The Vengeful Billionaire

Gianna's POV

"Please, just give me some more time"I was almost on my knees. Tears rolled down my cheeks like no man's business as I begged with all that I had.

"Gianna, you need to understand that this is not a charity home. This is a business"What kind of doctor told a patient that a hospital was just a business to them? How was a patient supposed to get better when they were being told that they were going to be thrown out? I sniffled and clasped my hands together, my sight blurred by tears that were overflowing.

"I promise that I'll have your money by the end of the week. I promise"The doctor shoved his hands in to the pockets of his coat and looked around. The interaction was as uncomfortable for him as it was for me. I didn't care about pride. I would roll on the floor if it was necessary as long as we remained in the hospital and weren't thrown out. I was ready to pick up as many shifts as I needed to at the diner if it meant scrapping a few more dollars together. Who cared about time to sleep or eat? Besides, personal hygiene was overrated anyway.

"Listen, Gianna. I've done all I can to help you. The board is on my neck about the fees"I looked at my mother who was still in bed, sleeping completely and blissfully unaware of what was about to happen to both of us. Tears flowed down my cheeks unchecked. After my mothers sudden diagnosis with stroke and eventually, some extent of brain damage, my life had taken a 360 degrees turn and I didn't see any end in sight.

"How long can you give me to come up with the money?"

I brought my hands up to my cheeks and scrubbed them of tears. He brought out his phone and typed on it for a while. I assumed that he was communicating with someone so I kept quiet and prayed to whatever higher powers could hear me that what I was going to be told was going to end up being good news. Whatever he read didn't seem to be very favorable because the crease between his eyebrows deepened. When he raised his head to set his gaze on me, I just knew that I wasn't going to like what he was going to say to me.

"I can only give you the next two hours. If the payment isn't effected, I'll have to get security to escort you out"Was he serious? No, were they serious? It wasn't like I hadn't paid anything. It wasn't like i was some freeloader taking advantage of their kindness and hospital. When my mother was rushed in and I was called to provide a deposit before surgery could be carried out on her to at least live, I withdrew all our life savings including the little that I was able to put away to see me through the period after school before I got a job. I gave all of that to them and the surgery was carried out but they were acting like none of that happened and they didn't remember any of it.

"Two hours?"How was I meant to come up with more than half of a 100, 000 dollars in two hours? Was I expected to go rob a bank? The doctor didn't respond to me and if it were not for the fear that more bills were going to end up being stacked, I would have passed out just to have a moment to rest and take in breaths.

"That's too little time for me to raise the money"

"Then, I'm sorry but you'd have to leave"

Only a while ago, I was few months away from finally getting my degree in marketing and communications with a minor in business administration. Because of how focused I was in school, I was the only one who could boast of a 4.0 GPA and I had the position of valedictorian in my grasp but one phone call from the emergency room had changed everything. In less than 3 months, I had gone from being a stellar student with a bright future in the corporate world ahead of me to being saddled with numerous debts because of my mothers medical expenses that seemed to tower more and more as the days went by.

"What if I do this..."My mind was reeling trying to think of a solution to give my mother so that the doctor could allow us stay a while longer while I picked up more shifts at the diner which was the only place I was able to get a job as a college drop out.

"What if I brought my social security number and my other documents to you?"The doctor frowned at me.

"And what would those be for?"

"You can hold them as collateral till when I bring the rest of the money"He shook his head and walked towards the door. His pager at his waist was blinking and I knew that he was being summoned to another room possibly by another patient. Time was running out and I wasn't sure what I was going to be able to do for my mother.

"You have two hours. For the sake of your mother, I would give you the grace to leave without being thrown out. Please, don't exceed the time that you've been given"With those words, he gave me his back and he was out of the room. I slid to the floor and crumpled into tears, the only sound in the room the beeping of the machines that my mother was hooked up to.

"I've failed you, mum. I'm so sorry"

It hurt that after everything my mother went through to see me through college, with her even going without meals on some days just so I was well fed to attend my classes, I could not pay her back by covering the expense of her medical bills.

"Gianna"

I heard a voice call out to me softly. I raised my head up and saw that my mother was blinking at me. I stood up and walked over to where she was laying. I got rid of the fear and the sad expression that I was sporting earlier and smiled up at her. She raised her hand and tried to touch my face but she was too far away so I had to move closer to her.

"Yes, mum?"

I smiled up at her and she smiled back weakly.

"What did the doctor say?"

Wasn't she sleeping? How did she know that the doctor was in the room with us earlier?

"Nothing to worry about mum. I'll handle it"

Her face crumpled and she started to cry. I raised my hands up to her face.

"Please don't cry. I'll handle it, I promise "

I was making a lot of promises that I didn't know how I was going to end up fulfilling but I was going to try my best.

"I'm sorry, Gia"

It had been a while since I heard my nickname from my mothers lips and it reminded me of a time where things weren't perfect, but they were rosy. We were both happy.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for, mum"

I was holding onto my emotions so tightly so I didn't end up crying in front of her but seeing her the way she was, laying in bed and apologizing to me for a reason that I still didn't understand, made my eyes water again.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry"

She kept on apologizing and despite how much I tried to calm her down, she refused to stop. Before long, the machines started beeping rapidly and I was pushed to the side and eventually out of the room as doctors and nurses rushed in to check in on her as she had suddenly started shaking on the bed.

Gianna's POV:

The air outside was bitter sweet. People continued with their daily lives like nothing pivotal had just happened. The hustle and bustle of the city was at its highest because it was rush hour. Everywhere I looked, there was a person running to either catch the bus or go down the subway to catch the train before it departed. Surrounded by thousands of people, I felt all alone. I felt like I was the only one left on earth with the burdens of a thousand people on my shoulder.

"Watch where you're going"

A passer by rudely commented as he bumped into me while on his way to wherever it was that he was going. I wanted to shout at him and tell him that he was the one who needed to watch where he was going because he bumped into me and not the other way around but I couldn't because even the thought of saying that to him made me feel weak.

"Don't just stand in the middle of the sidewalk. Geezers"

I didn't pay any of them any mind. Though I knew that I was getting a lot of looks from people around, I didn't care. It wasn't surprising that I was being looked at because a young girl like myself with matted hair and day old clothes standing in the middle of a busy sidewalk in front of a hospital was only searching for states from people.

"Gianna"

I heard my name being called and I turned. The ghost of a smile appeared on my lips as I set my eyes on Heather, one of my favorite nurses. She gestured for me to come to her and that was the only thing that made me move my legs in her direction.

"Are you ready to go?"

I nodded as I looked up at the hospital that had more or less been my home for the past 3 months. Though the hospital was a place that I was supposed to be happy leaving, I was sad because it had taken away a part of me without giving me anything else but pain and regret in return.

"I have something for you"

I gaped at her as I waited for her to show me what she had. It was a far reaching wish but a part of me hoped that it was a receipt showing the payment of my mothers medical bills so that she could be checked properly and given the necessary treatments. Instead, she rolled a wheelchair towards me. With a small smile, she looked up at me.

"I and some of the other nurses chipped in to get this for you. While it may not be so much, it should help with mobility"I couldn't find the words to speak. I was not expecting anything from anyone so the fact that women who didn't know me from Adam but only stayed and took care of my mother and by extension, myself in the last 3 months, could take some of their own personal money and put it towards a wheelchair for my other rendered me speechless. All I could do was look at her in gratitude as yet again, tears filled my eyes.

"It's going to be okay. We're all going to be here, waiting for you to come back"She pulled me into a hug and o allowed myself to be hugged because it had been so long since any physical contact with another person. Some days, I forgot that I was someone's daughter and not a mother. I held myself back from crying like a baby as I separated from her and stood on my own two feet.

"Thank you so much, Heather"

I sniffled as I rubbed the pads of my fingers under my eyes to take away any errant tears that may have made their way out of my eyes and also under my nose.

"You're welcome, child. You've done well"

I nodded gratefully at her words of encouragement that I didn't know I needed to hear so badly until she said them to me.

"Is my mother out?"

As another favor, the nurses spent extra time cleaning my mother up and getting her ready to leave the hospital. After the scare that she gave all of us when she almost coded because of the stress that she put on her self by raising her blood pressure too high,they were able to stabilize her. I had hoped that because of that, the hospital would allow us stay a little more while but that hope was quickly dashed when the doctor had given us discharge papers after she was stabilized.

"Yes, they're just finishing up with her. She looks extra beautiful today"

As she spoke, the doors to the hospital were thrown open and my mother was helped outside by the nurses who led her to the wheelchair. She lowered herself into it and moved her legs up. The reason why she needed the wheel chair was because the stroke affected one side of her body and made it difficult for her to move as effectively as usual.

"Thank you so much for helping us out"

Heather and the rest of the nurses smiled at us as I took my position behind my mothers wheelchair and started rolling her away. We base them goodbye and then it was just the both of us and the rest of the world.

"Why don't we stop and get something to eat? You must be hungry after all that hospital food"

My mother smiled up at me and nodded. She was happy to be out even though she was still in pain. I could see it in her eyes. I decided to stop at her favorite restaurant and pick up her favorite food.

"It seems like they're out of tables. Why don't we come back later?"

I asked as I peered into the restaurant and saw that they were super busy inside. Though I didn't have a lot of money to my name anymore, I could at least knock a few coins together to be able to pay for lunch as a treat to my mother for getting out of the hospital. I wasn't going to think about how far back that 20 or so dollars was going to set me back and just enjoy the time I had with her.

"Just go in, I'll enjoy the evening air from here"That made me look at her and I shook my head.

"No, I won't go in without you. How would I eat when you're outside waiting?"

"I'm not going to wait here while you eat, silly. Just go get the food while we go back to the house and eat together"

Oh, that was what she was saying, hm? I smiled at her and nodded. How did I tell her that the landlord was well on his way to evicting us because I ended up using the money for our rent to pay off some of her medical bills?

"Okay, mum. Love you"

"Love you too, Gia"

I stayed in the same position, looking at her and not moving. She swatted my bottom with her left hand that was easier to move than the right one all thanks to the partial stroke that she suffered.

"The food isn't going to magically appear here, you know"She joked as she gestured towards the door of the restaurant a few steps from where we were standing. I looked at it and back at her before wheeling our small suitcase closer to her.

"I'll be back before you know it"

"Take your time"

I smiled at her and started walking towards the restaurant after I made sure that my wallet and my credit card were with me. Inside, there wasn't a long line so it was soon my turn. Because of how busy the place was, it didn't take as much time to get the food for me because of how many hands were on deck to beat the crowd.

"That'll be 20.50"

I opened my purse, counted the money and passed it over to the cashier who confirmed that it was complete before taking my food that was already packed in to-go boxes and stretching it over to me.

"Thank you for your patronage at La Cient..."

Before she could finish her sentence, there was a loud sound like the screeching of brakes before the sound of a crash reached my ears. Thankfully, no one was hit around the restaurant because it happened at the area where no one was standing. The anxious chattering and noise of patrons died down in my head as I realized that the spot the car hit was around where my mother was. I didn't know when the food that was in my hand dropped to the floor as I ran out of the restaurant with my heart in my throat.

~Gianna's POV~

"Mum"

I screamed as loudly as I could before rushing to where I left her only moments before. Her wheelchair was thrown to the side as she laid on the ground, unmoving. My feet carried me to where she was and I fell on my knees to the ground, uncaring about the glass and any other harmful objects that were on the ground. The sounds of tires being moved hurriedly made me raise my head up and I saw that the driver of the car that hit my mother was trying to move.

"Stop him, stop him. He's just hit my mother"

I screamed at the small crowd that was starting to form but no one moved a muscle as the guy moved the car suddenly in such a way that anyone who came close would get hit. I was trying to get him to stop but no one was paying any mind. As the guy reversed and moved the car at full speed to get out of the place, he moved his head in my direction and I caught a glance of his face. My attention was redirected back to my mother who was held onto my hand.

"Gianna"

"Yes mum"

I answered her, my voice raspy and my eyes already filling up with tears as i cradled her closer to my body. She was bleeding from numerous sites on her body and I was trying to stop the bleeding by applying as much pressure as I could on the injuries but it was like using a cloth to stop a stream from flowing past its route. They just kept bleeding through my hands and I could see my mother losing strength right before my eyes.

"Call 911! Someone, call 911!"

It was at my shout that people started bringing out their phones and trying to call the emergency services. Though the hospital wasn't far away from where we were, there was no way I was going to be able to carry her all by myself there. I also didn't think that anyone was going to be nice enough to volunteer their cars for me to ferry her over there for immediate medical attention that she was in dire need of.

"Gia"

My mother held on to my hands that were on her midsection as tightly as she could. Her eyes were slowly closing and she looked like she was fighting sleep.

"Stay awake, mum. Please, stay awake"

I rocked her back and forth on my body to keep her conscious. I didn't know what was going to happen if she closed her eyes but I didn't want her to end up like that.

"Gia"

My mother called again. I saw her lips moving but I couldn't hear what she was saying so I reached closer to her and bent down to hear her.

"I..."

Her voice was like she was choking on something. She started coughing and I wished there was something I could do to help her. When she was done coughing, she tried to speak again.

"I lo..."

She didn't get far in whatever it was that she wanted to say to me before another racking cough took over her body.

"Please, save your strength, mum. Stop trying to talk"

I looked down the road trying to see if there was an ambulance on its way to us but there was nothing but regular cars moving around with some stopping to look at the accident scene before continuing on to wherever it was that they were going. No one even stopped to help us or give us a ride to the hospital.

"I lo..."

She again didn't get far before she started coughing. This time around, the cough lasted for a longer time and before I knew it, she started coughing out a substance that was red in color.

"Mum, calm down"

I screamed at her as I tried to get her to stop coughing but to no avail. She coughed and coughed and coughed, bringing up more blood through her mouth. While she was in the process of that, I started hearing sirens coming towards us from down the road.

"Hold on a little longer, mummy. They're almost here"

I kept gazing up at them as they sped towards us like it was going to make them get to where we were any faster. They were so close to where we were when I felt my mother go limp in my arms. I moved my eyes down to her. She wasn't moving anymore.

"Mum?"

I shook her once, twice and thrice but there was no response from her.

"She's just in shock, she's just in shock"

I muttered over and over to myself. I refused to believe that my mother was dead because she was just speaking to me about 10 seconds prior. She couldn't be dead. The police were the first to park some meters away and run towards me like I was a criminal performing a crime on an innocent woman in broad daylight. In less than 2 seconds, the paramedics followed suit.

"Please ma'am, let go of the casualty"

I did as they asked and they hoisted my mother up onto a stretcher. They shouted some things among themselves that I didn't quite hear as they placed a mask over her nose and pumped some bag that was attached to it. As I watched them, the only thing I could hope for was that my mother stayed alive for me. I moved my head over to the police officer who was standing there and controlling the crowd that was now increased. I ran to where he was and stopped in front of him. I started speaking, my words coming out sporadically.

"Calm down ma'am, I do not understand what you're saying"

"I'm saying that I saw him. I saw the man who hit my mother"The police officer looked at me for a moment before clearing his throat and giving me his full attention.

"Are you sure of what you're saying?"I nodded.

"If we ask you to, can you identify him? Can you tell us how he looks?"

The image of the driver flashed in my head and I immediately started describing him to the police officer. I regurgitated all the information that I had about him in my brain, down to the model and color of his car. When I was done, I didn't miss the glance that the second officer who joined us while I was describing the driver gave to his comrade.

"Are you sure of what you're saying? Are you sure of who you're describing?"I nodded and started describing him all over again. The police officer put his hand on my shoulder.

"Miss, I'm sure you're in shock given what has happened to your mother. Why don't you take a moment to calm down and think things through first?"I didn't understand why they were acting the way they were towards me. They asked if I could describe the driver that crashed into my mothers car and I told them yes so why were they acting like they didn't ask for it? Weren't they supposed to be getting ready to go arrest him for hitting and running a citizen?

"No, I know what I'm saying and I'm not in shock. I know exactly what I'm saying"The police officer shook his head.

"You have to listen to me. I saw..."My argument was interrupted by another addition to our little circle of conversation.

"You're the one that was holding the accident victim, right?"The paramedic, judging from what he was wearing, looked up and down at me. My hands and clothes were bloodied.

"Yes, I am"

"If you want to go to the hospital with us, you should come along right now"I looked back at the police officers who were standing with frowns on their faces.

"Right now!"

The paramedic said urgently before he jogged back to the ambulance. I looked at the police officers for one last time before I followed after the paramedic to the hospital. As I glanced down at my mother who was fighting for her life, two questions remained at the back of my mind. Why did the police officers react the way they did when I described the driver of the car to them? Why did they assume that I was in a state of shock and so, didn't know what I was saying following the description I made to them?