Chapter 2

"Uncle Oscar, how is Mom? Have you spoken to the doctor? Is someone taking care of her?"

Izzy fired off one question after another as she found her uncle standing outside the hospital room where her mother was being treated.

"The doctors haven't told me anything yet, Izzy. They're still inside with your mom..."

Izzy didn't wait for him to finish. She immediately moved toward the door, but Oscar caught her arm.

"You know we're not allowed inside. It's hospital policy. We have to wait out here."

His voice was gentle, but there was no room for argument, so Izzy's shoulders dropped as she sank into one of the chairs along the wall, her trembling hands resting in her lap.

"M-Mom is going to be okay, right, Uncle?"

Her eyes filled with tears. Oscar forced a reassuring smile.

"Of course she is. I'm sure your mom will be fine."

He sat beside her.

"Didn't she promise she'd be there for your college graduation? She's stronger than she looks. Once she's feeling better, she'll probably be making jokes again, just like she always does whenever she ends up in this hospital."

Despite the fear crushing her chest, Izzy managed a small smile because she wanted to believe him, she had to.

Her father had died in a car accident when she was seven, and since then, it had always been just her and her mom, making the thought of losing the only family she had left almost unbearable.

"I hope so, Uncle. I really do."

Her voice broke as she lowered her head and quietly cried, while nearly thirty minutes passed with Izzy and Oscar still waiting outside the hospital room for the doctors to finish treating her mother, every minute feeling endless as the corridor grew quieter and her anxiety worsened.

Finally, unable to bear the waiting any longer, Izzy stood and approached the door, trying to see through the small glass panel, but she couldn't see or hear anything, leaving her heart pounding as she silently begged for her mother to be okay.

Then the door suddenly opened, making Izzy nearly jump, and when a doctor stepped into the hallway, the look on his face made the little hope she had been clinging to begin to disappear.

"Izzy."

The doctor called her name.

She knew him well. Dr. Martin had been treating her mother for nearly four years.

Izzy immediately walked toward him.

"Dr. Martin, how is my mother?"

Her voice trembled as the doctor remained silent for a moment, his serious expression making her anxiety spike before he finally hesitated and answered.

"Come with me to my office, Izzy. We need to talk."

Her stomach dropped as she nodded and followed him into the office, where Dr. Martin closed the door behind them before gesturing for her to sit.

"For almost four years, we've done everything we could to keep your mother stable. We've used aggressive treatments and expensive medications to slow the progression of her illness."

Izzy sat rigidly in the chair, her hands clasped tightly in her lap as the dread settling in her chest told her exactly where the conversation was going.

"But the cancer has become increasingly difficult to control."

She swallowed hard.

"We've added additional medication alongside the chemotherapy she's been receiving these past several months."

The doctor paused.

"I'm sorry, Izzy, but the treatments are no longer working."

Her breathing stopped.

"The cancer has spread throughout her body."

Izzy stared at him, unable to process his words for several seconds as the entire world seemed to fall silent around her. Her mother couldn't die, not now, not when Izzy had been fighting so hard to keep her alive.

"If... if the treatment isn't working, Doctor, then what can we do?"

Her voice cracked.

"What other options are there?"

Oscar stood silently in the corner of the office, listening.

Dr. Martin folded his hands on his desk.

"There is one option left."

Izzy looked up.

"Your mother needs surgery."

Hope flickered in her chest.

"But there's a problem. This hospital isn't equipped to perform the procedure she needs. We would have to transfer her to a larger medical center with the necessary specialists and equipment."

Izzy's heart sank.

“And how much would the surgery cost?”

"The cost will be considerably higher."

Silence filled the room as Izzy struggled to process the amount, knowing she had barely been able to afford her mother's medications and had no idea how she could possibly pay for the surgery.

"How much?" Oscar finally spoke.

Dr. Martin looked at him.

“The estimated cost is around one hundred and fifty thousand dollars,” Dr. Martin explained carefully. “That includes the surgery, hospital stay, and her initial treatment afterward. Your mother’s insurance has limited coverage, so unfortunately, a significant portion of that amount would have to come from you.”

Izzy's face went numb at the thought of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, an amount of money she couldn't even begin to imagine having, while Oscar's expression fell.

"One hundred and fifty thousand?"

His voice was strained.

"Where are we supposed to get that kind of money?"

Izzy lowered her eyes, feeling as though the weight of the world had settled heavily onto her shoulders because her mother needed surgery and she had no idea how she was going to pay for it.

Later, she sat with Oscar in the hospital cafeteria, staring blankly at the untouched cup of coffee in front of her.

"I don't know what to do, Uncle."

Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"But I'll find a way."

Oscar looked at her with concern.

"Just promise me whatever you decide to do won't put you in danger."

Izzy looked up.

"Your mother is already in the hospital. I don't want to see you end up there too."

"I'll be careful." She took a shaky breath.

"Honestly, I don't know what I'm going to do yet. But I'll figure something out."

She glanced toward the hallway leading to her mother's room.

"For now, I just want to focus on Mom."

But even as she said it, her mind raced through every person she could ask for help, yet she couldn't think of anyone who could possibly lend her that kind of money until one name came to her.

Carl, her best friend and the one person she knew she could turn to.

Izzy reached into her purse for her old phone, but before she could dial his number, something slipped from her fingers and landed on the floor. She bent down and picked it up, staring at it for a moment.

The business card.

She stared at the name printed across it.

If Seth is the owner and head of the company, this would sound more natural:

Seth Santiago

Founder & CEO

Santiago Industries

Below his name was a phone number and an email address.

"Santiago Industries?"

Izzy murmured.

Oscar glanced at the card.

"What about them?" He leaned closer.

"Did you get a job there?"

Izzy shook her head.

"No. Why?"

"That's one of the biggest companies in the city."

Oscar looked surprised.

"It's extremely difficult to get hired there. Their hiring process is notoriously strict."

Izzy stared at the card, but it wasn't the information printed on it that occupied her mind.

The man who had hit her earlier and driven her to the hospital was the founder and CEO of a major company, and she couldn't stop thinking about what he had told her.

Since you refused treatment, call me if you need anything.

Izzy looked down at the card again, wondering if his offer had actually been serious. She knew it was a long shot, but with no other options left, she picked up her phone.

"Where are you going?"

Oscar looked at her.

"I just need to make a phone call."

Izzy stood.

"If Mom wakes up and asks for me, tell her I'll be back soon."

Before Oscar could ask anything else, Izzy hurried out of the hospital.

Across the street, she sat alone at a small café, staring at Seth's business card for several minutes as she tried to gather the courage to call him.

"Should I call him?"

She whispered.

Then she immediately shook her head.

"But what am I even supposed to say?"

She sighed, wondering if it was shameless to ask a man she had known for only a few hours for that kind of money.

They had met because he accidentally hit her with his car, he had driven her to the hospital and given her his card, and now she was seriously considering asking him to help pay for her mother's surgery, which was humiliating, but none of that mattered anymore because her mother's life did.

"I have to be brave."

Izzy tightened her grip on the phone.

"This is for Mom. I'll do whatever it takes."

She took a deep breath before dialing the number on the business card, her heart hammering as the phone rang once, twice, and then finally connected.

"Hello? Who is this?"

The deep voice on the other end made her nervous.

"H-Hello. Is this Mr. Seth Santiago?"

She swallowed.

"This is Isabel Vergara. We met earlier. You... accidentally hit me with your car."

There was a brief silence.

"Yes. I remember you." His voice was calm and businesslike.

"What do you need?"

Izzy hesitated, hearing the impatience in his voice, but she forced herself to gather her courage and continue.

"Could I talk to you about something important? I have a favor to ask..."

"Where are you?"

He cut her off, leaving Izzy blinking in surprise before she quickly gave him the name and location of the café.

"All right. Stay there."

His voice was firm.

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

The call ended, leaving Izzy staring at her phone in confusion as she wondered why Seth had agreed to meet her without even asking what she wanted.

Before she could make sense of it, her phone rang again, and seeing Seth’s name on the screen, she immediately answered.

"Hello?"

"Actually, change of plans."

His voice was as calm as before.

"If you're able to travel, take a cab and come to my condo. It's close to where you are."

Izzy's eyes widened.

"I'll text you the address."

The call ended, and a second later, her phone chimed with a new message. Izzy stared at the address on her screen, unsure of what she was walking into, but if Seth Santiago could help save her mother’s life, she was willing to find out.