James stood and turned to Thea. "You're the chairman. Order the finance department to pay the compensation."

Thea was at a loss. "James, what—"

She'd expected him to resolve the problem, but after his posturing and empty words, he was now advising them to pay the Callahans.

A furious voice boomed from inside the building. "What are you doing, James? Ten million dollars? Are you kidding me? I wouldn't be surprised if you colluded with these people to swindle money from the Callahans!"

It was Gladys.

James whispered to Thea, "There's something wrong with the medicine."

Thea glanced at him. "How can you be sure this medicine was prescribed by us? What if someone's trying to frame us? If we pay compensation before investigating, won't that be admitting guilt?"

James said, "Listen. Appeasing the family is our top priority. Paying them and calming them down will make everything else easier. It's detrimental to us if this continues. Proving this incident is unrelated to Eternality will bolster our image. The positive publicity would outweigh the cost of ten million dollars in advertising. If it is our fault, paying now minimizes our losses."

Thea considered his words and nodded. "Fine, ten million dollars it is."

The muscular man and his family were surprised by the Callahans' compliance. In past cases of medical negligence, hospitals fought back, dragging victims through years of court battles, even after compensation. Now, ten million dollars seemed too little.

They huddled together. "Do you think we're asking for too little?" one said. "Yeah, Dad," another chimed in. "I heard the Callahans are expanding rapidly, partnering with major corporations."

"We should ask for more."

After their discussion, the muscular man stepped forward. "Ten million dollars is too little. I want fifty million." His family sobbed dramatically, lamenting their father/grandfather's death.

Thea panicked. "Jamie, what should we do now?" She hadn't expected them to increase their demand. They'd promised ten million, but now faced a fifty-million-dollar demand. Their current cash flow was only twenty million.

James looked at them coldly. "Don't push it. He was terminally ill before taking our medicine. We can't know if he died from negligence or natural causes. Since you demand fifty million, go through the official procedures and get a post-mortem examination."

The family was stunned. Official procedures meant a lengthy process, and the man's terminal illness might result in zero compensation.

Onlookers began to murmur. "He's right. The man was already ill. Maybe he didn't die from Eternality's medicine." Others remained skeptical, citing the number of sick people present.

The muscular man and his family discussed their options. The lengthy official procedure might yield nothing. They relented. "Fine. Ten million dollars. Pay us now."

James nodded to Thea. "Arrange it."

Immediately, a chorus of complaints arose. "What about me? I lost my hair after taking your medicine!" "My face is swollen!" "I had diarrhea!" "I'll settle for five hundred thousand!"

The crowd demanded compensation.

Thea began the bank transfer. James instructed David and Alyssa to bring a table and stool. He sat, fixed his gaze on the crowd, and shouted, "Quiet! We'll address each case individually. Queue up. We'll pay if we're at fault, but don't try to extort us."

The final sentence, including the website promotion, has been removed as it's not part of the text needing cleanup.