Chapter 2 The plan to sell Harper

"How is he?"

"He is fine for now."

Rose exhaled sharply, the tension in her shoulders barely easing.

"Where is Harper?"

"We admitted her too."

Rose snapped her head toward the nurse. "Whatever for?"

"She is weak already. We are giving her IV drops to replenish her energy."

Rose narrowed her eyes. "Isn't that an additional bill?"

"Yes, ma'am."

She scoffed, waving a dismissive hand. "Discharge her. I will take her home."

"She has one more to take."

"After this one, discharge her."

"But Mrs. Walker-"

"I said discharge her, please!" Rose's tone was sharp and final.

"Alright, ma'am."

Moments later, Rose stormed out of the hospital doors with Harper, half-carrying, half-dragging her frail frame toward where Robert was standing by the curb. Harper looked like a ghost - pale, her eyes sunken, her body trembling with every movement. Her hand still clutched the cotton taped to her arm, and her knees buckled slightly.

"What's wrong?" Robert asked, concerned as he reached for Harper.

"Take her home."

"She's not feeling well yet."

"I said take her home! The more she stays here, the more we have to pay for!"

Robert hesitated, but her glare silenced any protest. "Alright, I understand." He helped Harper gently into a taxi parked outside, her body limp and head lolling against the seat.

"Please take her to this address," Robert said to the driver, slipping some bills into his hand.

"Okay, sir!"

"Dad, are you not going with me?" Harper asked weakly, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Why should I go with you? Are you a kid? I need to watch over my son - he is seriously sick."

"Dad!"

Robert turned away quickly. "Please take her home, sir. Thank you!" He shut the door and stepped back.

"I'm starting your journey!" the driver called and drove off.

The road blurred in Harper's eyes, and her head throbbed with every bump. Her breathing became shallow, and her body was heavy - too heavy to carry. It felt like she might die in that car.

When they finally arrived at the house, she struggled to open the door. As soon as she stepped out, her knees gave in. She collapsed onto the ground with a thud.

With tears brimming in her eyes, she picked herself up slowly, grabbed her bag, and staggered to the front door. Her hand shook as she twisted the knob, and once inside, she barely made it to her bed.

She dropped the bag and fell face-first onto the mattress. Sweat streamed down her face. Her lips trembled.

"I'm dying," she whispered, her voice breaking as the tears fell freely. "I miss my sister so much... I really missed her. It's been 5 years since she left. How could she leave me behind and run away? How?" Her voice cracked again.

She curled into herself and passed out.

Back at the hospital, the tension hung like smoke.

"So what do we do now, Robert?"

"I have absolutely no idea."

"Why don't you have any idea? We are talking about Philip here! His life is at risk if we don't act fast."

"What do you think we should do? We have no means of getting $200k. Where are we gonna get that from?"

"We just need to think of something."

"Something like what? Should I draw out my insurance? There are millions in there."

"No! You will not do that! We saved that for Philip."

"We still need it anyway. After his surgery, we need to send him to the best school here and also get him a car. We need more money to do that, so we can take out the insurance."

"No! We will not take out the insurance until Philip is grown and ready to start his own company."

"Then what should we do?"

Rose's eyes lit up with a disturbing clarity. "Honey, we have Harper."

"What does she have to do with this?"

"Harper is just a girl and she's not useful for anything. She will eventually get married and forget your existence. She is different from Philip who will take on the family line."

Robert stared at her. "What are you insinuating?"

"We can talk to Ross to take Harper away and give us a substantial amount."

His face twisted in horror. "Rose!! Why should I do that? Do I even know what Ross is up to? He is a human trafficker - if not organs as well!"

"He is not! He just deals with drugs and needs people to work for him! He takes girls mostly because they're not easily detected by the police. He uses them for work."

Robert rubbed his face, disbelief washing over him. "You definitely know that once we give Harper to Ross, we can never ask of her again. We won't hear from her anymore."

"Why do we need to hear from her? Is there any important information that she needs to pass to us? Of course not! We don't need Harper for anything. Only Philip is our priority."

His voice dropped. "But Rose... she is my child."

"So? Is Philip not your child? Why are you so heartless, Robert? Do you wanna watch my only child die just because you wanna keep Harper in the house for no damn reason? If Philip should die, your whole family is over, Robert!" She broke into sobs.

Robert's lips tightened. "It's fine. Stop crying. I'm gonna talk to Ross tomorrow."

"Yes, you should do that! We need to save Philip quick."

"Yes, we will! We will save him..."

Ross leaned back in his chair, a smug grin spreading across his face. He crossed his legs slowly, fingers stroking his neatly trimmed beard.

"What's funny, Ross?"

"And why should I give you that much money? $500k for one person? What is she capable of?"

"She can do anything, Ross."

"How old is she?"

"15."

He raised a brow. "She's just a minor. She can't do anything that will fetch me $500k, Robert."

"Ross, I know it's hard, but she will serve you for life. She is worth it since she's serving you for life."

"True! But I'm not paying such amount for a minor."

"Then how much can you give us?"

Ross grinned wider. "Hmm... let's see? Where is the girl?"

"She's upstairs."

"Let me see her."

"Sure!" Rose said quickly and bolted upstairs.

She barged into Harper's room, and the girl jerked awake.

"Mum?"

"Come with me!"

"Where to?"

"Don't question me. Just follow!"

She yanked Harper by the arm and dragged her downstairs. Harper's eyes widened as she saw Ross seated with two intimidating guards flanking him. Her feet froze for a moment.

"This is the girl?"

"Yes."

"She is beautiful."

"Very very!" Rose beamed proudly.

Ross stood up, his shadow looming over Harper. She instinctively looked away, but he grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him.

"She looks tough! She looks like she will be very successful in life."

"How do you know that just from seeing her face?"

"She has a strong aura."

"Really? This dimwit?"

"She's no dimwit, Rose!" Ross chuckled. "Well, let's see. She looks sick. How can I pay such amount for a sick person?"

"She just had a little fever. She will be fine soon. Don't worry about that."

"Okay."

"You can go back to your room, Harper!"

"Yes, mum!" she said and darted upstairs, slamming the door behind her. Her chest heaved. What was he talking about? Paying such amount? Are they trying to make me work for that scary-looking man? Ohh! She gasped. I definitely can't work for someone like that!

Back downstairs:

"Ross, what's your bid?"

"Since she has such a strong presence, I'm gonna pay a lot for her."

"Good!"

"$300k is good."

"What? Ain't you going to pay $500k?"

"That is if I will be selling all her organs."

"What?"

"Just kidding!"

"Oh!" Robert laughed nervously.

"Give them the money," Ross said. One of his guards stepped forward, opened a locked box, and laid out three neat bundles of cash.

"That's $100k each. Money complete."

"Oh thank you so much, Ross."

"Do not thank me. It is a business." He raised his hand, and the guard passed him a paper.

"Your thumbprint."

"Sure! Where is the ink?"

"Nope! Your blood!" He handed over a needle and grinned.

Robert hesitated, then took the needle and pricked his thumb. He pressed it to the paper.

Ross snatched the paper and smiled. "Harper is no longer yours. She belongs to me now."

"Yes, we know right."

"Asking for her means your death, Mr. and Mrs. Walker." He smirked as he said it.

They both laughed nervously.

"Sure, sure, Ross."

"Deliver my order tonight, Mr. Walker!" Ross adjusted his suit and strode out.

"Oh my, he is so scary."

"He definitely is!"