On getting to the hospital, he went to the receptionist desk and introduced himself.
"Good morning, I'm Nelson Baristan and I got a call about Victoria Baristan from here. I'm here to see her."
"Mr Baristan, right this way, please." A friendly looking nurse replied and took him through a corridor to an elevator. "The emergency room is on the second floor, by your left".
Nelson thanked her, and then she left. Stepping into the elevator, he pushed the button to take him to the second floor. The few seconds of waiting felt like an eternity to him and when the steel doors of the elevation finally opened, he ran out in the direction the kind nurse had pointed.
On getting there, he saw a police officer outside the doors to the room who immediately stood from his seat upon noticing his arrival.
"Mr Nelson Baristan, he asked?"
"Yes, officer," he replied. "How's my mum doing?"
"We're still waiting for the doctors to come out and tell us," he answered.
"What happened to her?" Nelson asked.
"Mr Baristan, your mum was involved in a hit-and-run situation. A vehicle missed a red light and hit her as she was crossing the street."
Upon hearing the officer's information, Nelson slid down the white walls of the hospital and sobbed.
"Don't worry, kid, I assure you that we're on the case to apprehend this culprit and bring justice to your mother.
The doors of the room opened and out walked a doctor with a nose mask. Immediately, Nelson ran up to him.
"Doctor, how is my mum doing? Please, tell me she's okay," he pleaded.
The doctor took off his mask and offered Nelson a sad smile. "For now, she is but her condition is not a very stable one. She needs urgent surgery as her vital organs have been greatly injured. She'll need a kidney as well as a lung transplant, including a open heart surgery as soon as possible, if she's to recover."
"Alright doctor, do it " he said.
"We would have," the doctor continued "but, these surgeries costs over a million dollars and her medical insurance doesn't cover even but a quater of it."
Nelson looked dejected. "Does this means there nothing you can do?"
"For now, no. We can only try our best to stabilize her for as long as we can." The doctor replied.
"I'll bring the money. Just start the surgery, please." Nelson begged.
"I can't do that, son. The hospital's policy forbids treatment without a deposit of at least, half the required amount."
"How long do I have then?" Nelson asked.
"Well, I can't say exactly. Just know that the longer the delay in surgery, the more serious her condition gets," the doctor replied.
"I understand," Nelson resigned. "Can I see her?"
"Of course," the doctor said. "Goodluck kid," he added, before giving him a sad smile with a pat on his back and leaving with the police officer.
Nelson wanted to be strong for his mother but seeing her in her state with all the tubes and wires connected to her now frail form, he broke down.
"Mum, please. Hold on for me, for us." He held her hand. "I promise to get you out of yourself in no time."
While he spoke, he wondered how he was going to get the money in such little amount of time. He had no-one he could meet, and then a thought crossed his mind. After a moment, he left the room.
Nelson knew he would regret the decision he just made but he had no other choice. It was either that or losing his mother and he would rather remain a servant to Troy Anchor than lose his dearest mother.
He knew Troy had more than enough money but would rather the world ended than help him out and so he came up with an idea. One that would forever put him under Troy. Knowing Troy loved to look down and humiliate him, he would offer himself willingly to him in the hopes that Troy might take pity on him and help him save his mother.
It was already evening before he could get a hold on Troy's location. He finally found him at a clubhouse and after an additional hour of waiting in line to get into the club and an extra 20 minutes of pleading before being allowed into the VVIP section.
Finally coming into face with Troy, he was met with the smug look of Evelyn by his side and the sneering faces of some of his fellow school students.
"So, pauper, I heard you wanted to see me," Troy announced loudly which immediately drew the attention of others in the lounge. "I wonder why," he ended, with a kiss on Evelyn's lips.
Seeing them together brought back the pain he had felt earlier in the morning, and he remembered that Evelyn left him because he was not rich enough to buy her a bag. However, now was not the time to dwell on that, his mother needed him and he had to do what he must to save her.
"Troy, please," Nelson knelt down on the cold tiles, hands clasped together like one in deep prayer. "I need your help. My mother is in a critical condition—"
"And what business of mine is that?!" Troy interrupted angrily. "So what if your poor filthy mother is in a critical condition?!"
At this point, he began regretting his decision to come to the club but he had no other option. He couldn't mortgage the house he lived in because it was a rented flat and he had nothing valuable to sell. His savings all summer wasn't up to a quater of the hospital bill and so swallowed whatever was left of his dignity.
He bowed his head and willed his tears to not drop from his eyes. "I have absolutely nothing, Troy. I am nothing and I know that, but please, help me. She'll die if you don't."
"Oh, really?" Troy asked in fake sympathy.
"What do you need from me, Nelson?" Troy asked calmly this time and Nelson looked up in high expectations.
"$ 700,000 is all I ask for, Troy. That's how much is needed to cover her surgery costs."
"That is a lot of money, Nelson, and you know that money isn't one to come by easily," Troy said, drinking directly from his champagne bottle. The bottle's tag read the cost to be $ 1, 000,000.
"I know, but I promise to be your servant till I am able to repay." Nelson was desperate and he knew that time was running out.
He looked at Evelyn in hopes that she might help him but she simply turned away.
"I already have enough servants but maybe there might be room for more," Troy said, giving a smirk that Nelson didn't fail to see. Then he handed the bottle to Nelson and just as he was about to hold it, Troy let it slip, causing the bottle to fall and break.
"Look at what you just did?!" He shouted. "Is this how you intend to serve? You're already being lousy at your first task. My expensive shoes are ruined!"
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, it was an accident,'' Nelson panicked. "I'll clean it up," and he proceeded to use his shirt to wipe Troy's shoes.
"Ah, ah," Troy objected with a shake of his finger. "Lick it up like the lowly dog servant you are."
Nelson looked up at him in shock.
"What are you looking at? If you want the money, you've got to do as I say and I say, dog, clean my shoes with your tongue!" Troy shouted.
Nelson immediately started licking Troy's shoes while the others around laughed and videoed, including Evelyn. When he was done, Troy simply got up and said, "looking at this, I have decided that I don't want someone as incompetent as you as my lowly servant so, no, I won't help you . In your next life, pick a better mother."
He was about to leave but Nelson grabbed his legs and refused to let go. "Please, Troy," he begged, this time in tears. "I don't want my mother to die, she's all i have left."
"Then die with her!" Troy shouted.
Next thing he knew, he was being held up by two strong men who threw him out of the clubhouse after giving him a good beating. While he was still sobbing, his phone rang.
"Mr Baristan, could you please return to the hospital immediately?"