Chapter 16 Bella's Brother
After Oliver chewed out Anouk, he bolted out to track down Sterling.
But by then, Sterling had already whisked Bella off to the hospital.
In the hospital hallway, Oliver, some other school bigwigs, and Anna were hanging around outside the ward.
Oliver kept yammering to Sterling that the counselor who shoved Bella was just a temp.
Sterling's eyes were glued to the ward door, totally ignoring Oliver.
"Mr. Windsor, don't worry, I'll can that counselor for sure. I'll make sure Ms. Grey gets a proper apology for what went down today," Oliver kept promising Sterling, practically swearing on his life.
Behind Oliver, Anna let out a snarky laugh. "So, now you wanna fire her? What about all the times we reported Anouk for smacking students around?"
Sterling's gaze snapped to Anna. His voice was ice-cold.
"You just said the counselor often uses physical punishment. Has Bella been punished many times?" Sterling's voice sent a shiver down everyone's spine.
His tone was like a volcano about to blow.
Oliver didn't know the deal between Bella and Sterling, but he knew Sterling had been footing the bill for Bella's education.
If Sterling found out Bella had been getting smacked around by Anouk, Oliver might as well kiss his principal job goodbye.
Anna shook her head. "Bella's usually a model student. Anouk rarely goes after her. I was talking about her punishing other kids."
Oliver let out a sigh of relief.
Just as Oliver was about to say something, the doctor suddenly popped out of the ward.
"Who's the patient's family?" the doctor asked, scanning the group outside.
Anna instinctively wanted to raise her hand because she knew Bella only had a brother, but he wasn't here, and she couldn't reach him. As Bella's bestie, Anna naturally felt she should step up.
But to Anna and everyone's surprise, Sterling also raised his hand.
"I am. How's she doing?" Sterling walked up to the doctor, peeking into the ward.
The doctor eyed Sterling's fancy clothes and frowned. "Are you really her family? The patient has severe gastritis, malnutrition, and anemia. This is all from not eating right. If you're really her family, make sure she eats better. Alright, the patient needs rest. You all shouldn't crowd around the door."
After the doctor finished talking, he stepped aside to let them into the ward. Sterling and Anna walked in.
Bella was still out cold on the bed.
Sterling looked at Anna and asked, "You're Bella's best friend, right? Can you fill me in on her?"
Anna nodded. She only saw Sterling as a generous donor and didn't realize his connection to Bella was deeper.
"Bella's super sweet but tough as nails. She's got this annoying brother, not blood-related, but he rides her hard. I think her malnutrition is because of him. I always see her eating cheap instant meals. And while her brother's at work, she takes on part-time gigs, like handing out flyers or washing dishes at restaurants. She does any tough job she can find." Anna's words made Sterling's brow furrow tightly.
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