Chapter 325
"No!" William Cooper shot up from his chair, the legs scraping harshly against the floor.
Sally Wilson flinched at his sudden movement, ash tumbling from the cigarette between her fingers.
"Are you insane?" She frowned, shooting Luna White a skeptical glance. "Even specialists from the provincial capital couldn't help my mother. What makes you think she can?"
William took a deep breath and rolled up his pant leg, revealing a jagged scar across his knee.
"See this?" His voice trembled. "Three years ago, I couldn't even turn over in bed without help."
Sally's cigarette dropped to the floor.
"That's impossible..." she murmured, her gaze tracing the muscular contours of his calf.
"Ask any neighbor—they'll tell you about the Cooper boy who was bedridden for over a decade." William lowered his pant leg, his voice grave. "Dr. White is the reason I can walk again."
Luna stood quietly nearby, her silver acupuncture needles glinting faintly between her fingers.
An abrupt coughing fit seized the frail old woman on the bed. Her bony fingers clutched at her daughter's sleeve. "Lily...let the doctor try..."
"Mom!" Sally's eyes reddened.
"This old body of mine..." The woman wheezed. "Consider it practice for the young doctor."
Silence settled over the room. Outside, a street vendor's cry only accentuated the stillness within.
Suddenly, William dropped to one knee, meeting Sally at eye level. "Give us three days. If there's no improvement, I'll pay for all your mother's medical expenses."
Sally's nails dug into her palms. She looked into her mother's clouded eyes—eyes that held nothing but weary resignation.
"Fine." The word came out through clenched teeth.
Luna unfurled her acupuncture kit, the needles catching the light with a cold gleam. "I'll need privacy."
Understanding, William guided Sally toward the door. As it closed, he cast one last glance at the skeletal figure trembling beneath the sheets—a woman awaiting judgment from fate itself.