The Billionaires(#1)

76

Jorge rushed into the hospital and increased his pace as he approached the reception desk, his heart hammering hard against his chest as he imagined all sorts of outcomes. “Hi!” He greeted breathlessly. “My name is Jorge Billings; I’m here to see Miss Smith!” He said anxiously.

The receptionist nodded and typed on the computer, and then she fixed her glasses and looked up with a small smile. "Mr Billings, please follow me." She left the desk and led him through a long passage. The sight of nurses and patients and the smell of the hospital made Jorge feel uneasy. Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital was a place that held some bad memories for him and MJ.

This was the place where his sister was born, the same place where he was told that his mother had died when he was seven, the same place where he first held his sister in his arms.

As if sensing his tension, the woman spoke up. “Your mom was such a nice person, she had a kind heart.” She said and smiled warmly at him.

He stopped, too stunned to speak. As much as he was proud to be a Billings, he hated it when people he did not know spoke about his mother and about how kind she was when he did not even have a single memory of her. He had shoved all the memories of her at the back of his head, locked them up, and threw the key away. 

He just wanted to pretend like he did not know her, just as much as his sister never got to know her, and somehow, he found himself hating her as time went; blaming her for every single pain MJ has had to go through since at a young age.

“You knew my mom?” He asked almost quietly, trying to hide the emotions swirling inside of him.

“Personally; she was a close friend, but I was also one of the nurses that helped give birth to your sister.” She smiled. “Speaking of your sister, where is she anyway?” She asked.

That moment, Jorge realized that people did not know his mother as much as they claimed to. If this woman knew his mother, then she would have spotted MJ, because MJ was the spitting image of their mother, or at least that was what he was trying to convince himself.

“Uhm…where did you say May was again?” He asked, changing the subject.

“Oh, how silly of me!” She laughed. “She’s right in that room.” She pointed at a door next to where they stood. “But you will have to wait for a while; the doctor is still in there.”

Just as she said that the door opened, and a young female doctor came out with a folder. "Doctor, how is she?" Jorge inquired in a panicked voice.

"Mr Billings, I'm so glad you came." The doctor looked up and smiled at him.

“Caroline?” He asked, shocked.

The nurse looked between the two and cleared her throat. "Mr Billings, Dr Becker." The woman said before she left.

"I guess I haven't changed that much if you could recognize me after all these years." She chuckled.

“How is she?” He asked again, remembering why he was there in the first place.

“Please follow me to my office; I need to clarify a few things before you see her.” She said.

Jorge peeked through the door and saw his sister’s fragile figure lying on the bed. Her brown hair was damp and her skin looked pale. He smiled and thought to himself how beautiful she was even in her most vulnerable state. Doctor Becker cleared her throat, and Jorge quickly apologized and followed her to her office.

“Is everything okay, doctor?” He asked once they were seated.

Doctor Becker took her time to study him. “You haven’t changed that much.” She blurted out.

“Doctor Caroline.” He said impassively.

“Okay, okay, okay.” She chuckled nervously. “You got me.” She sighed and cleared her throat. “The reason I called you here is because Miss Smith is not speaking to anyone at all; she hasn’t said anything to anyone since she was brought in. What she went through was very traumatic, so I’ll need you to take things easy on her. Don’t bombard her with stressful questions.” She explained.

“If she hasn’t spoken to anyone, then how did you get her name? My name?” He asked, confused.

“Her handbag was found outside Woltemade Cemetery.” She said carefully and eyed him.

Jorge's face lost its colour and he swallowed hard. "What's that supposed to mean? What was her handbag doing outside Woltemade?" He asked nervously, sitting up straight.

"Jorge…" She trailed off, not sure how to tell him. "Miss Smith was found in a hole at the cemetery." Any colour Jorge had left on his face drained and he felt like time had slowed down. "Jorge?" Dr Becker called. "Jorge, are you okay?" She asked, concerned. Jorge looked at her before he got up and hurried out of the office. He took hasty steps towards MJ's wardroom while Dr Becker chased after him. “Jorge!” She called from behind, trying to catch up with him. “Jorge, wait!” She shouted as he opened the door, but he did not stop. “Jorge…” She trailed off as she entered after him.

“Where…where is she?” Jorge asked in a panicked voice.

Doctor Becker was also stunned. They had only been gone for five minutes; there was no way she could have recovered at such a short amount of time. Jorge went into panic mode and demanded that they find her.

After searching throughout the entire hospital, from wards to bathrooms and offices, there was still no sign of her. Jorge and Doctor Becker went back to her room to find any clues, but there were none. The window was closed, so there was no way she could have gone out through it. “I swear if I don’t find her…” He trailed off; having thrown all threats he could think of, even suing the hospital and having everyone on shift fired.

“Jorge, it is 3.a.m. already, maybe it is about time you called the police, this is a very big case and it is out of our hands now.” Doctor Becker suggested.

Jorge looked up at her but stopped from saying whatever he wanted to say. "Logan, what are you doing here?" He asked in a hoarse voice.

Logan approached them.. “I got a call from a source, telling me that May was here!” He said breathlessly.

Jorge was not surprised that someone had called Logan. Even in situations between life and death, some people still thought about money. His sister’s life was in danger; she was in a critical condition and her kidnappers had probably gotten to her again. But still, that did not stop the person from calling Logan Parker because of the two-hundred and fifty thousand rands reward he had offered in exchange for information about May Smith's whereabouts.

Jorge was about to reply when his phone rang. “Hello?” He answered.

"If you want to see your sister again, leave ten million next to the hospital within the next hour, or else this time you will be burying her for real." A hoarse voice said from the other end, and Jorge's face lost its colour.