Chapter 2 - The Fire of the Crowdfund
The anesthesia took me under in seconds, a dark, dreamless sleep where the words "she has already cost us too much" couldn't reach me.
While I was on the operating table, a different kind of storm was brewing outside the hospital walls. Sarah Jenkins, the patient advocate, hadn't just called security; she had called the hospital’s legal department. The moment she saw the Carter Cancer Relief Fund folder in my mother's hands, a red flag went off. The fund had been set up through a well-known charity platform, legally earmarked strictly for my medical care.
By the time Dr. Lawson successfully removed three major tumors and transferred me to the post-op recovery unit, my best friend and coworker, Chloe Vance, was sitting in the waiting room. She had been the one who started the crowdfunding campaign.
Chloe was waiting with a laptop open on her knees, her face pale with fury. When Sarah Jenkins walked out to give her an update on my surgery, Chloe stood up, her hands shaking.
"Sarah, how is she?" Chloe asked desperately.
"The surgery was a success," Sarah smiled gently, putting a reassuring hand on Chloe’s arm. "Dr. Lawson was able to achieve clear margins on the primary masses. She's stable and resting. But we have a serious legal situation regarding her family."
"I already know," Chloe said, turning her laptop screen around. "I got a notification two hours ago. The Carter Cancer Relief Fund account was completely wiped out. A wire transfer of eighty-two thousand dollars was executed at five forty-five this morning. The recipient account belongs to Janet Carter."
Sarah gasped. "Eighty-two thousand? That money was meant to cover Emily's post-op care and her entry fee for the clinical trial."
"Janet thought she was being clever," Chloe whispered, her jaw tightening. "But when I set up the charity fund, I registered it under a dual-signature clause. Any withdrawal over five thousand dollars requires an approved medical invoice from the hospital. Janet bypassed the system by uploading a fraudulent, forged invoice claiming Mercy General had requested the full balance upfront."
"That’s felony grand larceny and wire fraud," Sarah said.
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"It's worse than that," Chloe said, a dangerous look appearing in her eyes. "I just looked outside the window. Her brother Brandon is parked in the hospital’s VIP lot. He’s sitting in a brand-new, metallic-blue Ford Mustang. He just posted a picture of it on Facebook with the caption: 'Hard work pays off. Thanks, Mom.'"
Chloe closed her laptop with a loud snap. "They used Emily's life-saving donations to buy a sports car while trying to leave her to die on a gurney. I am not letting them get away with this."
