At Wood's house in the State of New York, Emily waited anxiously.
She had no idea what was happening with her father. He had suddenly collapsed and couldn't get up. Despite consulting the best doctors in the provincial capital, they had all been helpless.
On the brink of despair, Emily remembered a number her father had given her just a few days ago. He had told her that if anything happened to him, she could call this number to reach Doctor Lopez.
In desperation, Emily dialed the number.
But when a young man's voice answered, Emily was confused.
"Shouldn't skilled doctors be older?" she wondered. "Why does he sound so young?"
"Maybe he's Doctor Lopez's disciple," she thought, trying to make sense of it.
With little time to dwell on it, Emily quickly gave her home address and waited at the door, trying to remain calm.
The wait was brief—less than ten minutes.
A young man, around twenty, arrived on a bicycle. He stopped in front of Emily and asked, "Is this Wood's house? Did you call me just now?"
The man was none other than John.
As he looked at Emily, he saw a woman about 5.5 feet tall, with an oval face and delicate features. She had the appearance of someone from a wealthy family, her skin smooth and fair, a typical city girl.
When Emily saw John arrive on his bike, she couldn't believe that he was the person who had just answered the phone.
But John's words soon provided the answer.
Emily nodded and said, "Yes, that's me. I'm Emily, Alton Wood's daughter. Are you a disciple of Doctor Lopez? Why didn't Doctor Lopez come?"
Emily was desperate. Many experienced and renowned doctors had been unable to help her father, and she had pinned her hopes on the mysterious Doctor Lopez.
However, she never imagined Doctor Lopez would send such a young man.
"Disciple of Doctor Lopez?" John asked, slightly stunned. He then smiled and said, "I am Doctor Lopez."
"What? You're Doctor Lopez?"
Now it was Emily's turn to be stunned.
"You're kidding, right?" she thought, disbelieving. "How could Doctor Lopez be so young?"
Doctor Lopez was known as a "miracle doctor"—someone of great rank and skill. How could he be coming here on a bicycle?
This was unbelievable!
John ignored her disbelief and, after stopping his bike, said, "Please take me to Mr. Wood."
"Oh, okay!" Emily responded, finally snapping out of her shock. Despite her doubts, she had no choice but to trust John.
As they entered the house, the lavish decor immediately hit John. The place was so grand and opulent that he momentarily thought he had walked into a palace.
"The life of the rich is so simple and unadorned," John thought to himself with a smirk.
Though the Greenland Villa where he lived with his sisters was also expensive, it was much more minimalist. The Wood family's villa, in comparison, was dripping with wealth at every corner.
In the end, John preferred his own Greenland Villa.
"Emily, who is this?" A young man with a crew cut appeared as they entered the hall. He looked at John with suspicion.
"This is Doctor Lopez. He's here to treat Dad," Emily introduced simply, then turned to John. "Doctor Lopez, this is my brother, Noah."
John gave a slight nod of acknowledgment.
But Noah didn't seem convinced. He stared at John and asked, "Emily, this guy looks younger than I am. He's a highly skilled doctor? Are you serious?"
Emily scolded him sharply, "Don't be rude to Doctor Lopez!"
Though she too had doubts, Emily had no choice but to believe in John now. It was either trust him or face a losing battle with her father's condition.
Noah, however, shook his head stubbornly. "No, he's a fraud. I won't let him treat Dad. Emily, where did you find this fake doctor?"
Emily replied firmly, "Dad asked me to call him when he was still awake."
Noah sneered, "Then our dad must have been taken in. Emily, think about it. The so-called miracle doctor appears just after you called, which means he must have been waiting around our house for a long time, waiting for you to call."
When Emily heard this, her heart skipped a beat.
Noah's reasoning made sense. The timing was too perfect.
There were so many scammers these days, especially those who posed as miracle doctors targeting wealthy families. The fact that she had seen John arrive on his bike only deepened her suspicion. How could he have arrived so quickly unless he had been lurking nearby, waiting for her call?
Emily's doubts grew, but she didn't know that John had easily covered more than half of the provincial capital in just ten minutes on his bike.
John didn't bother to explain. Instead, he sighed and said, "Since you don't believe me, I suppose I should leave now. God bless Alton."
John had only come to treat Alton because he happened to be in the provincial capital that day and had thought Alton was a good man. But now, with Emily and Noah doubting him, John saw no reason to stay.
This was Alton's fate—he was going to be killed by his own children.
As a doctor, John could be kind, but he wasn't about to waste his skills on those who doubted him.
With that, John turned to leave the house.
Noah sneered, "Stop pretending. I guess I've exposed your scam, huh? You're too embarrassed to stay now, aren't you? Get out of here!"
Emily frowned, but she didn't speak further.
But just then, a woman's voice came from the second floor.
"Please, stay."