billion book
Chapter 22
Chapter 22
Chapter 22 I Will Not Treat It
“Quiana, you have to save Max! He’s your only nephew.”
“What happened, Melinda?”
The following morning, Finnegan had just finished Desmond’s treatment when he heard his aunt,
Melinda Cork, crying in their courtyard.
“I’ll go
take a look, Dad,” he said before stepping out of the house, only to see Melinda. clutching Quiana’s
hands in sheer desperation and agony.
Upon seeing Finnegan, Melinda let go of her sister-in-law and rushed toward him, seemingly wanting to
grab his hand.
Thankfully, Finnegan managed to dodge her in time. I think I know what she’s so upset about… Max
must’ve been diagnosed with leukemia.
“Finny, you have to save Max!”
“What’s wrong with Max, Aunt Melinda?” Finnegan replied, feigning ignorance.
Melinda knew Finnegan was merely putting on an act, but given that she needed his help, how could
she expose him? “After what you said yesterday, we immediately sent Max for a check-up. It turns out
he really does have leukemia, and we’ve already hospitalized him.”
Kind-hearted as usual, Quiana grew increasingly worried. “What? So it’s true that Max has leukemia?
What should we do now, then?”
“The doctor said Max requires a bone marrow transplant, and a family donor would most. likely give the
best outcome,” Adrian blurted out, looking nothing like his usual quiet and reserved self. “Sadly, Mel,
Helen, and I aren’t compatible donors, so we’re turning to you, Finny, and Rhia for help.”
“Please help us,” Melinda begged as she wiped away her tears. “We’d be able to save a lot of money if
we can find a family donor.”
Just as Quiana was about to agree, Finnegan pulled her back and fixed his aunt with a cold. stare.
“What gives you the right?”
“Finnegan Larkin, are you even human? Max is your blood-related cousin, for goodness’ sake. How
can you be so selfish?” Melinda fumed.
Quiana, too, tugged at her son angrily. “How can you say that?”
Alas, Finnegan remained unfazed. “Mom, have you forgotten how they treated us? When
Granddad and Granny were still alive, Uncle Adrian insisted we took care of them because he claimed
we were more well-off. I didn’t mind that because it’s right to do what we can for the elderly. However,
as soon as something happened to us, Uncle Adrian and his family ignored. everything we had done
for them and turned their backs on us. They were so eager to put some distance between our families!
So what if he eventually loaned us two thousand? That was only because you got on your knees and
begged for it. We even had to pay him back double! Have they ever cared about familial ties? More
recently, they learned about our relocation compensation and showed up at our house to guilt-trip us
into lending them. money. How much more shameless can they get? They’re now putting on the same
act because Max needs a bone marrow donor. What gives them the right?”
After hearing Finnegan’s articulate speech, Quiana fell silent while the Lanes turned red in the face.
However, the thought of Max’s dire situation was too much to bear, and Melinda shamelessly replied,
“That’s all in the past now, Finny. There’s no need for such pettiness. Besides, we’re family. Why
should we hold on to these grudges?”
“I’m your uncle. Do you expect me to get on my knees and beg you? Must you be so ruthless?” Adrian
chimed in.
“Sorry. We won’t help even if you did that. We aren’t obliged to.” Finnegan scoffed before turning to
Quiana. “Mom, I hope you’ll listen to me on this matter. Trust me. Some family members aren’t worth
helping.”
Just then, Quiana recalled her son’s impressive medical skills. “Finny, since you were able to treat your
father, do you think you can do the same for Max?”
“Quiana, Finny has never even attended university. How is he able to treat illnesses?” Adrian asked,
clearly taken aback.
Having recalled the incident from the day before, Melinda beamed with joy. “Oh, that’s right! Finny, you
could tell that Max has leukemia, so does that mean you can treat it too?”
Finnegan glanced at his mother and huffed in exasperation. “Mom, if I can diagnose the condition, I can
also treat it. However, I won’t treat those who are disloyal, unfilial, and immoral.”
Hmph. Uncle Adrian and his family are guilty of three of my ten non-treatment rules. There’s no way I’ll
help them.
“Finny, Max is your
cousin. You-”
Before Quiana could finish her words, Finnegan interrupted, “I have to head out to run some errands,
Mom. See you later.”
With that, the man strode off, leaving Melinda boiling with rage. “Finnegan Larkin, you
selfish, heartless b*stard! You’re inhuman!”
The next second, she turned to Quiana and scolded, “What about you? Are you going to be as cold-
blooded as your sc*mbag son? You promised Dad and Mom to take care of us! Is this how you should
be treating us?”
Adrian, too, clutched his chest in agony. “Quiana, is this how you should act as a sister and aunt?
Where’s your conscience?”
Alas, no matter how hard she tried, Quiana couldn’t bring herself to say no to her family. “Finny won’t
listen to me. I’ll go to the hospital with Rhia and check if we’re compatible donors. Will that do?”
Almost immediately, Melinda’s attitude took a hundred-and-eighty-degree turn. “What are you still
waiting for, then? Are you going to wait till Max’s condition worsens?” she urged.
After leaving home, Finnegan took a taxi to Xendale instead of getting a lift from Alisha.
As soon as he exited the car, Rhiannon’s call came in. “Uncle Adrian and Aunt Melinda are utterly
disgusting, Finn! They guilt-tripped Mom into testing if she’s a compatible bone marrow donor for that
jerk, Max. She also wants me to go with her. Otherwise, she said she’ll disown me…”
Finnegan’s gaze darkened as he let out a bitter chuckle. Ha! Why am I not surprised? “Go with her,
then. Mom is old and in poor health, so there’s no way the doctor will approve her as a donor. You’ll be
fine, too. Max’s leukemia isn’t that easily curable.”
After leaving Rhiannon with some more advice, Finnegan finally hung up and went to the Miles
residence.
The Miles family had prepared the medicinal herbs per Finnegan’s instructions, so the latter asked for a
room to begin formulating the medicine. As everyone had different physical attributes, the same
prescription required different formulations.
Therefore, even if someone were to research the ingredients in Finnegan’s prescription, no one would
be able to tell the specific ratios used for each herb.
Two hours later, Finnegan had prepared fifteen days’ worth of medicine and promptly handed them to
Gilbert. “Brew one packet a day and finish it in three doses. Remember to carry on with your breathing
exercises. After three days, you’ll lose around twenty pounds, and the infection will disappear. At the
five-day mark, new tissue will start growing in your wounds and continue to do so until the tenth day.
The wounds will be fully healed at the end of fifteen days.”
“Thank you, Mr. Larkin!” Gilbert exclaimed as he happily pa*sed the medicine to his housekeeper.
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“Mr. Larkin, not only does your medicine have a slimming effect, but it also speeds up wound healing.
Do you think they can be formulated into two standalone medicines?” Kathleen suddenly asked.
Needless to say, Gilbert immediately understood what his wife was trying to imply. If we can separate
this into two individual medicines, that’d be two ma*sive revenue streams. They’d be worth tens of
trillions!
Of course, it didn’t take long before Finnegan saw through Kathleen’s intentions. “We can indeed
create two standalone medicines, Mrs. Miles,” he said smilingly. “However, I don’t have plans for that
endeavor yet. Please keep this between us.”
Without further ado, Finnegan shared some other instructions and bade farewell to the Mileses. He had
already solved Gilbert’s problem, so there was just no point in staying longer.
Kathleen watched the man’s retreating figure and turned to her husband. “Gilbert, what do you think of
Mr. Larkin? I feel he’s hiding something even more spectacular than the two medicines I mentioned
earlier.”
“We must remain close friends with Mr. Larkin Gilbert replied solemnly. “Even if he doesn’t share his
prescriptions with us, we can get him to save us in critical times.”
“That was your intention for giving him Dragon Bay’s No. 1 Villa last night, wasn’t it?”
“After so many years, you’re still the one who knows me best.”