Chapter 3 - The Transfer
Within forty minutes, two private ambulances along with an executive transport vehicle pulled up onto the curb outside the decaying apartment building.
Neighbors poked their heads out of windows, whispering in astonishment as six uniformed paramedics marched up the stairs carrying specialized life-support gear.
In the living room, Lily stood clutching her stuffed bunny, her big eyes wide with terror as she watched the paramedics gently lift her mother onto a padded gurney.
"Mommy!" Lily cried out, trying to run toward the gurney. "Don't take her! Please don't take her!"
Nathan stepped into her path, instantly dropping to his knees and wrapping his broad arms around the small girl. Lily struggled against him at first, her tiny fists pounding against his expensive wool coat.
"Shh, Lily, listen to me," Nathan murmured into her hair, holding her tightly yet gently. "They aren't hurting her. They are taking her to the best hospital in the city. The doctors are going to fix her lungs."
Lily stopped fighting, looking up at him with tear-filled eyes. "Are... are you taking her to a hospital because we didn't pay the rent?"
"No, baby," Nathan choked out, his throat tight as he lifted her up into his arms, holding her close to his chest. "You never have to worry about rent ever again. You never have to touch that sewing machine again. Do you hear me?"
Lily buried her small face into his neck, her tiny arms wrapping tightly around his collar.
Nathan walked down the stairs holding his daughter, stepping out into the crisp evening air. He placed Sarah and Lily into his private medical transport, ordering the driver to head directly to St. Jude’s Private Hospital—where Nathan sat on the board of trustees and held a private wing named after his late mother.
As the ambulance sped away with lights flashing, Nathan’s phone rang again. It was Victor Vance.
"Nathan," Victor said, his tone sounding rushed and irritated. "I just got a notification from the property system. You transferred the deed of building 104 to a private trust? And you called a medical transport for unit 4B? What the hell is going on? The investors for the new commercial development project are waiting at the steakhouse for our dinner meeting!"
"The dinner meeting is canceled, Victor," Nathan replied coldly, climbing into his truck.
"Canceled?! Nathan, this is a forty-million-dollar buyout deal! The Marcone Group is offering cash for that entire block! If we don't sign the demolition contracts tonight, they’re going to pull their funding!"
Nathan’s eyes narrowed. "The Marcone Group? The firm that’s been trying to buy up that residential sector for two years?"
"Yes! They want to flatten those old tenements and build high-rise luxury condos! They’ve been pressing us to clear out tenants like that sick woman in 4B for months!"
Nathan realized everything in an instant. Victor hadn't just been enforcing standard property rules; he had been deliberately harassing low-income tenants to force them out quickly so the land could be sold off for a massive corporate commission.
"Fire the contractors, Victor," Nathan said softly. "And tell the Marcone Group that the block is no longer for sale."
"Are you insane?!" Victor shouted through the speaker. "You're throwing away millions for a bunch of squatters?!"
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"I’m coming to the office tomorrow morning at seven," Nathan said quietly. "Have all the financial records for the residential division on my desk. If there is a single irregularity, Victor, I won't just fire you—I'll make sure you spend the rest of your life in a state penitentiary."
Nathan ended the call and drove straight toward St. Jude’s Hospital.
