“If you’ll excuse me, I will need to have these fossils tested for validity.” Lily explained as she stood up to go.

“Be my guest.”

“Then, let us meet next week at the same time.”

“It’s a date.”

A small smile formed on her lips. “Yes, it is.”

“Wait… I mean…”

“Goodbye, Mr. Daniel. I’ll eagerly be waiting for what you can give me next week.”

“R-right.”

She turned and left, leaving me flustered as she always did. I couldn’t help but watch her leave, her hips swaying in a way that made a man’s blood boil. I wasn’t the only guy watching her as she left. Once she was out of sight, I brought the black card out again. This was the solution to all of my problems. When that no-good debt collector stopped by again, I’d be able to pay him off no matter how much money he demanded.

Well, it wasn’t like I wanted to be taken advantage of by him. However, I could pay off everything. I owed him $6,000. The rate he was using was 25% monthly. I was pretty sure that wasn’t legal, but there was nothing to do about it when we took a loan from horrible men. It was better to cut ties with them completely.

The jewelry store lady had predicted I could get rid of all the diamonds for around $5000. However, that was if I sold for the best price. Instead, all of my loose diamonds were sold rapidly online, while the rest went for auction. The online stuff came to about $1000 after fees, shipping costs, and the various things I bought. For someone used to seeing nothing but change in his account, that was amazing enough. The remaining came to just over $2000, naturally after the auction house took their cut as well.

However, the $10,000 credit limit made all the difference. I didn’t want to be in debt to anyone, but if it was between the cheating debt collectors and the auction house, I’d pick the auction house. Besides, with the velociraptor bones alone, I could pull myself out of any debt I could get into. So, in my mind, minus the $6000 that needed to go to the loan collector next week, I had $7000 to spend on my business.

I finished up at the café and then left not too long after her. On my way home, I thought about buying a car for myself. No, I shouldn’t get too eager yet. I needed more money before I could start seriously buying things. As for my family, I also needed it to look like I was working to make money. Perhaps, I should rent out an office. I could move the mirror there and then go there to work every day. I just had a few more months of school anyway.

As I was lost in thought, thinking about what I was going to do with all the money that would assuredly start coming in soon, I nearly ran into someone walking into my building.

“Excuse me.” I tried to move around them, not even glancing their way.

A hand reached out and grabbed my wrist. “I found you.”

A familiar voice drifted to my ear, and my feet stopped. I turned to see a Japanese girl standing there. The last time I had seen her, she had been in the hospital. Rather, she was in the cancer ward and was dying! Why was she on the street? By the look on her pale face and sunken sheets, she wasn’t doing particularly better. However, she had traded the hospital gown for a thick fur coat that covered her body completely, hiding her thin, sickly appearance. If I wasn’t looking right into her hood, I wouldn’t have realized there was anything off about her.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“Mizuki, right?”

“You weren’t too hard to find, but it took me some time to start looking for you.”

I looked away awkwardly. It was clear what she wanted from me. She had cancer. I had given all of the other kids in the wing the anti-cancer drugs, but I had run out when it came to her. I gave her some Regen-X, but that would only temporarily alleviate some symptoms. Ultimately, she was still dying. Tracking me down wouldn’t have been that difficult. Gabriella probably spoke of me, and some of the nurses would have asked about my presence too.

I recalled that she had a wealthy family too. The BMW with a driver sitting in front of an apartment complex gave it away. Given how bad this area of town was, it stuck out like a sore thumb, and so did her fancy clothes. So, she ultimately wanted me to give her the same drug I gave the rest of those kids. She hadn’t told anyone about me giving those kids the drugs, revealing what I had done, so this would probably be blackmail then.

Unfortunately, I didn’t know if we even had ingredients to make more cancer pills. Jeri might have made them all with the batch she gave me. I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to ask her to make more. If I was going to try to make cancer pills to save everyone dying from cancer, then Jeri would be making nothing else. At some point, I needed to look to my own future. It was already enough that I saved a room full of kids. Besides, this woman was hardly unfortunate. She had a rich family and lived a life of luxury. I could tell that just by looking at her.

“You… look better,” I said, wanting to flee indoors more than anything.

“I feel better.” She smiled at me.

I wanted to deny it based on her appearance, but she seemed to be speaking genuinely. There was a large man in a black coat standing by the door of the BMW watching us. A bodyguard? Would she sic him on me if I tried to resist? I might have been stronger and faster than him at this point. I was getting ready to take my second dose of Allgility.

“Then, what do you want from me?” I asked.

A small smile formed on her face. “Nothing.”

I blinked. “Excuse me?”

“I wanted to thank you for your help. I don’t know what you gave me, but I suddenly had a lot more energy. I’ve always been weak and sickly, even before the… well, you know.” She shook her head. “However, a lot of conditions cleared up, things that were supposed to be incurable.”

“And what? You’re hoping for another miracle?” I demanded, letting a bit of anger into my voice.

Her smile slipped. “No… I just wanted to thank you.”

“Fine. You’re welcome.” I pulled my arm out of her grasp, and she let go of the grip she had on me. “I’ll be going then.”

She lifted a letter. “I… used a private detective to locate you. He was more thorough than I instructed. He told me your mother has several debts. She took out an expensive life insurance policy. They said she had cancer too until she suddenly went into remission.”

“You don’t have the right to look into my life like that.” I snapped, unlocking the front door and shooting her a look that said she wasn’t welcome to follow.

She took a step back, but she didn’t step down. “I know. I shouldn’t have. However, I had my lawyers renegotiate the contract so the terms were reasonable, and then I paid it for enough years that it should cover the rest of her life.”

“You had no right to do that either!”

I didn’t know why I was angry, but the more she spoke, the angrier I got.

“I just… didn’t know what else to do… here.” She pulled out an envelope and pushed it into my hand. “The doctors say that my chemo looks like it’s working. Whatever you did seemed to kick my body in motion, and I might pull through and live a few more years. I’m deeply appreciative. This is the last thing I wanted to give you. It’s $50,000. You’ve given me another chance at life, so I want to give you the same.”

I froze as I looked down at the envelope in my hand. Compared to the $10,000 credit line, which I would have to pay back, this was way more. I almost shoved it into my pocket. I didn’t give her RegenX. It healed some childhood birth defects of hers. A hospital would charge her that much just for the amount of time she would have stayed in the hospital. If anything, this money was nothing to her.

I grabbed it in both hands, and I ripped it up. For the first time, her mouth fell opened and she looked truly shocked. I shoved the ripped-up pieces into her hand.

“I’m not your charity. I will dig my family out of debt on my own.” I responded before turning and slamming the door.

As for why I wouldn’t take the money, it was hard to say. She probably just wanted me to get her the cancer medication. Something about her BMW, her coat, and her servants rubbed me the wrong way. I didn’t like rich people. She was just being jealous and throwing her money around, thinking she could have whatever she wanted. Well, I would become rich too, and I’d do it without just taking it from my parents. It was time to start a business.