Sold to be the Mafia's Doctor

Chapter 2

Confusion and surprise collided.

It was as though time had stopped turning and caused Laura’s ears to fall in deaf. Flustered, she looked at her dad with surprise. Her pupils dilating and her mouth gaping open, Laura halted from walking.

“D-Dad? W-What do you mean?” though, perplexity has already taken her body over, she still tries to understand what’s going on by letting her dad explain things. She must just be misunderstanding things here.

But her grasp to understand what went out of the mouth of the middle-aged man has seemingly gone nowhere, leaving her with an empty head and an inability to respond. Instead of letting her understand the situation, her dad worsened it even more.

“Our debt has already risen exponentially—a total amount of a hundred million dollar. We don’t have enough savings to pay for them.” Her father, whose name is Christopher Garfield, had thrown the bomb right through her face when he said something out of Laura’s knowledge.

She was in peak of shock as she stared at the back of her father. “What do you mean debt, Dad? How come we have debt?” when her complexion changed into tremor, her ability to gather her strength came back as she slowly paced closer to Christopher’s direction.

Finally, Christopher faced her. There was no hint of gentleness on the façade, neither the sweet smile he always gave to his daughter. Rather, a face of conviction is what’s vivid in his looks.

“How do you think I managed to keep the hospital standing, Laura? How do you think I managed to keep it to the top while breaking countless records?” a crack on his forehead was shown as he spoke to his daughter with a matter-of-fact tone.

Disbelief was etched on Laura’s face when she heard those words, speechless of the revelation. She never knew this! Her dad never told her about it! Was it the reason of his unusual approach to him? Because debts are lingering in his mind? God! How can she be unaware of this?

It took her a few minutes to recover and made her response. “I… I will work harder! I will find multiple jobs to—” however, she wasn’t given a chance to let out her solution for this problem, when her dad cut her words short.

“You do not have to do that, Laura. They already came after me and I’m giving them what they want.” Christopher answered, having Laura confused.

What does he mean he’s giving them what they want when they don’t have enough penny to pay for it? Question was vivid on the face of the daughter, while Christopher stared at her with his pleading gazes.

“They wanted a top doctor, Laura. A personal doctor. That way, we don’t have to pay for that huge amount of money.” Christopher muttered, worsening the confusion in Laura—confused why it has to be that way. Does he just mean that they wanted her dad’s capability instead of that hundred freaking million of dollar?

“Dad—” she’s about to get herself enlightened when her dad didn’t let her and fired her the most shocking remarks instead.

“They wanted you. Instead of the hundred million of dollar, they chose you.” A voice with restraining emotions rang in Laura’s ears, leaving her stunned and frozen.

W-What? It’s not her dad but herself? Indeed, she’s regarded as the top doctor now, but no one can reach the peak of her dad. Laura slowly shook her head at him while trying to comprehend what he just said.

There’s only one interpretation to that phrase. Her dad is selling her to those people he owed debt. That sick realization was just drawn into her, making her to take a step backward. Unbelievable! Her dad, her very own dad… is handing her to those people she doesn’t even know!

“Who… Who are they?” breathlessly, she can still manage to form words, at least. She might reconsider it if they are the people she knows. However, that expectation was crashed in an instant when Christopher gave her the most absurd and unfathomable response. The extra opposite of what she thought—no, it’s worse than that.

Christopher has fallen into silent for a few seconds, expressing his reluctance of telling it to his daughter. “The Cosa Nostra.” But in the end, he answered her truthfully.

At the mention of the name, Laura found herself standing cold with her feet seemingly nailed on the marble floor. It was as though bulges of ice has been poured into her poor and small body. She stared at her father with her widened eyes in disbelief along with her heart tightening in her chest.

That name… there’s no way her father communicated with them! A matter of fact, even owed them!

“No way…” her head shook slowly as she closed her eyes intently. “You got to be kidding me, Dad.” Yes, a joke. How she hopes it was just a joke pulled by him. Because there’s no way in hell that a hospital director is having relation with that organization—the underworld organization!

Cosa Nostra. That infamous name has been circulating in the city for a month now. No one—neither a single soul—have encountered someone from that organization, at least as they believed. However, it has already been proven by the government of their existence. In fact, the citizens are already being warned.

That underworld mafia organization… from the label itself, they are dangerous. And the fact that her father is selling her capability to them is just terrifying as it should be!

“Laura…” her father began to step forward to her direction when Laura took a step back. He looked at her with his desperate eyes.

“No. No. There’s no way that’s happening, Dad!” Laura blurted out. Collecting herself altogether, Laura has finally got off of the lingering aghast inside of her, instead it was replaced with fear and firmness to go against her dad.

Once, she was a child who only focuses on the satisfaction of her father. She did everything whatever he wanted to, ending her to be where she is now—a doctor, when in fact, she wanted to be a lawyer.

But, this time… she has her own free will to decide for herself. She’s not going to do what he wants anymore!

“That’s the only way we can pay off our debt to them, Laura. Please!” Gentleness came back to the face of the old man. However, Laura didn’t fall for it anymore. She knows what she will be getting herself into once she submits to what he wants.

At this point, Laura couldn’t remain herself calm anymore, she has to express and defend her rights. “Dad, are you kidding me right now? You… You’re aware of what they do, right? Dad, that’s a criminal organization! A damn bunch of criminals! How do you expect me to do it?” She retorted and couldn’t help but to raise her voice at him for the very first time.

But she isn’t finished yet.

“How in the world have you even had a contact with them? Dad, they would kill me—kill us anytime they want! I’m not going to do it! I will work hard even if it meant multiple jobs. We are going to pay back their money.”

However, her complaints and conviction were left in deaf ears when the response of her dad left her hopeless.

“Laura… my neck is already tied to them. You’re the only one they want right now.”