Flash Marriage To The Dangerous Billionaire - Chapter 53: Chapter 53
You are reading Flash Marriage To The Dangerous Billionaire, Chapter 53: Chapter 53. Read more chapters of Flash Marriage To The Dangerous Billionaire.
Raymond was well aware of the harsh reality. Holding this meeting was partly just a formality, and partly holding out hope.
Yet everyone knew the odds were slim.
At least it would clear his conscience and give the girl's father some closure, allowing the hospital to say they had done all they could.
Those willing to donate lined up, each dropping money into the donation box.
Hallie didn't line up for the donation. Instead, she remained seated in her place with the others who had their own reasons for not giving.
Those in line noticed Hallie hadn't moved an inch and started whispering among themselves.
One person said, "Isn't Hallie from the wealthy family? They own a company, and rumor has it that her grandfather left her everything. She's got money to burn, but she won't even lift a finger to help?"
Another scoffed, "Pfft, you can't compare yourself to her. She's got Raymond backing her up. Even if she doesn't give a cent, who'd dare say anything? It's all voluntary. No way we'll ever raise enough for that surgery anyway."
Even though Hallie couldn't hear what they were saying, their furtive glances and whispered conversations made it obvious what they were talking about.
An hour later, Raymond and the deputy director of finance publicly counted the donations in the box—1,786 dollars in total.
Combined with contributions from nurses and doctors across all departments, the sum barely reached 4,000 dollars.
Raymond had no choice but to hand the collected funds to the girl's father and said, "I'm sorry, but without enough for the surgical procedure, there's nothing more we can do.
"This is our donation. You'll need to find a way to cover the remaining amount yourself. Given your daughter's condition, I'm afraid she may only have about a week left."
He was a man of about forty, with a hunched back and a gaunt frame, covered in dust and grime, still wearing his yellow hard hat—he looked as if he'd just rushed straight from the construction site to the hospital.
Exhaustion was etched on his face, his weary eyes brimming with gratitude as he managed a grateful smile at Raymond. He wiped his hands nervously on his pants before finally accepting the paper envelope Raymond handed him.
Passing doctors and nurses cast sidelong glances, then left with sighs.
Patients forced to give up treatment because they couldn't afford it were nothing new here—the only difference was that this girl's circumstances were particularly tragic.
Hallie stood silently, watching as the man's hunched figure gradually faded into the distance down the empty hospital corridor.
Clarissa had just finished her rounds when she spotted Hallie.
After all these years of friendship, Clarissa could read Hallie like an open book—the smallest shift in Hallie's mood never escaped her.
Clarissa leaned in close to Hallie and whispered, "Hallie, don't tell me you're thinking of dipping into the charity fund for them again, just like before?"
The charity fund was a long-standing program at the hospital. While most believed it had been established by a philanthropic entrepreneur, in truth, it was Hallie's mother who had set it up years ago.
Each year, 650,000 dollars would be quietly deposited into a dedicated account.
To keep things discreet, Hallie only confided in Clarissa and Raymond, who was responsible for overseeing the fund.
This was her mother's dying wish. Every month, Hallie would transfer a third of her salary into the account, faithfully honoring that promise.
But funds were always finite, while the number of people unable to afford treatment seemed endless. Now, the charity fund was nearly depleted.
Hallie looked at Clarissa, a hint of heaviness clouding her calm face. Her lips moved, but she remained silent.
Clarissa was well aware of the charity fund's situation as well as Hallie's current helplessness.
She sighed and said, "Honestly, even if we somehow scrape together enough for the surgery, the follow-up hospital stays and medications will still cost a fortune.
"That poor girl would just end up back where she started. We can only do so much—we can't save everyone."
At this point, Clarissa couldn't help but sigh.
Clarissa continued, "When it comes to medical bills, most patients think the hospital is making a killing, but real money goes to pharmaceutical companies.
"Sometimes, it really feels like not all lives are valued the same."
Hallie thought to herself, 'Exactly. The same medicine—some people can afford it, others can't. Isn't that proof enough that not all lives are valued equally?'
Hallie gave a wry smile.
"Oh, right, Hallie." Clarissa's eyes suddenly lit up as she turned to Hallie. "Didn't you just get back from Kerriston? That city's a major pharmaceutical hub, and Berry Bay is such an important distribution center.
"Since you have a partnership with Berry Bay, maybe you could use your position as the Levine family heir to negotiate lower drug prices with the manufacturers?"
Hallie's eyes darkened. "That was the plan, but someone beat me to it. Drug prices won't go down now—they'll only keep rising."
Originally, Hallie had hoped that this trip to Kerriston would lead to deeper cooperation, allowing her to negotiate across-the-board price reductions with pharmaceutical companies. But now, all those hopes had vanished into thin air.
Clarissa looked shocked and angry. "What?
"Berry Bay has been working with Levine Group for over a decade. How could they just go back on their word like that? Who swooped in and took the deal?"
The fact that Nelson had personally visited Berry Bay was kept tightly under wraps—completely unnoticed by the media. As for Hallie, she wasn't about to discuss anything concerning Nelson.
"It was someone from a high-society family," Hallie said. "The situation was complicated. Besides, most people in Berry Bay agreed to sell for 15 million dollars."
Clarissa asked, "So, it was all for the money?"
Hallie nodded, letting out a bitter laugh, her voice hollow. "Over the years, Levine Group has been buying herbal ingredients from Berry Bay at ridiculously low prices.
"Now that someone else is offering ten times as much, anyone would be tempted. I can't blame them. If anyone's at fault, it's us for keeping our prices so low, leaving the villagers and herb gatherers in Kerriston to live in such poverty."
"How can you just pin this on Levine Group?" Clarissa shook her head, trying to reassure Hallie. "Maybe outsiders don't get it, but we insiders know the truth.
"It's because Levine Group and Berry Bay have been holding prices steady all these years that other pharmaceutical companies haven't dared to raise theirs arbitrarily.
"That's why ordinary people can still afford their medicine. If big pharma saw drugs purely as profit-making tools, drug prices would've gone through the roof by now."
Actually, Hallie used to think the same way. But after seeing firsthand how the villagers in Berry Bay live, she started to question everything.
To keep medicine affordable for ordinary people, Berry Bay had to keep prices low. But that meant the local herb gatherers worked themselves to the bone all year, only to barely scrape by.
They couldn't even afford a decent home, let alone think about starting a family.
Yet everyone knew the odds were slim.
At least it would clear his conscience and give the girl's father some closure, allowing the hospital to say they had done all they could.
Those willing to donate lined up, each dropping money into the donation box.
Hallie didn't line up for the donation. Instead, she remained seated in her place with the others who had their own reasons for not giving.
Those in line noticed Hallie hadn't moved an inch and started whispering among themselves.
One person said, "Isn't Hallie from the wealthy family? They own a company, and rumor has it that her grandfather left her everything. She's got money to burn, but she won't even lift a finger to help?"
Another scoffed, "Pfft, you can't compare yourself to her. She's got Raymond backing her up. Even if she doesn't give a cent, who'd dare say anything? It's all voluntary. No way we'll ever raise enough for that surgery anyway."
Even though Hallie couldn't hear what they were saying, their furtive glances and whispered conversations made it obvious what they were talking about.
An hour later, Raymond and the deputy director of finance publicly counted the donations in the box—1,786 dollars in total.
Combined with contributions from nurses and doctors across all departments, the sum barely reached 4,000 dollars.
Raymond had no choice but to hand the collected funds to the girl's father and said, "I'm sorry, but without enough for the surgical procedure, there's nothing more we can do.
"This is our donation. You'll need to find a way to cover the remaining amount yourself. Given your daughter's condition, I'm afraid she may only have about a week left."
He was a man of about forty, with a hunched back and a gaunt frame, covered in dust and grime, still wearing his yellow hard hat—he looked as if he'd just rushed straight from the construction site to the hospital.
Exhaustion was etched on his face, his weary eyes brimming with gratitude as he managed a grateful smile at Raymond. He wiped his hands nervously on his pants before finally accepting the paper envelope Raymond handed him.
Passing doctors and nurses cast sidelong glances, then left with sighs.
Patients forced to give up treatment because they couldn't afford it were nothing new here—the only difference was that this girl's circumstances were particularly tragic.
Hallie stood silently, watching as the man's hunched figure gradually faded into the distance down the empty hospital corridor.
Clarissa had just finished her rounds when she spotted Hallie.
After all these years of friendship, Clarissa could read Hallie like an open book—the smallest shift in Hallie's mood never escaped her.
Clarissa leaned in close to Hallie and whispered, "Hallie, don't tell me you're thinking of dipping into the charity fund for them again, just like before?"
The charity fund was a long-standing program at the hospital. While most believed it had been established by a philanthropic entrepreneur, in truth, it was Hallie's mother who had set it up years ago.
Each year, 650,000 dollars would be quietly deposited into a dedicated account.
To keep things discreet, Hallie only confided in Clarissa and Raymond, who was responsible for overseeing the fund.
This was her mother's dying wish. Every month, Hallie would transfer a third of her salary into the account, faithfully honoring that promise.
But funds were always finite, while the number of people unable to afford treatment seemed endless. Now, the charity fund was nearly depleted.
Hallie looked at Clarissa, a hint of heaviness clouding her calm face. Her lips moved, but she remained silent.
Clarissa was well aware of the charity fund's situation as well as Hallie's current helplessness.
She sighed and said, "Honestly, even if we somehow scrape together enough for the surgery, the follow-up hospital stays and medications will still cost a fortune.
"That poor girl would just end up back where she started. We can only do so much—we can't save everyone."
At this point, Clarissa couldn't help but sigh.
Clarissa continued, "When it comes to medical bills, most patients think the hospital is making a killing, but real money goes to pharmaceutical companies.
"Sometimes, it really feels like not all lives are valued the same."
Hallie thought to herself, 'Exactly. The same medicine—some people can afford it, others can't. Isn't that proof enough that not all lives are valued equally?'
Hallie gave a wry smile.
"Oh, right, Hallie." Clarissa's eyes suddenly lit up as she turned to Hallie. "Didn't you just get back from Kerriston? That city's a major pharmaceutical hub, and Berry Bay is such an important distribution center.
"Since you have a partnership with Berry Bay, maybe you could use your position as the Levine family heir to negotiate lower drug prices with the manufacturers?"
Hallie's eyes darkened. "That was the plan, but someone beat me to it. Drug prices won't go down now—they'll only keep rising."
Originally, Hallie had hoped that this trip to Kerriston would lead to deeper cooperation, allowing her to negotiate across-the-board price reductions with pharmaceutical companies. But now, all those hopes had vanished into thin air.
Clarissa looked shocked and angry. "What?
"Berry Bay has been working with Levine Group for over a decade. How could they just go back on their word like that? Who swooped in and took the deal?"
The fact that Nelson had personally visited Berry Bay was kept tightly under wraps—completely unnoticed by the media. As for Hallie, she wasn't about to discuss anything concerning Nelson.
"It was someone from a high-society family," Hallie said. "The situation was complicated. Besides, most people in Berry Bay agreed to sell for 15 million dollars."
Clarissa asked, "So, it was all for the money?"
Hallie nodded, letting out a bitter laugh, her voice hollow. "Over the years, Levine Group has been buying herbal ingredients from Berry Bay at ridiculously low prices.
"Now that someone else is offering ten times as much, anyone would be tempted. I can't blame them. If anyone's at fault, it's us for keeping our prices so low, leaving the villagers and herb gatherers in Kerriston to live in such poverty."
"How can you just pin this on Levine Group?" Clarissa shook her head, trying to reassure Hallie. "Maybe outsiders don't get it, but we insiders know the truth.
"It's because Levine Group and Berry Bay have been holding prices steady all these years that other pharmaceutical companies haven't dared to raise theirs arbitrarily.
"That's why ordinary people can still afford their medicine. If big pharma saw drugs purely as profit-making tools, drug prices would've gone through the roof by now."
Actually, Hallie used to think the same way. But after seeing firsthand how the villagers in Berry Bay live, she started to question everything.
To keep medicine affordable for ordinary people, Berry Bay had to keep prices low. But that meant the local herb gatherers worked themselves to the bone all year, only to barely scrape by.
They couldn't even afford a decent home, let alone think about starting a family.
End of Flash Marriage To The Dangerous Billionaire Chapter 53. Continue reading Chapter 54 or return to Flash Marriage To The Dangerous Billionaire book page.