The Birthday Party Bought With My Daughter's Life

Jared yelped as he tumbled into the hospital room and slammed his face hard against the floor.

Heather rushed over to help him up and angrily demanded that I apologize.

I refused to waste a single word on them, so I grabbed the test reports from the bedside table and turned to look for a nurse. Naomi had several tests to complete, and if we delayed any longer, the doctors would be off duty.

Heather reached out to block the door and refused to let me out. Then, she began accusing me of being heartless.

"Naomi's perfectly fine, yet you insisted on hospitalizing her and even jinxed her to die. How's a vicious man like you fit to be her dad?

"If Jared wasn't smart enough to see through your lies, you would've completely fooled me. Now, you've laid hands on him twice, so get on your knees and apologize to him.

"Besides, you're going to discharge Naomi and bring her home right now, or I swear I'm not going easy on you!"

Furious, I laughed and snatched up the medical records from the bed before pointing to the doctor's notes.

"If you say I'm lying, take a good look at the doctor's instructions. Naomi might already be dead if I hadn't managed to borrow the money, and yet you want me to apologize to him. Is he even worthy of my apology?"

Heather reached for the records, but Jared shoved himself between us. Covering his face, he threw himself into her arms and began moaning in pain.

"Look at my face and see if it'll leave a scar, Heather. It's fine if it does. I deserve this because it's all my fault that I spoke up and made you fight.

"I was just worried about Naomi, and I don't want Miles to ruin her. Just hit me and scold me all you want. I can take it."

He grabbed her hand and forced her to slap him twice. His already swollen cheeks immediately flushed red and showed streaks of blood.

Heather was heartbroken. She dragged him out and insisted on taking him to a doctor.

Just before leaving, she glanced back at me and warned that unless I apologized to Jared and took Naomi home, she wouldn't pay a single dollar of Naomi's hospital bills. With that, she led Jared away without hesitation.

I briefly watched them leave before heading out to find a nurse and schedule Naomi's tests.

By the time she was done with all the tests, night had fallen. I requested a nurse's help to keep an eye on her so I could run home, shower, and grab a change of clothes before returning for the night.

After arriving home, I scanned my fingerprint and entered the passcode, but the door wouldn't open. With only one more attempt before the security system went into a permanent lockout from too many failed tries, I frowned and called Heather.

Jared's voice came from the other end when the call was picked up. He arrogantly threatened that unless I knelt and begged him, I wouldn't be allowed inside.

"Heather says you've made too many mistakes and owe me an apology, so you need to be taught a lesson.

"Let's do it this way… Put your phone on the ground, and I want to hear you bang your head against the floor three times. I'll tell you the passcode if it's loud enough.

"Don't try any tricks, or I'll tell Heather, and it won't stop at just three."

I muttered a curse under my breath and told him to hand the phone to Heather. When she took it, she told me the same thing Jared did. She even urged me to hurry up and do as told, or I should forget about stepping into the house.

I sneered and spat, "Dream on!"

After hanging up, I called the property management team and had them send their men to pick the lock.

The apartment was registered under my name, so all the staff knew who I was. When I told them I had forgotten the passcode, they didn't ask questions and reset it for me.

Now, I was curious to see who would end up apologizing to whom.

After taking a shower, I packed Naomi's daily toiletries and rushed back to the hospital. I had just entered the room and barely sat when two police officers arrived and snapped handcuffs around my wrists.

"Someone reported you for a break-in and theft. Please come with us to assist with the investigation."