Chapter 3 Birds of a Feather

Even though their family is loaded in Cloud City, they still have to bend over backwards for the people above them.

"How could it possibly be government plates? Leila, you must be seeing things," Mary said mockingly.

Leila dismissed her doubts. She was actually looking forward to seeing how miserable Nora's life would be when she returned to the slums.

If she were forced to sell herself and became the lowest kind of plaything, that would be perfect!

Nora sat in the car, back straight, eyes lowered, with a faint crease above each lid and long, thick lashes half-covering her deep eyes.

Logan could only steal glances in the rearview mirror whenever they stopped at a red light.

He couldn't help but marvel at how much genetics could do. Nora's features were remarkably similar to her mother, Talia Thorne's, when she was young: defined lines, perfect proportions.

But Nora was quite different from Talia. Talia was warm and cheerful, while Nora was cool and quiet.

Nora looked out the window at the familiar streets she'd been looking at for twenty years.

In the Flynn family, there was nothing worth missing.

The only thing she couldn't let go of was Evelyn, still in the ICU.

Thinking of the seriously ill Evelyn, pain flashed in Nora's eyes. She said to Logan, "Going to Ironvale County later won't be an issue, right? I need to see someone first."

"Ms. Thorne, we're not going to Ironvale County. I'll take you to the airport, and a private jet will take you to Phoenix City."

"Phoenix City? Not Ironvale County?" Nora confirmed again.

Phoenix City was the capital, even bigger and more prosperous than Cloud City, but the Flynn family had clearly said the Thorne family lived in Ironvale County, a poor and backward place.

Although Nora could tell this Rolls-Royce Ghost was special, she assumed the Thorne family had borrowed it to keep up appearances, since probably no one in Ironvale County could afford such an expensive car.

Plus, the Thorne family parents didn't work and had three sons to support.

"Yes, Mr. Thorne and Mrs. Thorne's ancestral home is in Ironvale County. This car has been sitting there for a long time. Thinking you might have a lot of luggage and need convenient transportation, I went all the way to Ironvale County to drive it over."

Logan had an honest face and didn't seem to be lying.

One corner of Nora's mouth lifted with interest...

This was getting interesting. It seemed the Thorne family wasn't as down and out as they'd said.

On the contrary, a family that could casually leave such a custom luxury car sitting unused might be even better off than the Flynn family!

Nora gave him the address, and Logan stopped the car outside the hospital.

As she walked toward the main ward building, Logan tapped the tire with the toe of his shoe and sighed helplessly. Looking closely, the wheel hub was also covered in rust.

Nora laughed quietly. Logan was kind of endearing.

The hospital was bustling with people. Nora went straight to the ICU floor and saw two doctors rushing toward Evelyn's room.

"Did you reach the patient's family? What did they say? Still no liver donor. Keep her on dialysis, or stop?"

"Not sure. They hired a caregiver and paid the fees, but no one has come to visit!"

"For siblings to do this, if she were conscious, how heartbroken would she be?"

They put on protective suits and entered Evelyn's room. Nora stopped and didn't go further.

This was the Flynn family, a family with no warmth in it!

Kevin only knew how to brag and talk business.

Mary lived to compete with her friends, playing golf and getting spa treatments.

Their precious daughter Leila was cut from the same cloth. She'd been back for two months and hadn't once set foot in the hospital!

Poor Evelyn was Kevin's own sister.

Over the years, she'd helped Kevin run The Flynn Group, on her own, with no children.

Her closest family was Kevin's own household .

But in the end, with Evelyn critically ill and her life hanging in the balance, the Flynn family couldn't even provide basic care!

Nora remembered it was Evelyn who taught her to talk, to eat, who told her stories, and who took care of her when she was sick...

Just as Nora's eyes showed sadness, a clear voice called out, "Nora, you came?"

Nora turned around. A tall young man came into view, his image bright and energetic, his white coat unable to hide his vitality.

"Here, help me give this to Evelyn." The medicine bottle Nora clutched was slick with sweat.

She'd been holding it in her hand the whole way from the Flynn family.

"Polysaccharide peptide? Where did you get this?" Sidney Robinson's eyes lit up as he stepped forward to take it. "This stuff can effectively fight cancer, but it hasn't gone through clinical trials yet. You can't buy it, no matter how much money you have!"

"Don't worry about that."

Nora looked deeply at Evelyn's room. "If nothing goes wrong, this medicine should help Evelyn hold on until a liver donor is matched."

This was all she could do for Evelyn.

"Nora, you're amazing!" Sidney excitedly wanted to hug Nora, but she noticed and cautiously stepped back two paces.

Sidney awkwardly scratched his head. "The Flynn family ignores her completely, but you, a niece by adoption, worry about her so much. Don't the Flynn family members feel ashamed!"

"I just want to do what I can. I don't have time to worry about them." Nora looked at Sidney very sincerely. "While I'm away from Cloud City, please take good care of Evelyn."

"No problem!" Sidney agreed readily. Besides Nora, he hadn't met anyone at the hospital who could easily push him around.

Sidney graduated from a prestigious medical school. His excellent academics and professional skills made him proud and aloof.

But after accidentally meeting Nora, he discovered this beautiful, devoted girl not only had solid medical knowledge but also academic research abilities that left him in the dust.

Nora could pick up heart failure from nothing but oxygen numbers.

When a new mother started hiccupping, Nora immediately told him to start emergency measures, diagnosing amniotic fluid embolism.

Sidney was amazed by her judgment. His attitude toward Nora went from curiosity to outright eagerness. During Evelyn's hospitalization, he really looked forward to seeing Nora.

"Thank you."

Nora was about to leave when Sidney grabbed the sleeve of her black jacket. "A thank-you isn't going to cut it. I happen to have a tricky problem here that I need you to help me with."

Before she could refuse, Sidney pulled her to the consultation room. "John Percy is at our hospital. From the preoperative imaging, it's a brain aneurysm that could trigger sudden death at any time. But the problem is, the doctor who can do this surgery won't be here for another two days."

"Plus, the patient's family is on a business trip in Phoenix City. Without family members to sign, the administration doesn't want to take the risk either."

Sidney went on and on. "Help me figure out how long we can safely wait, and how high the rupture risk is."

At Sidney's workstation, he showed the X-rays, while at other stations, two chief physicians were arguing heatedly.

"If something happens to John and he doesn't make it off the operating table, are you responsible, or am I?" The middle-aged female doctor was spraying spit as she spoke, slapping the medical records on the desk, her eyes blazing.

The other chief irritably rubbed his thinning hair, deeply troubled. "We're stuck between a rock and a hard place now! If he doesn't make it, and Oliver blames us, how do we explain?"

"So we wait for the outside specialist and give John amlodipine and atorvastatin first, with continuous oxygen monitoring. We wait until we're reasonably sure about the surgery before operating!"

The female chief was shouting at the top of her lungs. After looking at the scans, Nora's beautiful eyes showed gravity, and her cool, clear voice interrupted: "He can hold on for two hours at most, not two days. If surgery isn't arranged immediately, the family will only be coming to pick up a body!"