“It’s all right, Teresa. Ms. Jordan is lovely—she won’t mind any of that. Try to relax a bit.”

Lucy’s heart ached with sympathy. She reached out, intending to stroke the young girl’s head. Due to chemotherapy, Teresa had lost all her hair and wore a fluffy pink beanie whenever she went out. Lucy knew this pink hat had been bought for her by Mark, and Teresa treasured it dearly. Lucy felt a complex mixture of emotions, her eyes stinging slightly. Her outstretched hand hovered in midair before finally descending to gently touch the girl’s hat.

“Don’t worry, Teresa. Ms. Jordan will definitely help with your brother’s case!”

“Thank you,” the young girl replied, her nervousness fading as she offered a bright smile. “Thank you so much, Lucy and Ms. Jordan.”

Listening to the conversation from the front seat, Kimberly sighed deeply to herself. Such a tragic situation. Why did misfortune always seem to target those already suffering? Kimberly had strong empathy and sensitivity. Encountering situations like this affected her deeply, and she found her eyes growing moist. She composed herself, adjusting her emotions before turning to speak to the backseat passengers: “Lucy, could you help Teresa with her seatbelt, please?”

“Of course.”

Mark was in the same hospital as Teresa. It was an ordinary community hospital, with four beds crammed into a small ward. Being early winter, the temperature outside was low, with cold winds blowing, so the ward windows were tightly shut. As soon as Kimberly entered, she was hit by the sour odor emanating from the patient in the bed nearest the door. The man clearly hadn’t bathed in days, and Kimberly nearly gagged. She wrinkled her nose, suppressing her discomfort as she followed Teresa further into the ward.

Mark lay in the bed furthest from the door. The young man was propped up against his pillow, staring vacantly out the window at the falling autumn leaves.

“Brother,” Teresa called out brightly.

Mark immediately turned to look at her. “Teresa, you’re here. Have you eaten?”

Teresa nodded with a smile: “Yes! I had something earlier.”

She was lying. She’d secretly slipped out of the hospital that morning to seek Lucy’s help and hadn’t had time to eat anything yet. To prevent her brother from worrying, she had to tell a small fib.

“Lucy, you’re here too,” Mark greeted with a smile.

After acknowledging Lucy, Mark’s gaze shifted to Kimberly’s face, hesitantly asking: “And you are…?”

Lucy answered: “This is a solicitor from our firm. You can call her Ms. Jordan.”

Kimberly nodded in greeting. “Hello. Lucy has explained your situation to me. Would it be possible to discuss it further? I believe I can help you claim compensation from your former employer.”

Mark’s expression grew complicated, and he stammered: “I… I’m terribly sorry, Ms. Jordan, but I can’t afford legal fees…”

The young man gave an embarrassed smile. “As you can see, I’m struggling to pay the medical bills as it is. I truly can’t afford to hire a solicitor… I apologize for wasting your time.”

Kimberly responded seriously: “That’s not a concern, Mr. Bormen. You can pay the legal fees after receiving compensation from the other party. I can take your case on a no-win, no-fee basis.”

Mark looked confused. “What does ‘no-win, no-fee’ mean?”

Kimberly explained: “It means if we lose the case, you don’t have to pay a penny. It’s a conditional fee agreement.”

Hearing this, Mark’s expression changed subtly. “Is that really possible?”

“Absolutely,” Kimberly replied earnestly.

Mark nodded. “Well… all right then.”

“Good,” Kimberly acknowledged with a slight nod. “Now, I need to ask you some specific questions about the case.”

Lucy spoke up: “Ms. Jordan, you two carry on—I’ll take Teresa back to her ward.”

After gathering all the necessary information, Mark took out his mobile phone.

“Ms. Jordan, that covers the basics. If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask. Perhaps we should exchange contacts to make communication easier?”

“Certainly,” Kimberly agreed, taking out her phone and opening her messaging app. “I’ll scan your code.”

For solicitors, exchanging contact details with clients was perfectly normal.

After adding each other, Mark opened the Deliveroo app on his phone. His entire right hand was gone, the wrist wrapped in white bandages. He struggled to navigate the phone screen with his left hand, browsing through meal options.

Kimberly glanced over. “Let me help you with that.”

Mark smiled awkwardly. “Thank you, Ms. Jordan. I appreciate it.”

Kimberly took Mark’s phone and suddenly froze as she looked at the screen. The app displayed nothing but meals costing less than ten pounds—the Budget Meals section. She’d never paid attention to such inexpensive food options before. Kimberly’s brow furrowed slightly. How could meals be this cheap? They must barely cover the cost of ingredients. One could only imagine what sort of materials were used in such budget food.

Seeing Kimberly’s furrowed brow and hesitation, Mark looked at her questioningly. “Is something wrong, Ms. Jordan? Any option under ten pounds would be fine.”

Kimberly handed the phone back to him. “I’ve just remembered seeing a Burger King downstairs in the hospital lobby. Their meals are reasonably priced as well. Why don’t I go down and get something for you? It would be quicker than delivery, so you could eat sooner.”

“Oh? Wouldn’t that be too much trouble?”

Kimberly shook her head. “It’s no trouble at all. It’s just downstairs. I won’t be long.”

Kimberly left the hospital and walked to a nearby Granger & Co. in Notting Hill. She took out her phone and messaged Lucy.

[Has Teresa had lunch yet?] 12:42 Wed, 7 May

Lucy replied quickly.

[I don’t think so. She came to find me around nine this morning, and we haven’t had time to eat yet.]

[I see.]

She ordered meals for three people: Fresh Avocado Toast and Ricotta Hotcakes with banana and honey, all light and suitable for patients. Suddenly remembering something, she also called to arrange for two private caregivers. When she returned to the hospital with the beautifully packaged meals, the two caregivers she’d hired had already arrived. One male, one female.

Kimberly handed a meal to the man. “This is for the patient in Ward 503, Bed 4 on the fifth floor. His name is Mark Bormen, and he’ll be under your care.”

The male caregiver nodded as he accepted the food. “Understood.”

Kimberly then gave the other two meals to the female caregiver. “These are for the patient in Ward 602, Bed 3 on the sixth floor.”

After this, Kimberly went to the hospital’s payment office and paid the outstanding hospital and treatment fees for the Bormen siblings. As she left the hospital, Kimberly received a PayPal notification from Mark.

[Ms. Jordan, you’re a truly good person. Thank you for helping us.]

[The nurse just informed me that someone has paid all the outstanding fees for my sister and me. It was you, wasn’t it? Thank you so much. Once I receive compensation from the factory, I’ll repay you.]

Kimberly felt a heaviness in her heart and simply replied with a brief “Yes.” She declined the money he attempted to send her.

12:42 Wed, 7 May

A biting wind blew through Kimberly’s hair. She stood by the flower bed at the hospital entrance, unable to calm her emotions.

Lucy stood behind her, wiping away tears, her voice choked: “Ms. Jordan, the hospital has just issued another critical condition notice for Teresa. The attending physician says they haven’t found a compatible bone marrow donor yet. If they don’t find one soon, Teresa…. she doesn’t have much time left… Why is her life so difficult? She’s such a kind, lovely girl. She’s only eleven years old. Why is fate so bloody cruel?”

Lucy’s tears flowed uncontrollably as she broke down. Kimberly’s eyes also filled with tears. Standing in the cold wind, the tip of her nose reddened from the chill, her heart constricted painfully. Teresa was only eleven, with precious little time left. Mark had left school early to work and earn money for his sister. Now he was disabled and had lost his ability to work, and he was barely nineteen.

After a long silence, Kimberly took out her phone and made a call.

“Please connect me with a specialist in leukemia treatment at University College London Hospital. Also, come to the community hospital on Harley Street to arrange transfer procedures for a brother and sister.”