~~~A few minutes earlier~~~
"Hi. Please book my friend for treatment, please. They need to see a doctor right away. That's my card."
Iris handed her card to the nurse who quickly rushed to begin the process. However, at the point where she held the phone to ring the emergency unit, she suddenly spotted someone she would give anything to impress.
"Ms. Capsian. It's so good to see you. Why are you here yourself? You could just call on us and we'll take care of everything." The nurse led Penelope Capsian to a VIP ward, wondering why she would visit the hospital and walk to the nurses' desk when her bodyguards and servants could do that as usual.
Penelope allowed the young lady to lead her away, feigning weakness.
The nurse wasn't supposed to move from her desk, as her other colleagues were on other assignments. However, she would do anything to suck up to Penelope Capsian, the number one princess in Coprean Hills. Besides, no one dared to mess with her. To the nurse, Iris was just your everyday rich lady without a name.
Meanwhile, Iris already paid for everything, so she was sure Cyrina and her mother were in good hands.
As soon as she exited the washroom, she heard the sound of two people arguing. It wasn't only the argument, but also her sister's voice that drew her attention.
"All I'm saying is that the Chief would never qierry you for anything. Just do this for me." The young man proposed.
"Are you crazy? You want me to put my career on the line for you? Why didn't I see you for who you are?" Rachel croaked in an emotional voice. She regretted ever calling the young man a friend.
In just a few days, he proved himself to be nothing but a leech. She was blind to his manipulative attitude before now, but she wouldn't fall for it anymore.
"I know your sister doesn't care about you, but you're still a Bowman. You can even get a hospital for a birthday gift." He pushed shamelessly.
"Errors like the one you committed are beneath me. You are the only one who thinks the Chief is as stupid as you are." Rachel fired angrily, ignoring the young man's feelings.
"You just called me a fool." He pointed out in shock.
"I came to you and requested a favor. Get me just three pounds of blood to save my sister. I promised to replace it in the morning as if it never left the shelves. There were about thirty pounds of rare blood on the shelves. What did you tell me?" She asked the dumbfounded young man who was speechless. Then Rachel continued, "You may be anything, but I know you are no friend of mine."
"You will do this to us? Rachel, you have already been cleared. You are already a doctor. I cannot make any more mistakes as a resident. Please, just do this for me…" He begged further, hoping to change her mind.
"Who are you to me, Alvin? Why would I put my career on the line for you? Name one sacrifice you made for me, and I'll gladly grant your wish, as usual." Rachel's words were an eye-opener to both her and Alvin, who realized his supposed stupid friend had become wiser overnight.
"Stay away from me, Alvin. And I won't take any more falls for you." Rachel walked away from the young man, angry and dejected. 'This friendship was one-sided all along.' She thought angrily, cursing herself for being so blind in the past. She even told him about her identity as a Bowman heiress.
Rachel suddenly felt a hand wrapped around her waist from behind. When she thought about hitting the person, she realized she was in a familiar embrace.
"Kiddo, I'm sorry. Forgive me for making you feel like you don't matter, okay? Remember that you're my priority in this lifetime, and I care abot you. A lot.." Rachel turned around to hold her sister's hands.
The image of Iris draining herself to protect her flashed in her mind, and she responded, "I know."
The two hugged for a while before Iris beckoned her sister, "I need you to meet some people. Are you free?"
Rachel nodded and walked toward the nurses' station with Iris, only to watch their friends being dragged out of the hospital like animals.
~~~Present~~~
The group watched the screen and the manager was speechless from the beginning of how the mother and daughter were ignored, to how the nurses allowed the security to drag an unconscious person on the floor.
Health care at the hospital was top-tier premium care, hence, no beggars or any random individuals were allowed. However, he still felt that the nurse went overboard a 'little.'
"Ms Bowman, we don't need to blow this out of proportion. I know the nurse was overly enthusiastic, but we can talk about this." The manager was ridiculous, but only he felt he was aking sense.
Iris fixed a piercing gaze on the manager, and this got him scared out of his wits.
"H… How about we give the patients free treatment? You know they can never afford this place if…" The manager's words were beginning to piss her off, and Iris didn't bother to save him any more face.
"Shut the fuck up!" The manager couldn't believe his ears. However he didn't dare to drag words with her.
"Do poor people look like chickens to you? In your eyes, only rich people are humans, huh?" Iris lashed out, and the Director could only bow his head and swallow bitterly.
Iris already told him that if the issue wasn't handled well, she would release the footage to the public. They all knew what public backlash they'd get. Even the rich wouldn't be willing to associate with them anymore.
"You are suspended for one week…." The manager began damage control… However, Iris realized they weren't taking her seriously.
"What's this for? You were supposed to drag them out of here. You do believe all the socialites would find out about the caliber of people you treat here nowadays, don't you?" Penelope taunted from the side.
The manager didn't know what to fear more- should he fear public backlash, or the socialites' boycott?
"All of them lose their license. Before they leave, they must kneel and beg for my friend and her mother's forgiveness." After saying this, Iris didn't go any further, however, the manager could hear the conviction in her voice.
"Are you high right now?" Penelope felt that she had seen enough. She couldn't understand why Iris was behaving so cockily.
"Those nurses do not deserve to treat human beings. Even animals shouldn't be cursed with their services." Iris spat icily, staring menacingly at Penelope.
The culprit and the others who witnessed the situation without doing anything to help were lined up before them. They felt aggrieved, but no words could come out of their mouths.
Many people thought the facility only treated people who had money, but Iris realized how snobby they could be in her past life.
At the time, she longed to do something to appease some accident victims who died because they didn't have the status to be treated at the facility. When the accident happened at the time, Coprean Hills Medical Centre was the nearest facility, and the paramedics took a chance, hoping they wouldn't be turned away. However, they were wrong. They got turned away, which resulted in loss of lives. However, the hospital was unapologetic about it.
"Ms. Bowman. I have tried to reason with you. Don't you think you should cut us some slack? I think you're going overboard and making things difficult for us on purpose." The manager blurted in frustration. He was getting displeased at her 'senseless demands' and thought to act on Penelope's discreet idea.
"Get the psychiatric unit. We need to examine Ms. Bowman."
Seeing the gross disregard from the manager, Iris finally reached her wit's end. 'You want overboard? I'll show you overboard.'
She picked up her phone and dialled a number on her speed dial. Iris signaled her bodyguard to stay put, so he just stood quietly and listened to the proceedings like a mute.
The call connected on the second ring, and Iris' voice suddenly turned to an aggrieved one.
The manager's office was silent, as everyone waited to hear what she would say, and to who.
"Hello, darling, I want Coprean Hills Medical Centre."