Chapter 248: The Bonning Family

Back at the rental, Henry changed into a tinker's attire, took the medical bag for house calls, and went to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where Lady He Ben had stayed for nearly a month.

Nearly a year had passed, and the medical center had not changed much. But the ward the tinker was invited to was a place he had never visited before.

It was cleaner, and did not carry the disinfectant smell often found in general hospitals. Instead, another scent masked it, yet without a strong, pungent odor.

Clearly, extra effort had been put into maintaining the environment here. Especially the artworks decorating the corridors, making the place look almost like an art gallery.

Led by a red-haired nurse with a model's figure and looks, the tinker walked through this ward like a country bumpkin.

This was not a place just anyone could enter. The envelope obtained earlier at the Continental Hotel contained the invitation to get in here. Without that scrap of paper, the tinker would have been blocked at the door, unable to advance an inch.

After entering such a place, one felt even more how terrifying the power of old American money was. Even at the height of an international superstar like Audrey He Ben, one still could not touch the edges of these people.

Recalling back then, if not for the experience of seeking medical help everywhere and hitting dead ends throughout the entire month of October, perhaps Lady He Ben would still have had a chance.

But dragging on that extra month wore down her vitality. After the surgery, she could not recover, and thus passed away.

Indeed, people cannot be compared to one another.

Putting aside the pointless sighs, the tinker entered a ward comparable to a presidential suite in a hotel.

It was quite noisy inside; one could hear a young man wailing and screaming, while a group of people shouted things like "It doesn't hurt anymore."

It felt as though those backing him up were more energetic than the one crying out in pain. For a moment, it was hard to tell who was actually in more pain.

Walking to where a crowd had gathered, the tinker's unfamiliar face naturally drew everyone's attention.

An old woman wearing a wig pushed through the crowd and stepped out. One knew it was a wig because her hair was askew, revealing the base underneath. Her makeup was smeared by tears over half her face, looking quite ridiculous.

However, it was clear that this woman was truly anxious; a mother's love for her son could not be faked.

The old woman grabbed the tinker's hand and said excitedly, "Doctor, please must save my child. He still has a bright future ahead; he should not suffer like this."

Compared to her attitude, the tinker vaguely remembered seeing this old woman before. Not in person, but in print media or on television. Once he saw the patient's appearance, the tinker recalled this family's background.

They were a local white political dynasty in Los Angeles, the Bonning family. Since their great expansion in 1890, the family had held at least one seat on the city council, with countless allies.

This old woman was Suzy Amb Bonning, the current head of the Bonning family, famous for her sharp political questioning. But recently, her only son had become even more famous.

It was the one lying on the hospital bed crying out in pain, Thomas Bonning, a notorious wastrel. Drug use, prostitution, assault; almost every year he would crash a car while drunk.

Looking at his string of bad deeds, and considering his family's power, if reporters could dig up a pile of dung about him, one could imagine how many unspeakable things were being covered up.

Such people are like Bingshan; the part floating above water is only one-tenth of the whole, never the entirety.

Secondly, the fact that their family could give a gold coin through the Continental Hotel meant they were not good birds either. At least one person in the family was mixed up in the underworld, or perhaps the entire family had connections.

Meeting such a patient... of course, one must still treat. A healer has no discrimination; besides, this was a commission from the Continental Hotel paid with a gold coin.

Moreover, during this time, the tinker had saved the most murderers, serial killers, and at the very least, violent offenders causing grievous bodily harm. Having saved so many who harmed heaven and earth, what did it matter to save one more piece of trash?

The tinker's demeanor was not that of a fool; after all, no one would let a fool treat them. So his daily attitude was extremely arrogant and full of confidence; no authority worked on him.

Even today, arriving at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, a hospital still top-ranked worldwide, the tinker could still maintain that cold, aloof attitude, looking down on people with his chin raised.

He stretched out his hand and said, "Medical records?" Naturally, a nurse handed over the patient's records.

Although there were many medical staff present, even including the authoritative thoracic and abdominal surgeon who had participated in the consultation when Lady He Ben came for treatment.

But in such a place, medical authority did not compare to those holding political power. So even if the Bonning family had hired an unlicensed quack, no matter how much they despised him in their hearts, they treated him with caution and did not put on airs in front of him.

The tinker flipped through the medical records; the examination items and results were numerous and detailed, but this also confirmed to him that this was just a very ordinary appendicitis.

Antibiotic treatment had already been administered, but the results were poor. Now, such an ordinary appendicitis showed signs of developing into peritonitis. If surgery was not performed immediately, not to mention causing several complications, it was even possible to kill the person directly from pain.

Putting down the records, the tinker asked the several doctors present, "Is there an operating room?"

Although not very happy, the attending physician originally in charge calmly stated with a professional attitude, "Yes, it is available at any time."

Seeing a baffling person arrive, not even asking him, and demanding surgery immediately, Thomas Bonning, who was crying out in pain on the bed, had to speak up himself, saying, "That Scarface, I am warning you here.

"I am already in great pain. If you cannot operate on me without me feeling pain, I will return to you every bit of suffering I have endured. Do you understand!"

Ignoring this hairless young man trying to learn how to trash-talk, the tinker turned to look at the city councilwoman mother who could make the decision and said, "Mrs. Bonning. Since you are the one who hired me, you must have some knowledge of me.

"But I must state first that my medical methods do not conform to the medical ethics generally recognized by people; they can even be said to have parts that violate regulations. Even so, do you still want me to perform the surgery on your son?"

"Yes, I am very sure." The mother said with immense firmness.

But the son did not have the same firm will; as if venting his own pain, he shouted loudly from the side, "Hey, you, did you hear me speaking? If you make me hurt, you are dead meat, do you know that?"

(End of this chapter)