She Donated Billions, We Scraped for Leftovers

Three months after our daughter, Aria Kirk, is born, she ends up in the ICU. That's when my wife, Leyla Saunders, sends her childhood friend and secretary, Kamryn Benton, to hand me 50 bucks. She wants me to get rid of our baby, claiming that "a poor man's genes aren't worth passing on". I tear up the agreement, scoop Aria into my arms, and leave Leyla. I run into her again five years later. She's donating 30 million dollars to the municipal children's hospital, while I'm working as a caregiver at the hospital, with Aria by my side. My baby girl is starving. The moment she spots half a leftover drumstick on a tray, she reaches for it. I grab her frail wrist and pull her back. "Aria, what did I tell you? We don't pick up food other people leave behind." She stares longingly at the chicken. "But it's just on the table. It didn't hit the trash can yet. If you wipe it off, I can still eat it." My throat tightens, and I feel a heavy weight pressing against my chest. Just as I'm about to pull out the half-eaten bread from this morning, a familiar voice calls out from behind us, "Jason?" Chapter 1 My body froze. I turned around. Leyla Saunders was standing in the doorway, flanked by the hospital director and a crowd of reporters. She wore a crisp white pantsuit, a diamond watch glittering on her wrist. It was worth enough to buy our daughter, Aria Kirk, chicken drumsticks for the next ten years. Her gaze swept from my faded scrubs down to the half-eaten piece of bread in Aria's hands. Gradually, her refined brow arched into a frown. "What are you doing here?" she asked. I stuffed the bread back into my pocket and straightened up. "The hospital needed caregivers, and I needed money." Leyla's crimson lips parted slightly, as if she had just heard something absurd. "What about the five million dollars I gave you back then?" I frowned. "Five million dollars?" Behind her, her secretary Kamryn Benton's face drained of color. At my retort, Leyla fixed me with a stare. "You took the cash, decided it wasn't enough, and claimed I only gave birth to a money pit. You demanded the hospital stop Aria's treatments immediately. The moment she died, you took off with the money." I let out a bitter laugh. "Ms. Saunders, your secretary gave me 50 bucks. That money couldn't even cover Aria's emergency room bill back then. The hospital sure wasn't going to keep saving her." Leyla whipped her head down to look at Aria. Scared by her sharp gaze, Aria instantly hugged my leg. "Daddy, you lied. Mommy doesn't love me, and she isn't sweet at all." The whole cafeteria went dead silent. Leyla froze for a beat. Yet instead of doubting Kamryn, she turned back to size me up from head to toe with a calculating glare. "So, this was your angle all along?" My face darkened. "What are you talking about?" Her heels clicked against the floor as she stepped right up to me. Though half a head shorter than me, her authority wasn't dulled in the least. "You knew I was coming here to make a donation, so you brought Aria here to corner me. It's been five years, Jason. You haven't changed a bit." She glanced down at my frayed cuffs, then back to the bread in Aria's hands. There was no pity in her eyes, only contempt. "You faked Aria's death to make me suffer, waited until you blew through the money, and then dragged her out to play the victim so you can beg for more." I clenched my fists so tightly that the veins stood out across my knuckles. "Leyla, I received 50 bucks. That's it." Leyla's forehead creased. Just as she opened her mouth, Kamryn stepped up. He took his place right beside her, broad shoulders angling inward as if to shield her. "Mr. Kirk, I know times are tough for you, but you can't just rewrite history for a payout." He opened several documents on his tablet and showed them to Leyla. They included a wire transfer proof for five million dollars, a settlement agreement, and a hospital liability waiver to terminate Aria's life support. Right at the bottom of the agreement sat my signature. As I stared at the name, I ground my teeth so hard my jaw throbbed. Five years ago, when Aria suddenly began bleeding heavily after taking medication, Kamryn brought over a stack of papers, claiming they were routine intake forms, consent documents, and financial guarantees. He insisted I had to sign them before he could arrange medical help. Aria was in critical condition, so my mind was completely frantic. I didn't have time to read a single line and signed everywhere he pointed. It turned out that the trap had been set from the start. After reviewing the documents, Leyla looked at me with nothing but contempt in her eyes. "Jason, if you wanted money, you could have just said so. Using your own daughter as a sob story? Are you even fit to be a father?" Aria picked up on the words. Panicked, she wrapped her arms around my neck. "Daddy didn't set this up! I was just hungry! He fed me eggs this morning! He only had half a piece of bread!" Leyla's expression faltered briefly. Kamryn immediately took a half-step forward and said firmly, "Ms. Saunders, you can't believe a five-year-old. Kids that age are easily coached by adults." The moment he said that, blood trickled out of Aria's nose, and her body went limp. "Aria!" I caught her and bolted straight toward the emergency department. The sharp click of Leyla's heels followed right behind us. The examination fees came out to 860 dollars. I only had 430 dollars left in my bank account. Leyla pulled a black card from her purse, but Kamryn caught her wrist. "Ms. Saunders, we haven't verified the child's identity yet. If we start throwing money around now, Jason will turn into a bottomless pit." Leyla hesitated, ultimately paying for only half. Looking at her, I felt nothing but a hollow sense of absurdity. This wasn't the first time. During our two years of marriage, I became a stay-at-home dad so she could focus on building her business. From then on, every cent I spent had to go through Kamryn's approval. When I was sick and needed medicine, Kamryn said it wasn't necessary and told me to just drink more water. When I wanted to buy Leyla flowers for her birthday, he rejected the expense, calling it "unnecessary emotional spending". After Aria was born and the doctor recommended switching to hypoallergenic formula, Kamryn claimed regular milk wouldn't kill her. Only later did I find out Kamryn didn't need anyone's permission to order himself a five-figure watch. Meanwhile, I had to write a full justification just to spend five bucks on medication. I had brought those rejected requests to Leyla once. She had just leaned back in her desk chair, flipping through documents without even looking up at me. "Kamryn handles money better than you do. You don't have the knowledge for these detailed budgets. Just follow his lead." Back then, I thought she had simply put her trust in the wrong person. It wasn't until today that I finally got it. Kamryn wasn't managing money. He was deciding whether Aria and I had any right to exist in Leyla's life. But now, I didn't care about that anymore. I dug through my pockets, flattening out coins, loose change, and crumpled bills one by one until I finally scraped together the remaining half. The nurse handed over the intake form. "What's the mother's name? We need her contact info too." My fingers gripped the pen so hard my knuckles turned white. In the blank for the mother's name, I wrote only one word. "Deceased." Leyla was standing right behind me. As her eyes fell on those words, every trace of color drained from her face. Chapter 2 When the test results came back, the doctor called me into his office. "Aria's coagulation function is very poor, and her platelet count is abnormal. She needs to be hospitalized for further tests. You'll need to put down a 20-thousand-dollar deposit first. If surgery is required later, the cost will go up." I squeezed the report in my hand and paused before asking, "When's the deadline?" "You have three days." I handed over all my savings to the hospital, then applied for financial assistance. I worked in the cafeteria by day and took shifts as a patient caregiver by night, getting three hours of sleep at most. In the early morning of the second day, after turning over the elderly patient in the next bed, I straightened my aching back, only to spot Leyla standing at the end of the hallway. She had changed into a black pantsuit, her long wavy hair draped over her shoulders. The cold white light fell across her striking features, making them look even sharper. I ignored her and turned to head back to the ward. "Jason." The sharp click of Leyla's heels caught up with me as she slapped an agreement onto the nurse's station. "Who are you putting on a show for?" "I'm working. Move." "Jason, you know damn well I won't stand by and watch Aria suffer, yet you refuse to ask me for help. You're just trying to force my hand so I'll offer more, aren't you?" She tapped the agreement with a slender finger. "I can cover the medical bills, but the money won't pass through your hands. "Kamryn will audit every expense. I will cover essential tests, but non-essential drugs are on you. You and Aria's daily meal budget cannot exceed ten dollars, and you have no right to withdraw the remaining funds." I flipped to the final page and noticed Kamryn's name as the supervisor. I pushed the agreement back toward her. "Kamryn doesn't even have a medical license. By what right does he get to decide what medication Aria takes?" A flicker of impatience crossed Leyla's eyes. "He's just keeping expenses in check for me. If the doctor says it's necessary, he'll approve it." Right as she said that, the elevator doors slid open. Kamryn strode out. He wore a dark gray custom suit with sharp shoulders and a new watch on his wrist. Walking over to Leyla, he cast a subtle glance my way and adjusted his cuffs. "Ms. Saunders, the clothes for the banquet arrived. The watch and the suit came to 126 thousand dollars in total." Leyla merely glanced at it. "Keep it if you like it. You don't need to inform me about minor things like this." I didn't realize when Aria had woken up. She stood barefoot at the doorway, her tiny frame swallowed by the oversized patient gown. She looked at the watch on Kamryn's wrist, then down at the agreement in my hand. "Daddy, why can Mr. Benton buy a watch without asking anyone, but I have to get his permission to buy medicine?" Leyla's expression froze for a second. I crouched down and gently told her, "Sweetheart, we shouldn't feel entitled to other people's money." Catching the sarcasm in my voice, Leyla pressed her lips into a tight line. "Jason, is that what you teach her?" Kamryn stepped forward. His tall frame towered over me. His voice sounded warm, but his eyes held no warmth at all. "Mr. Kirk, stop throwing a fit. This isn't doing you or the kid any good. Just sign the agreement." "I'm not signing." I picked up Aria and turned to go back into the ward. Right then, Kamryn suddenly staggered backward and slammed heavily into my shoulder. Exhausted from days without rest and carrying Aria in my arms, I lost my balance. My back crashed straight into the glass door behind me. With a loud crash, the glass shattered into pieces. Before hitting the ground, I threw my arm over Aria to shield her. Shards sliced open my palm, and blood immediately dripped from my fingertips. Luckily, Aria wasn't hurt. She scrambled out of my arms, and the sight of my bloody hand paled her face. "Daddy!" She rushed in front of me and spread her thin arms wide. "You bullies! Don't you dare hurt my daddy!" Chapter 3 Aria's arms were so thin they were barely the width of an adult's wrist. Yet as she stood in front of me, she looked ready to put her life on the line. Leyla released her grip on Kamryn's arm. She took two steps forward but froze the moment she realized her movement was scaring Aria. She slowly crouched down, softening her expression. "Aria, I'm your mother. I'm not a bully." "I don't have a mother!" Aria's small face flushed with anger as she held her ground stubbornly in front of me. A flicker of shock passed through Leyla's eyes. She instinctively reached out to wipe the tears from Aria's cheeks. But before she could touch her, Aria recoiled a step back. Leyla's hand froze in midair. Kamryn hurried over. "Mr. Kirk, how could you teach a child to reject her birth mother just for money?" Leyla stood up, tucking a strand of long hair behind her ear as her eyes went cold again. "Jason, you've miscalculated." Using my uninjured hand, I pushed myself off the ground and shielded Aria behind my back to cut off any sight of the two of them. "Move." Leyla didn't budge. I looked down at her and delivered every word with deliberate weight. "I need to take Aria to the doctor." Only then did she step aside. I needed seven stitches across my palm. The moment the doctor finished tending to the wound, before the anesthetic even had time to wear off, I was called out into the hallway. "Aria's coagulation levels are extremely unstable. She'll need a bone marrow aspiration and genetic testing. With the costs for room and medication, you need to prepare at least 20 thousand dollars as a deposit." 20 thousand dollars. I had less than 100 bucks left in my bank account. Leaning my back against the wall, I tilted my head up and closed my eyes. My throat worked through a heavy swallow. When I opened them, Leyla was standing at the entrance of the ward. She held that same supervision agreement in her hand. "I'll pay the hospital directly. You don't need to worry about the money." She paused. "But every single expense goes through Kamryn." I raised my bandaged hand. "He shoved me on purpose just now, and now you want him calling the shots on Aria's life?" Leyla frowned. "That was just an accident. Kamryn said he felt dizzy all of a sudden and bumped into you. Besides, he's just keeping an eye on things for me so you don't inflate costs under the guise of treatment." I stared at her for a long time before letting out a soft laugh. Five years ago, Kamryn made me sign a stack of documents. Five years later, he was deciding whether Aria got her lifesaving funds. And Leyla always took his side. "I'm not signing." Leyla slid the agreement back into her handbag, her tone as businesslike as ever. "Then raise the money yourself." She turned and walked away. The clicking of her heels faded down the corridor. I didn't chase after her. Back in the ward, I searched through my belongings. The only thing of any value was a worn-down men's wedding ring. It was the one we bought when Leyla and I got married. Neither of us had money back then, but I didn't want Leyla to feel shortchanged. After scraping together savings for a year, I bought her a diamond ring, and this was the matching band. Back then, Leyla had held me crying, promising she would love me forever. Later, when we made money, she brought up replacing it with something more expensive a few times, but I never agreed. Not because of what it was worth. But because that ring held so many of our memories. But right now, memories weren't going to save Aria. While Aria was asleep, I went to a pawnshop near the hospital. After examining the ring, the owner offered only 200 dollars. Without hesitation, I filled out the form, signed, stamped my thumbprint, and rushed back to the hospital as soon as I got the cash. Just as I reached the entrance, a black sedan pulled up, blocking my path. The door swung open, and a pair of black stiletto heels touched the pavement first. Leyla stepped out from the back seat. The night breeze rustled her long hair. Her slender fingers held that old wedding ring. "Jason." Her crimson lips curled into a mocking smile. "You pawned your wedding ring on purpose just to remind me how much I used to love you, didn't you? You're running out of cash, so you're resorting to nostalgia to force me into dropping the supervision?" Looking at her confident face, I finally realized one thing. In Leyla's eyes, every move I made was a calculated scheme. Selling the ring wasn't an act of desperation. It was a play on past feelings to force her hand. I strode over to her, snatched the ring from her grip, and slapped it right back onto her palm. "Since you bought it back, keep it. I don't need your pity." Leyla's hand instinctively tightened around the ring. Without a second look, I turned and headed inside the hospital. Those 200 dollars barely covered the most urgent tests and medication. At noon the following day, the charity assistance center sent their decision. My application was denied. The reason stated that five years ago, I possessed five million dollars in assets but had since exhausted my wealth on overseas property, luxury cars, and other extravagant purchases. They deemed it irresponsible personal spending and ruled that I was ineligible for assistance. As I stared at the screen, every muscle in my arms tensed up. A sum of money that had never touched my hands almost cut off Aria's life five years ago, and now it was doing it again. I immediately submitted a request for an asset audit, asking to pull the registration details, login logs, linked phone numbers, and transaction trails for that five-million-dollar account. Then, I dialed a public charity hospital in a neighboring state. After reviewing Aria's medical records, they quickly gave me a response. "Mr. Kirk, we can waive most of the treatment fees. We have a transport vehicle heading to your city in three days. As long as the child's vitals are stable, we can bring her over." I held the phone tight, my shoulders finally relaxing after days of tension. "Thank you. We'll be waiting." … That evening, Kamryn knocked on the door to Leyla's office. "The financial aid got rejected. Jason's bank balance is under 20 dollars." Leyla leaned back in her chair, saying nothing. Kamryn passed her the data on his tablet. "There's no way he can raise 20 thousand dollars. Three days at most, and he'll come crawling back to sign the agreement." Remembering how I looked outside the pawnshop, Leyla's brow twitched slightly. "He sold his wedding ring." Kamryn lowered his voice. "He did that on purpose because he knew you'd soften up. It's always been his playbook. Play the victim, look miserable, and wait for you to make a move. The more you pity him, the more he demands." Leyla stayed silent for a moment before finally nodding. "He won't last long out there. He'll come back." … Inside the ward, I had already signed the transfer paperwork and stashed our packed bag under the bed. Aria woke up, rubbing her eyes. "Daddy, where are we going?" I tucked the blanket around her shoulders. "Aria, I'm taking you to a better hospital in three days." Chapter 4 The next morning, I woke up under the nurse's uneasy gaze. A crowd carrying smartphones packed the space outside the ward. Several livestreamers crowded the hallway, filming Aria and me. "That's him! He took five million dollars in child support, then brought his daughter back to play the victim!" "He blew five million dollars in five years, and now he's using a sick child to scam his billionaire ex-wife!" "I heard he went to pawn his wedding ring yesterday, using past feelings to guilt Ms. Saunders into giving him more!" It wasn't until I checked my phone that I realized Kamryn had posted a long statement in the early hours of the morning. He had publicly leaked the five-million-dollar wire transfer record, overseas property holdings, luxury purchase receipts, and the video of me selling my wedding ring at the pawnshop. The video conveniently edited out the part where Leyla bought the ring back for ten thousand dollars while refusing to give me a single cent. The footage showed only me inquiring about the price at the counter, followed by Leyla stepping into the pawnshop with a dark expression. At the end of his post, Kamryn wrote, "Ms. Saunders is willing to cover all reasonable medical expenses for the child, but Mr. Kirk refuses supervision, demanding cash instead. He even leveraged a wedding ring and a sick child to stage a guilt trip." The comment section was completely vicious. Some slammed me for being a gold-digging ex-husband using a child to scam a rich ex-wife. Some claimed Aria was an accomplice. Others dug up the hospital and room numbers, bringing live-streaming gear to gawk at the "billionaire's deadbeat ex-husband". I asked the nurse to call security, but they couldn't stop the mob. Someone shoved a lens straight into Aria's face. "Hey kid, did your dad tell you to fake being sick so you could ask your mom for money?" Terrified, Aria shrank into my chest. I shielded her face and shouted harshly, "She's only five! Get that phone out of her face!" Instead of backing off, the person pressed closer, filming us. "What are you so afraid of? You're willing to use your child to play the victim but not let her know the truth?" "Daddy isn't lying!" Aria suddenly squirmed out of my arms and spread her arms wide to stand in front of me. "Daddy isn't a liar! He only eats one meal a day so he can buy my medicine!" The crowd went quiet for two seconds, but someone soon held up a phone again. "Look at that. The five-year-old's been brainwashed." Trembling with rage, Aria suddenly gasped as blood gushed from her nose. Her tiny body fell backward. The monitors began to blare wildly. Doctors rushed in to clear the ward and pushed Aria into the operating room. I crouched outside, my hands covered in her blood. The doctor said the severe shock had rapidly worsened her clotting levels, putting her at risk for internal bleeding at any moment. Staring at the glowing operating room sign, I dialed Leyla's number. It was the first time I had called her since we met again. She picked up almost instantly. "Changed your mind?" I suppressed the quiver in my throat. "The videos online show Aria's face and medical records. Take them down immediately." Leyla fell silent for a few seconds. "You called me just for this?" "I don't want money, and I don't need you to clear my name. I just need you to protect your own daughter." "Fine." Her reply was crisp. Yet the very next second, a document notification chimed on my phone. That same medical supervision agreement had been sent over once again. "Sign it. From now on, I will pay Aria's medical fees directly, and I'll have someone suppress the media." I stared at the agreement. "What does taking down Aria's videos have to do with whether I sign this agreement or not?" Leyla's voice turned cold. "You've dragged this out until today just to force me to cancel the supervision and give you a sum of money you can spend freely, haven't you? Jason, I can take responsibility for Aria, but I won't keep enabling you." "Leyla, your daughter is in emergency care, and you're negotiating terms with me?" "I am offering you the most dignified solution possible. If you truly cared about Aria, you wouldn't risk her life just to spite me." I gripped my phone so tightly that my knuckles turned white. She always had a bulletproof internal logic. If I begged her, I was admitting defeat and backing down. If I didn't, I was using Aria to jack up the price. No matter what I did, I would always be that insatiable ex-husband in her . "I'm not signing." I hung up the phone and handed over all the secretly filmed videos and abusive messages to a lawyer for evidence collection. An hour later, Aria was temporarily out of danger. Upon hearing the news, the public charity hospital in the neighboring state decided to send an ambulance ahead of schedule. "The child can't remain at the center of this storm. The transport vehicle arrives tonight. You can leave whenever you're ready." At 3:00 am, I carried Aria onto the ambulance without saying goodbye to anyone. … As the ambulance sped out of the city, Leyla was still sitting in her office. On her desk lay that supervision agreement awaiting my signature. Kamryn served her a cup of coffee and said casually, "Once the next batch of expenses comes up, he'll come back on his own." Leyla nodded slightly. She didn't believe a man who couldn't even raise 20 thousand dollars would truly turn down the treatment conditions she offered. The following day, Saunders Corp happened to host a charity live stream for a children's medical fund. Dressed in that 126-thousand-dollar suit, Kamryn stood beside Leyla. The host asked with a smile, "Ms. Saunders, what do you consider the most crucial principle of charitable aid?" Before Leyla could answer, Kamryn took the mic. "Good intentions need boundaries. We are eager to help those who truly need it, but we cannot satisfy every demand unconditionally just because someone plays the victim." Someone in the live chat brought up Aria and me. "Has that ex-husband who brought his sick kid to scam her signed the agreement yet? He's not actually trying to use the child to force Ms. Saunders into a remarriage, is he?" Kamryn glanced at Leyla, a confident smirk curling on his lips. "Mr. Kirk just hasn't come around yet. He'll soon accept Ms. Saunders' help for his daughter's sake." Leyla didn't deny it. She had already instructed the front desk to bring me straight upstairs the moment I showed up. She had even planned that as long as I bowed my head, she wouldn't hold these past few chaotic days against me. However, Kamryn's supervisory authority could not be revoked. She had to make me realize that using Aria to force her hand was useless. Halfway through the stream, the chat suddenly flooded with rapid messages. "Everyone, go check out Jason's statement! He posted the child's emergency records and bank statements from five years ago! There's something fishy about Kamryn!" Frowning, Leyla glanced at Kamryn. Kamryn's hand gripping the microphone tightened abruptly as his face turned pale. The chat scrolled faster and faster, filled with the exact same line. "Jason only received 50 bucks." Leyla motioned for her assistant, Maia Reid, to cut the stream and grabbed her phone to open the statement. The first image was a screenshot of a transfer record. Five years ago, Kamryn had transferred exactly 50 dollars to me. In the reference line sat a short string of words—child disposal fee.