Kahlil, that solution involves sacrificing the life of someone else’s child."

Agony morphed Kahlil’s features as he struggled between wanting to saving his own child and the morality of killing another man’s child to save his own.

I didn’t envy the man. I wasn’t sure what I would do in his position. If I pushed him now, he would likely run to his superiors and turn me in as a spy. At best, Jake, Min, and I would be thrown off the property. At worst, I wouldn’t be able to keep my promise to return to Teela unscathed, so I gave him time to absorb the information I had give him and come up with his own conclusions. I had faith that my friend would make the right decision, in time.

A tap on the door reminded me I was expected elsewhere. I looked up to see Jake summoning me back to the tour.

"Kahlil, I have to go. I’ll be back in a while. Can we have lunch? I can have it brought to this room, if you want to stay by Micah’s side."

"No, no. Amber will be here to sit with Micah shortly. I’ll return to work then. When your tour is over, have someone escort you to my office. We can speak again then."

Jake gave me a knowing look as I left the room. Teela must have overheard my conversation with Kahlil and snitched on me. I could understand why Jake would be upset with me sharing so much information with Kahlil, but the man was my friend. He was facing an impossible dilemma. He needed to understand what he was up against.

The tour continued, without Min. When asked where Min had disappeared to, I’d explained I’d sent him back to the hotel for some paperwork I’d forgotten. It would buy Min an hour or so. I wasn’t sure to what end, though. I’d caught a glimpse of the central dorm. There was no way to sneak in, and I didn’t see the staff allowing Min to just walk in.

"Doctor Samuel, will we tour the other facilities on campus?" I asked after we’d completed the hospital tour.

"Not my department. I’ve got emergency surgery to perform. That little boy you visited earlier will receive a new heart in less than an hour," Doctor Samuel said.

"Oh, so the heart is on the way? I didn’t see a helicopter pad. Will it be transported from the airport to the facility via ambulance?"

Doctor Samuel stammered as if no one had ever asked that question before. "Isn’t that how most organs are transported?"

"Most hospitals that specialize in transplant surgeries has a helicopter pad on site."

"You’d have to take that up with management. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to prep."

"I think we will go with you, if you don’t mind," Jake said.

"You are not cleared to observe."

Jake took the good doctor by the arm. "We are now. Lead the way."

"I can’t allow it," Doctor Samuel said.

"Then I have no use for you." Jake backed the doctor into an unoccupied room. I followed after them. In short order, Jake incapacitated the doctor and left him stripped, tied up, and gagged in the bathroom. He managed to lock the bathroom door and jam the lock to prevent a quick rescue.

"Alec, you should go back to the hotel or upstairs with your friend. Anywhere but here. This next part might get messy, and Teela won’t forgive me if I get you arrested."

"I’m in this all the way. What can I do?"

"You can stay safe. Min and I will take from here."

As if summoned, Min slipped into the room.