Chapter 9 - An Offer You Can't Refuse
We drove in my armored SUV, Luke at the wheel.
The facility was a depressing, sterile building that smelled of bleach and neglect.
Emma ran inside, returning twenty minutes later with a frail, confused woman.
Sarah Carter had the same kind eyes as Emma, but they were lost.
"Emma, who are these men?" Sarah asked, looking at me and Luke.
"Friends, Mom. They're friends."
"We're going to a new place, Mrs. Carter," I said gently.
I had already made a call.
Oakwood Estate. The most exclusive, private medical care facility in Illinois.
It cost twenty thousand dollars a month.
When we arrived, the head doctor was waiting outside to greet us.
They settled Sarah into a luxurious suite with a private garden and a 24/7 dedicated nurse.
Emma stood in the hallway, looking through the glass door at her mother, who was finally smiling.
"Danny," Emma whispered. "I can't accept this."
"It's already paid for the next five years," I stated.
"I am a maid! I make thirty dollars an hour!"
"Then you'll have to work for me for a very long time."
She turned to face me, tears streaming down her face.
"You can't buy me, Danny. You can't fix my life just because you have money."
"I'm not buying you," I said fiercely.
"Then what are you doing?"
I reached up, grabbing her hand. Her rough, chemical-burned hand.
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"I'm taking away your burdens. Because I want you to have the energy to look at me as a man. Not a boss. Not a monster. Just a man."
She froze. Then, slowly, she squeezed my hand back.
