This man was a total thug, and he was just trying to extort money.

Yvonne Sutton glared coldly at the man. ’If I give in and pay him this time, I’ll become his personal ATM from now on. I absolutely can’t back down.’

"You want money, right?"

Yvonne Sutton nodded. She turned, went inside, and came back out with a fruit knife, which she thrust into the man’s hand.

"I’m not giving you any money. Not a single cent. If you’ve got the guts, then kill me!"

The man was stunned for a moment, then said angrily, "You think I don’t dare?"

"Didn’t you say you just got out of the joint? That you’re not afraid of going back in?"

Yvonne Sutton threw her shoulders back, facing the bully head-on.

Stewart Pace stood behind her, his eyes fixed on the man, afraid he might actually attack. The neighbors all held their breath, no one daring to speak.

The man gripped the fruit knife tightly. After gritting his teeth for a moment, he cursed, "You bitch. You’re fucking ruthless!"

Just then, police officers arrived. Seeing the scene, they quickly shouted at the man to drop the knife.

As soon as the man saw the officers, he immediately put the knife away and put on a fawning, cheeky grin. "Officers, please don’t misunderstand. I was just joking with them, that’s all! Just a joke!"

The two officers stepped forward. "What’s going on here?" they asked.

"It’s nothing, really. My son just wanted to eat one of her pomegranates..."

"He was trying to extort money from me. When I refused, he threatened to hurt me," Yvonne Sutton cut the man off, telling the officers.

"Y-You’re talking nonsense! When did I try to extort you? You..."

"All these people heard you. And I have a security camera right here," Yvonne Sutton said, pointing to the camera by the door.

After getting the full story, the police gave the man a stern warning. But since Yvonne Sutton was the one who had given him the knife, it didn’t quite constitute a crime. They simply took him back to the station, held him overnight, and then released him.

The next morning, Yvonne Sutton was cleaning up by her front door when the man returned, smoking a cigarette. He deliberately spat on the ground in front of her door and gave her a provocative look.

Yvonne Sutton faced him directly, without a hint of fear.

"Heh, so I’ve finally met a tough nut to crack. Fine, I’ll let it slide for now. But this isn’t over." After speaking, he threw his cigarette butt to the ground, crushed it viciously with his foot, and then went back to his place across the street.

Yvonne Sutton frowned. ’Having someone like that living across from me is bound to cause trouble in the future.’

The day was particularly busy, so they ordered takeout for dinner.

When Stewart Pace went to the door to get the food, he found that the bag that should have been hanging on the doorknob was gone. He called out into the clinic, and Yvonne Sutton came out, stretching her back.

"Did you bring the food in?" Stewart Pace asked.

Yvonne Sutton shook her head. "No, I didn’t."

She had just seen her last patient out. She hadn’t even had a chance to catch her breath, let alone grab the takeout.

"That’s weird. Where could it be?"

A neighbor waved at them, then pointed across the street.

The two of them didn’t understand at first. They walked a few steps toward the opposite building, and when they looked again, they saw their takeout in the hands of that kid, and he was stuffing his face with it.

"Is it good?" Stewart Pace asked, crossing his arms.

The kid glanced at them, looking like he couldn’t be bothered with them. He turned his head away and continued to eat greedily.

"Are thieves this brazen nowadays? You’re eating our dinner!" Stewart Pace said angrily.

The kid pouted. "I didn’t steal it. It was just hanging outside. Of course it belongs to whoever takes it!"

"Hey, you’re just being a brat. Can’t you be reasonable?"

"Well, I’m hungry, so I’m gonna eat it!"

"If you’re hungry, go find your dad!"

"My dad went to work to earn money. He’ll be gone for many days."

"So you’re home all by yourself?"

"Yeah."

"But your dad must have left you money for food, right?"

"No."

Stewart Pace didn’t believe him. What kind of father would just abandon his son without even leaving him money for food?

"My dad said if I can survive, it’s on my own merit. If I starve or freeze to death, that’s just my fate."

A boy of about ten, yet his eyes held a world-weariness that was far beyond his years.

The neighbor lady had been listening for a while. She walked over and looked at the child.

"With a father like that, the poor kid..."

Yvonne Sutton patted Stewart Pace’s arm. "Let’s go. We’ll just go back and make some simple noodles."

After dinner, Yvonne Sutton told Stewart Pace to head home early.

"Lock the courtyard gate tight tonight. And lock the door to the second-floor stairs too. If you hear any noise downstairs, don’t come down. Call the police first."

"I know, I know. Stop nagging and get going."

Yvonne Sutton pushed Stewart Pace out the door. Ever since the clinic had been broken into a few times, the place didn’t feel as safe anymore. Stewart had even tried to persuade her to move back to the villa, but going back and forth was too much of a hassle. She was still thinking about it.

After seeing Stewart Pace off, Yvonne Sutton saw Vanessa Summers emerging from the alley. She was walking out with her head down.

"How’s Dylan?" she asked.

Vanessa Summers looked up and gave her a smile. "He’s doing well. He can be discharged tomorrow."

"When’s the surgery?"

At the mention of this, Vanessa Summers couldn’t help but sigh. "We still have to wait."

Yvonne Sutton nodded. "Are you heading to the hospital now?"

"I’m going to work. The night shift."

It suddenly dawned on Yvonne Sutton. The day Vanessa Summers helped her catch the thief, she must have been coming home from her night shift and just happened to run into the situation.

"Dr. Sutton, you paid for Dylan’s hospital fees up front. I... I’ll need some time before I can pay you back."

Yvonne Sutton smiled and shook her head. "There’s no rush. You can pay me back slowly in the future."

"I... I’ll definitely pay you back as soon as I can."

Seeing the exhaustion on Vanessa Summers’s face, Yvonne figured life must be very difficult for her, trying to raise money for her son.

"Um... if you still haven’t raised enough for the surgery by the time Dylan needs it, I can help cover the rest for now."

"Thank you. Thank you so much, Dr. Sutton."

Vanessa Summers bowed to her gratefully, but Yvonne Sutton quickly helped her up.

"I’m going to the hospital first thing tomorrow morning. I can stop by and see Dylan. You should get some sleep after your shift before you go to the hospital."

’If she keeps this up, her body is going to give out.’

Vanessa Summers was about to thank her again, but Yvonne Sutton shook her head and told her to hurry to work.

「Early the next morning.」

As Yvonne Sutton came out of her home, she saw the boy from across the street squatting by his door while she locked up. He was looking her way, as if waiting for something.

’He couldn’t be waiting for a food delivery, could he? Does he think someone will just drop it off and hang it here every mealtime?’

Yvonne Sutton ignored him and walked out of the alley.

Stewart Pace would arrive a little later; he had a key.

She took the subway to the hospital and first bought some breakfast to take to Dylan.

The little guy was on an IV drip, staring intently at the door without blinking. When he saw her come in, a look of disappointment crossed his face.

Yvonne Sutton smiled. "Your mom just got off her night shift. She’s very, very tired and needs to sleep before she can come over. Auntie brought you breakfast. I’ll feed you, okay?"

The little boy’s eyes turned red. "Mom has to work during the day and at night too. If I weren’t sick, Mom wouldn’t have to work so hard."

Yvonne Sutton ruffled the little guy’s hair. "That’s why you have to be even stronger, so you can take good care of your mom after you get better."

The little boy nodded eagerly. "I can collect water bottles! Lots and lots of them! I can sell them for lots and lots of money. Then Mom won’t have to work two jobs!"

"Such a good boy!" Yvonne Sutton flicked the little boy’s nose playfully.

Only after feeding Dylan his breakfast did Yvonne Sutton head to Daisy Shaw’s room. But just as she reached the door of the hospital room, who should she run into but Candice Yates, who was there to visit someone.