I look at her, awkwardly holding my phone before her. "I should have informed you earlier, but I had to—kinda enter your house to find any information regarding your relatives to inform. It was a request from your doctor."
"I see," she says.
"And I managed to find this phone number in a drawer, of some person named Lily. I've been calling her since the morning, but she didn't answer. And now I'm receiving a call back from her."
"You can answer that call and pretend it was a wrong number, or don't answer at all."
I put my phone on silent mode and slip it back into my pocket. "I was just thinking it would be better to have someone by your side at such a time... but I'm sorry. I should have been more considerate about your privacy."
She starts chuckling, "Oh my!"
It's hard to tell that this lady just had a severe heart attack. The more I talk to her, the more intrigued and amazed I am by this person.
Mrs. Lee begins, her voice calm and overly confident. "I was only 19 years old when my life took a drastic turn. After my parents died, I had no choice but to marry a man almost 20 years older than me because my relatives forced me to do so. He already had a 10-year-old son, and from the very beginning, that boy was hostile towards me."
She pauses, her eyes glazing over with memories. "I couldn't get pregnant, which was due to my husband's inability, but the blame always fell on me. It was a stigma I carried for years. When his son married and moved abroad, my husband suffered from a nerve disease that eventually led to his complete paralysis."
She sighs deeply, then continues. "His son visited us once with his 12-year-old daughter when all of this was happening—Lily. She was the only person who ever considered me family. She called me grandma, much to her father's dismay. But as my husband's condition worsened, their visits stopped. I was left alone to care for a man who couldn't even recognize me anymore."
Mrs. Lee's tone grows serious. "Yesterday, a lawyer came to my door. He was sent by my husband's son, who wants his inheritance. He claims everything we have, leaving me with nothing. That is why I want a life of my own now."
Her words leave me stunned. The image I had of her is shattered, replaced by a woman who had endured unimaginable hardships. "Mrs. Lee, I... I didn't know," I stammer, trying to process everything.
She looks at me with a mixture of resignation and resolve. "Now you do, Mr. Alex."
"I understand everything you have just told me, but I don't think it will be easy. Since your husband is not able to represent himself in court, it will likely result in his son or someone else representing him. They may claim that you are abandoning your marital duties, which might work against you and in favor of his son. You may receive adequate financial support, but not the entire fortune."
A ridiculing smirk develops on her face. "So I'm just neglecting my marital duties? What about that son who never even calls to know about his father, yet still has the audacity to send his lawyer to my house, claiming it as his?"
I observe a blazing fire crackling inside her. When I first saw her in front of her house, her eyes had no purpose in them, but now I am seeing a strong ambition in the same pair of eyes.
"I will be glad if Mr. Alex considers helping me, as I will make sure to remember your contribution and will be generous with the reward. But the condition remains the same: I need you to get me the entire fortune of my husband and make sure that his son doesn't even get a penny out of it... Are you ready to take this challenge?"
---
I'm on my way back home after absorbing the impactful life story of Mrs. Lee. It feels like I have just returned after watching a tragedy movie, with a glimpse of a potential revenge genre sequel. But I realize at the same time that her demands and ambitions are indeed very unrealistic.
For wanting the entire wealth of her husband, Mrs. Lee must have been deeply impacted by her heart attack to suddenly think of such a plan. However, who am I to say anything regarding their personal matters? I have assured her that I will try to look into her case, although she calls it a "challenge" for me.
I would be lying if I said that ludicrous offer didn't affect me. To be honest, I am tempted to take on her case, but the biggest difficulty would be the condition that she must receive the entire wealth, which is legally possible only if she has a written will. To disqualify a son from getting the inheritance from his father is pretty much impossible without it. It is always assumed that everything owned by parents belongs to their children, even though they haven't done anything to deserve it.
The biggest drawback of this case is that her husband is unable to represent himself in court. Therefore, her son would probably be the one to represent him in court. And because he is neither dead nor in a state to legally pass down his wealth, the decision will be the court's.
As I walk toward my house, mentally analyzing her case, I feel my phone vibrating in my pocket: it's Lily. I immediately regret dialing this number more than a hundred times. I wouldn't blame her for being suspicious of me right now. I answer the call and hear the first word from her.
"Hello!" she speaks, her voice mesmerizing.
"Umm—hel—hello. I'm sorry, it is a wrong number."
I hang up the call, holding my breath in anxiety. Her voice keeps playing in my head. She only said a word, but the voice was such a melody to the ears that it doesn't leave my head.
After barely ten seconds pass, she rings my phone again. This time, my hands shake out of fear. I answer the phone regardless. "Hello?"
"You didn't even ask me who I was and assumed it was a wrong number? I have received at least fifty calls from this number. No sane person would do that. So you better tell me who you are and who you want to speak to."
For a moment, I feel my lips frozen, unable to move, and my head goes blank. "I—I just wanted to speak to Mr. Zhang."
"Yes, he is my father. What do you want from him?"
I didn't expect her father's name to be Zhang. I just wanted to say a random name to prove it was a wrong number.
"Umm—Doctor Zhang, who is a psychiatrist, am I right?"
"Yes, you are right. What business do you have with him?" she asks.
At this moment, I don't want to drag this game any longer, so I decide to speak the truth.
"Your grandmother, Mrs Lee, had a heart attack and is currently in the hospital."
I squint my eyes and wish that Mrs. Lee doesn't kick me out of her house after knowing that I informed her sworn enemy about this. But strangely, I do not hear anything back from the phone call anymore.
"Hello... hello... are you still there?"
Suddenly, when I hear something back, it sounds closer than reality. "Where is that hospital?"
When I look up, as I come right in front of my house, I find a pale, and petite with long hair and a round adorable face, standing there. She looks me in the eye, analyzing the situation, and she understands that it is me. I, on the other hand, just stand there, looking into her mesmerizing eyes and seeing her true concern about her grandmother. Her eyes fill with moisture as they meet mine.