CHAPTER 1 DAD TAKES THE FIRST STEP

Chapter 1 Dad Takes the First Step

"Daddy, it hurts! I'm dying..."

"I'm not receiving the treatment, okay?"

"I don't want to feel hurt like this anymore. I don't want you to spend money on me anymore."

"Can you take me home? I want to go home... really want to go home..."

Inside the ICU ward, a tiny body lay there. The once delicate and lovely little face was as pale as paper, but blood kept flowing from the mouth and nose, with spots of bleeding all over the body!!

A small hand, using all its strength, grabbed Lachlan Willis's hand with big eyes full of pain and reluctance to leave her father!

Lachlan's eyes were red, and he felt like his heart was being pricked by a needle. The pain was ten thousand times worse than the knife wound on his left kidney.

"Nora, be good. I will definitely find a way to cure you. When you get better, I will take you home and make fried chicken wings for you, okay?"

Lachlan held the little hand and choked back tears as he spoke.

"You're lying. I know I cannot be cured. Save the money. When I die, you still need to live."

"Daddy, please don't spend any more money on me..."

As he spoke, the little one struggled to lift her small head and took off a dragon-shaped jade pendant from around her neck.

"This jade pendant is useless for me to wear. I let you wear it and let it bless you!"

This jade pendant was a relic left by Lachlan's father. It was said to be an heirloom passed down from generation to generation in the Willis family and had the ability to ward off illness and avoid misfortune.

After Nora fell ill, Lachlan put the jade pendant on the little one, hoping to bless her.

But now, it seemed like all the efforts to ward off illness and misfortune were just wishful thinking! Hearing these words, Lachlan felt his heart being sliced with a knife.

He tightly held onto the jade pendant that still carried Nora's warmth, tears streaming down his face uncontrollably. Nora was only five years old but so mature for her age. The more responsible she became, the more it tore at Lachlan's heartstrings!

It felt like there was a lump in his chest that he couldn't cough up, driving him crazy! His daughter followed her useless father and never got to enjoy the joys of this world - was she going to leave them? No! No way! Even if he had to risk his life and reputation, he would make sure his daughter continued living.

"Mr. Willis, you've used up the payment from last time. Are you going to continue with treatment? If we use special medication for your daughter's condition, then perhaps she can hold on for a few more days. Maybe we'll even find a matching bone marrow donor in these next few days," Jason Saunders asked Lachlan expressionlessly.

"Treat her! Of course treat her!" Lachlan grabbed onto Jason's arm and pleaded desperately, "Dr. Saunders, please continue treating my daughter with special medication! I beg you - Nora can't die!"

"Pay first before treatment," replied Jason indifferently.

"Fine then I'll go gather money right away!"

"Dr. Saunders, please give me medicine for my daughter!" Lachlan pleaded desperately.

"Please! I'm begging you!" he continued, rushing out of the hospital room like a madman.

Behind him, Jason and several nurses whispered and sighed in sympathy.

"How could we give him medicine first? Oh..."

"I heard that guy just sold one of his kidneys to pay for his daughter's treatment."

"Poor parent... but without money, everything is useless."

At this moment, Lachlan rushed out of the hospital like a crazy person but stopped at the entrance.

Money! Money! Money!

Now, money was Nora's only hope for survival.

But where could he get it from?

He realized that he had already borrowed all that he possibly could in order to raise funds quickly earlier. With no other options left, Lachlan dialed a number on his phone!

At this point, all he could do was try to plead with her - even if it meant sacrificing his pride and dignity.

But compared to Nora's life, what did his dignity even matter?

"Who is this?"

On the other end of the phone, a sweet and sultry voice answered.

"It's me, Lachlan."

"It's you? Why are you calling me? We've been divorced for ages!" The coquettish tone from earlier disappeared as soon as Claudia heard it was Lachlan.

Claudia Carter was not only Lachlan's ex-wife but also Nora's biological mother. Back when they were in college together, Lachlan had some success with his small business and made a few hundred thousand dollars annually. Claudia was the belle of their department and took advantage of her good looks to seduce him at a class reunion. They ended up getting married.

Things were fine at first; Claudia even gave birth to their daughter Nora. However, everything changed when Nora was diagnosed with leukemia.

To pay for Nora's treatment, Lachlan spent all his savings and even mortgaged his business before selling it off completely. He went from being middle-class to broke overnight.

Claudia revealed her true colors after that; she became cold-hearted and materialistic towards her husband who had fallen on hard times due to their daughter's illness. She repeatedly obstructed any attempts by him to spend money on treating their daughter's illness.

Moreover, she started to behave improperly outside, and even before getting a divorce, she got involved with a wealthy second-generation individual, plotting her own path ahead. Finally, one month ago, she initiated the divorce and heartlessly kicked out Lachlan and their daughter.

As a biological mother, she hadn't even come to see her child in a month, as if she had escaped the plague! If it weren't for the circumstances forcing him, Lachlan would never have contacted her.

"Claudia, can you... lend me some money?" Lachlan asked with difficulty.

"Hah... you're asking me for money? You're really something else. How did you end up like this? I must have been blind to marry you in the first place. Thank goodness I woke up early," Claudia sneered and mocked.

"Get out of here. Who do you think you are?"

Upon hearing this, Lachlan's heart sank. "Nora is about to die!"

"If we can't pay for medical expenses, Nora will die!"

"Claudia, please lend me 20 thousand dollars on account of our daughter! No? Then how about 10 thousand?"

"I'll definitely pay it back to you! Definitely!" Lachlan said urgently and fearfully that Claudia might hang up on him. Property © of .

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a few seconds after he finished speaking.

"I'm sorry but I'm living well with my current husband now. Leukemia can't be cured; it's just an endless pit. Forget about it..." The line went dead before he could say anything else.

The cold sound of the busy tone made Lachlan's heart feel like it was frozen solid. "Claudia, you have such a cruel heart!" he thought to himself. "Nora is our own daughter, how can you just ignore her like this?"

He couldn't bear it.

He hated everything about this situation - he hated the unfairness of life, he hated Claudia for being so heartless, and most of all, he hated his own helplessness.

As he thought about his little girl lying there in pain and calling out for him with every ounce of strength she had left, Lachlan's eyes went from despair to determination - even madness.

"No!" He shouted inwardly. "Daddy won't let you die, Nora! Even if you have to leave this world eventually my dear baby girl... Daddy will be right there with you."

Lachlan knew that he was powerless to change what was happening but at least he could do something - anything- for his daughter. If she had to go then they would go together.

"Baby girl," He whispered softly as tears streamed down his face. "Daddy will take care of everything now."

With that final resolve in mind, Lachlan slammed the door shut behind him as he walked out into the night air- determined not to let Nora die alone in that sterile hospital room.

With a heavy muffled sound, Lachlan's body flew straight out.

After landing, a shocking pool of blood spread under Lachlan's body.

In his hand, he still tightly grasped the dragon-shaped jade pendant.

It seemed that this thing that his daughter had been wearing for several years was his most precious treasure.

However, when the blood stains touched the dragon-shaped jade pendant in his hand, they were mysteriously absorbed.

"Ga!"

At this moment, a Bentley Mulsanne stopped and two people hurriedly got off the car.

One man and one woman.

The man looked like a bodyguard or driver, while the elegant beauty appeared to be the master.

She was in the prime of her life, with delicate and beautiful facial features, and a slender and graceful figure that surpassed those so-called female celebrities.

Wearing professional OL attire, her temperament was cool and capable.

"Scamming for compensation?" The driver looked at Lachlan lying in a pool of blood and said with a gloomy face.

"Risking his life to scam us?"

The stunning beauty furrowed her brows and ordered in a cold tone, "Regardless of the situation, call an ambulance quickly."

At this time, Lachlan, who was in a coma, only felt a vague voice ringing in his mind.

"Trash! How could I have such a trash descendant?"

"If you lose a human kidney, I will give you a dragon one!"