Page 53 of Billionaire’s Ruin

Find out everything.

Fix it.

But this wasn’t my turf. I had no authority here.

Still, I was certain I could make it happen. All it would take was one call.

He’d saved me more than once. Now it was my turn.

I stared at my phone, hesitating for only a second before pressing the green button.

“Hi, Liam,” I said, my voice low but firm. “I need your help.”

11

June

A phone call.

How could a single phone call make me feel both blessed and cursed at the same time?

Liam picked up within two rings—just before I could chicken out and hang up. His face didn’t appear yet, but I could already imagine his neat hair, the thin-rimmed glasses that made him look ten years older than he actually was. My chest tightened. Relief and anxiety tangled together as he answered so quickly.

“Sorry, did I wake you?” It was the first thing that tumbled out, the safest line before diving into what I really needed to say.

“Are you okay?” His voice came through clear, edged with concern. “Are you… in trouble?” The second question was softer—like he already feared the answer.

“No, Liam, I’m not in trouble.”

A faint sigh of relief seemed to slip through the speaker. Or maybe it was just my imagination—wishful thinking that he still cared enough to worry.

“What do you need?” he asked, straight to business. Typical Liam.

“How do I treat someone in a Malaysian hospital?”

“Government or privately owned?”

“Private.”

“It could take a few months,” he said. “But I can ask someone I know to fast-track it for you.”

“Like now?” My voice lifted, betraying a flicker of desperate hope.

He chuckled faintly. “No, not that fast. A few weeks at best.”

“Oh…” The word fell out of me like deflation.

“Who is it?”

“What?”

“Put your video on,” he said. ”Let me see you.”

Hesitation gripped me. No bruises, no tears—still, my thumb hovered over the camera button. When his face appeared on the screen, I saw the faint lines of worry around his eyes.

“There you are.”

“Hi, brother.”