Mrs. Goldberg's left jaw swelled up and became reddish and marked by her Joanna's fingerprints. She screamed in pain and it took her a long moment before she gradually regained her senses.
Then, she tried to soothe the pain on her face by applying an ointment that she took out of her expensive handbag. And when the swelling seemed to be under control, she then began calling names to Joanna.
"You dirty bitch! How dare you lay your on me? You will pay this with the highest price. You shameless little girl, just wait until I catch you! You're just a failure and the offspring of a hooker. Watch your back henceforth, you just signed your death warrant there," Mrs. Goldberg blurted with a thundering tone.
"I can slap you a second time if you don't shut it up. If you continue to dishonor my mother and I, I'll give you an even more painful one," Joanna challenged Mrs. Goldberg with fierce eyes.
The mature woman couldn't believe her ears when she heard the youngster whom she had seen born nineteen years ago, talking back to her so disrespectfully such in front of the medical staff who devoted to her yet a cult.
Upset, she pointed her finger towards Joanna and turned her gaze in the direction of the chief doctor and the three nurses standing on her left.
"You are all witnesses to the aggression of this little cockroach against me. When I get out of this place, Barrister Silver will file a complaint against this insane little girl and we will therefore see if we are still in a lawful land. Her mother is a mistress who used witchcraft to steal my husband from me and now her illegitimate daughter dares to slap me," she poured out.
At first, the caregivers were comfortable to just be mere spectators. They did not utter a single word for fear that their tongues would slip and that they would thereby vex the wife of one of the biggest donors to the city's general hospital. Mrs. Goldberg had the power to sack them all with just a blink of eye.
The chief physician, on the other hand, was fully aware of the delicate situation and he knew better than anyone he could not just stay aside of the matter and not be blamed for not supporting openly the powerful Mrs. Goldberg.
On one side was Joanna Norton, the daughter of his patient Cecilia Norton who was having several unpaid medical bills. While on the other side was standing tall Mrs. Goldberg to whom he owed his acceptance to the association of doctors and a pay rise at the city's general hospital.
And so he eventually took a stand.
"Miss Norton, please stop being so rude towards Mrs. Goldberg ! If it weren't for the fact that the role of the hospital is to host patients, well, for the kind of cheap and despicable patients like Mrs. Norton, we would rather see her die like a dog in the streets of the city than occupy our precious bed here," declared the chief doctor coldly.
Furious after hearing the physician's abusive statement, Joanna now in turn attacked him and the nurses under the disdainful gaze of their patron Mrs. Goldberg.
"How can you people call yourself lifesavers or whatever with such littleness of mind? You are in this case more dangerous than the devil himself. At least, the latter shows his true color and doesn't disguise like you," she grumbled, making the walls of her mother's hospital room tremble.
"Well, shut up now, you little slut. You and your mother have been living off the Goldbergs for far too long. And yet prostitution pays off very well, especially when you come across a very wealthy businessman like Mr. Goldberg," a nurse finally opened her mouth and aligned with her chief doctor.
"You see, poor people like them are always like that. They have the tongue of a snake and the brain of a fish. They only know how to slur and hit people when they lack of arguments . They have no standards and principles," Mrs. Goldberg stated.
Then knocking the high heels of her polished leather shoes against the floor, she said to Joanna in a harsh tone: "You are a bastard child and you will never be part of our family. Your mother can keep dreaming."
On this, Joanna, who wouldn't any longer contain herself, retorted with even more impoliteness.
"You really think everyone wants to be a member of your sold to the demon family? It's all well and good to have money, but by what means? Yours is stained with lots of innocent lives. With this old witch's face, one wonders how Mrs. Goldberg decided to marry you," she replied coldly.
Mrs. Goldberg's fury intensified and her eyebrows furrowed. It was the very first time in her life that she had faced such a defiant person. Usually, it was she who gained the upper hand. And now a young woman who could have been her own daughter brutally took her down from her pedestal.
However, it was not knowing Mrs. Goldberg very well. After the shock of the slur directed at her faded, she fought back.
"Money is indeed a great thing. Without money, a poor girl like you could not pay her mother's medical bills. That is why she is forced to stay in this low-class, cockroach-infested room. You are simply incapable of providing her with a better environment for her treatment. How little you are!", she said to Joanna with aggressiveness.
"Who says I have no money?" Joanna asked Mrs. Goldberg while looking straight into her eyes with a fake smile.
"Doctor, send my mother immediately to the most luxurious room in the hospital and make sure that she lacks nothing! I will from now on take care of any expense incurred by her treatment," Joanna declared while at the same time a powerful bolt struck over the area.
"Don't give any credit to this unwell young maiden dreaming of a mountain of gold. The VIP room costs one thousand dollars a day, just for ordinary medical expenses. If we were to include the other related charges, it would be two times the amount. Can she really afford it? We all know the clear answer which is No," the physician told his nurses.
"You are wrong doctor, very wrong. Why couldn't I afford it?" Joanna replied with a sneer.
"Send my mom right away. I'll wire the money this afternoon! Not only will she stay there tonight, but she will stay there until she fully recovers," the young woman emphasized while staring at Mrs. Goldberg who was speechless.
The thunderous statements of Joanna meant that she had obviously already made her choice regarding Ben Madoff's offer.
From the two options that the tycoon had given to her, she had chosen to receive one million dollars instead of marrying him.
She had not been able to save her virginity, but now she intended to save the only person in the world who meant everything for her : Cecilia Norton, her lovely mom.