Chapter 22 Swap Out Alison Irwin’s Medication for Cheaper Ones
Stella propped herself up on the bed and struggled to get to her feet. She was used to Martha’s bullying by now, but she couldn’t figure out what Jeremy was trying to do.
When Stella didn’t reply, Martha grew even more anxious.
“Well? Say something!” she barked. “Are you still thinking about what happened last night? You’re such a whore! If you want more men, I’d be happy to introduce you to some people.”
“I have better things to do with my time,” Stella snapped.
Ouce she snapped out of her thoughts, she turned to look at Martha before yanking on her hair with a small smirk.
“You’re all dolled up. Aren’t you heading out on a date?” Stella spat. “The baby in your belly doesn’t even belong to Jeremy. Unlike you, I don’t go around sleeping with various men.‘
After Stella came across Frank’s name by chance, she also managed to confirm that the man had a complicated relationship with Martha.
Martha’s
Upon hearing this, Martha’s expression shifted. She couldn’t help but feel disgusted at the thought of that man.
Aside from his somewhat handsome face, Frank was practically useless. Sleeping with him was the most humiliating thing she’d ever done.
However, no one knew about her meeting with Frank apart from Bernice. So, how did Stella figure that out?
Martha’s scalp was on fire. Having been pampered her entire life, she was no match for Stella who’d spent the majority of her time doing chores and housework.
Martha gritted her teeth and nervously struggled against Stella’s grip,
“Let FD
go of me, you bitch. What else do you know?” she snarled.
Stella pulled on Martha’s hair hard. Then, she slapped her with the back of her hand before calmly letting her go.
“Do you think I caught you two together, or that I worked everything out myself?” Stella asked.
Her question sounded incredibly vague. It didn’t ease Martha’s concerns at all. Instead, it made Martha feel as though she had actually figured something out.
Looking uneasy, Martha bald in an ap
yourself warned!”
an apprehensive voice, “Whatever it is, don’t you even think about telling a single soul. Consider
Stella would never pick a fight with Martha unless she had no other choice.
“I’ll mind my own business as long as you don’t make things difficult for me,” she replied.
She took out a brand new face mask from the bedside drawer before putting it on. Then, she shot Martha a glance before continuing. You’re the one who came to me for a favor. If you ever hit me again, you’re going to have to deal with this matter on your own:‘
With that, she left the room.
Martha felt shocked and angry as she watched Stella leave. Did she not need her money a anymore? Where did she get the nerve to threaten her like that? How did she even find out about her relationship with Frank?
Martha was furious. Her scalp still felt as if it was on fire. The pain was unbearable.
She walked to the living room and made a familiar call to the hospital: When the call went through, she gave the man on the other end some instructions in a low voice.
“When we didn’t give Alison Irwin her medication for a day, she almost died at our hospital. We’ll get in a huge amount of trouble if something were to happen, Ms. Nord the man on the phone said in a shaky voice.
The man Martha was speaking to was George Harrison, the director of Concord Hospital.
Unhappy with his answer, Martha clicked her tongue and picked at her nails.
“Are you a moron? Can’t you be smart about it?” she barked. “I’m not telling you to stop giving her medicine. I’m just asking you to make things difficult for her. Just swap out her medication for the cheaper kinds and charge her the same amount for it.”
Stella had a terrible temper, but she was extremely good to her mother.
After doing some digging, Martha discovered that Alison’s medications were all imported. Despite being poor, Stella still chose to give her mother expensive medicine.
Martha believed that her current plan would work better than her last. She was just swapping Alison’s current medications for another. It shouldn’t affect her too much.
George was hesitant. “Every single treatment and drug–use is filled and documented in our records. If someone were to find out, we’ll definitely get in trouble for it.”
Martha didn’t seem to be concerned about that at all. “So what if someone finds out? If that ever happens, you can just pin the blame on a nurse that’s interning at the hospital.”
George could only laugh along nervously. He didn’t want to do as Martha said, but he couldn’t risk offending a woman of her status,
“T–I don’t think it’s wise for me to fire someone without a valid cause either…” he said in a small voice.
“I’m just asking you to do one simple task. Instead of doing as I say, you’re coming up with heaps of excuses! Do you think you’re above me now?”
The Nord Group was the main shareholder of Concord Hospital. Since Martha was technically a shareholder herself, she’d always behaved in a very arrogant manner.
“If you’re not going to do it, I’ll simply find somebody who will. If your morals are getting in the way, you might as well resign as the director of the hospital. I’ll get someone more capable to take your place,” she spat.
Then, she added, “Do you think you’ll have a shot at landing a decent job after the Nord Group blacklists you from the industry?” She presented him with an ultimatum.
George fell silent for a moment before reluctantly complying with her demands. “Yes, Ms. Nord. I’ll do as you wish.” “Smart move!” After hanging up the phone, Martha’s lips curved upward into a smirk. She was feeling quite pleased.
“Who were you talking to?” a familiar voice rang out behind her.
Martha was so shocked she almost yelled in surprise.
Terrified, she gradually turned around and found Jeremy standing behind her.
She looked incredibly distressed. “It’s you, Jerry. H–Haven’t you left for work?”
Jeremy briefly hummed in response. He was looking at Martha with a suspicious expression. “Did that come as a big surprise to you?” She swiftly shook her head before realizing itve made her look suspicious.
“Not at all. I just… thought you already left the house,” she replied nervously.
She didn’t dare to look him in the eye. She wasn’t sure how much he heard.
There wasn’t a shred of emotion in his eyes.
He heard Martha speaking as he was coming down the stairs. He couldn’t quite make out the contents of her conversation. However, judging by how guilty she looked, he was certain that she’d done something immoral.
“I’m heading to the office.” Jeremy didn’t call her out. Instead, he decided to call his assistant after he got into his car.
He said, “I want to know about Martha Nord’s recent whereabouts and the people she’dmet up with.”
Martha was still in the living room. After Jeremy left without another word, she let out a breath of relief before forgetting about the incident entirely.
She stared at Stella, who was currently in a maid’s uniform, and asked her to come over.
“‘s almost noon. You should go and prepare lunch,” she instructed.
The Parkers had private chefs that worked in their kitchens. Martha was cle
clearly trying to give Stella a hard time.
Despite this, Stella obeyed her instructions and headed toward the kitchen without any objections.
Stella had already learned how to cook when she was at a very young age. After heading into the kitchen, she used the ingredients that were available to her and prepared a two–course meal.
When she served the dishes to Martha, she frowned and stared at the food with contempt.
WI
“This is what you’re feeding me?” she snapped as she dumped all the food into the trash.
et
she looked at Stella in a provoking manner and demanded, “Keep cooking until I find satisfactory.”
Stella frowned. “I don’t care if you pick on me, but you shouldn’t waste food like that.”
Martha didn’t seem to care. “Alright, then. I’ll just feed it to the dogs.”
Stella ended up cooking three meals the entire afternoon,
Martha gave everything to the dogs. She only let Stella off the hook when her beautician paid her a visit. Naturally, Stella wasn’t about to let this slide.
When Jeremy returned from work in the evening, he had dinner with Martha. Stella, on the other hand, was serving them like she usually did.
Once all the food had been served, Stella brought Martha a cup of warm milk and placed it in front of her on the table.
Martha picked up the glass of milk without a second thought. However, when the smell of the beverage hit her, she instantly began to dry–heave
The beverage smelled spoiled. It didn’t smell like milk at all, Martha shot Stella a glare and thought to herself whether Stella had done. something to the milk
Stella reached out to pat Martha on the back with a concerned expression. “These symptoms… Oh my, Mrs. Parker–could you be pregnant?”
