“The doctor gave him three days,” Amber whispered near the hospital bed. “Finally. As soon as he dies, the house, the bank accounts, and the company will belong to me.”
“And I will keep the sports coupe,” replied Ruby, her daughter. “I can already picture myself driving it all the way to Miami.”
Calvin Buffington lay completely motionless, keeping his eyes shut while his breathing remained heavy. The powerful painkillers allowed him to feign deep sleep, yet he heard every single word spoken beside him. At sixty-six years old, he had built one of the most prominent landscaping and plant nursery enterprises in Atlanta entirely from scratch. Forty years earlier, he possessed only an old rusty pickup truck, a few basic hand tools, and Barbara, his late first wife, who had sold her personal jewelry just to buy their very first batch of saplings.
Together, they had also lovingly restored a classic 1967 Ford Mustang, painted ivory white with original cream leather seats inside. Barbara always told him that old automobiles possessed a genuine soul as long as someone cared for them with true love. When she passed away nine years ago, Calvin left the vintage vehicle covered in the garage for nearly two solid years. Sitting behind its wheel felt exactly like hearing her bright laughter echoed throughout the quiet space.
Later in life, he met Amber during a charity fundraising dinner. She appeared kind, attentive, and frequently expressed deep admiration for hardworking men. They married just a year later, and her grown daughter, Ruby, quickly entered his life by constantly asking for financial assistance with unpaid credit cards, luxury vacations, and failed business attempts. Calvin paid every bill to avoid heated arguments, foolishly convincing himself that he was building a real family.
Until that painful afternoon spent inside the medical clinic.
The original scan had revealed an unusual mass on his liver, accompanied by a very severe internal infection. Dr. Robert Gable remained cautious when delivering the news to the family.
“We need to perform a complete biopsy right away,” Dr. Gable explained. “It could certainly be serious, but I am not willing to give an official diagnosis without proper laboratory results.”
“Just speak clearly to us,” Amber demanded firmly. “Can he actually die this week?”
“In the worst scenario possible, his overall condition could deteriorate within a few days,” Dr. Gable admitted softly.
As soon as the physician left the room, Amber smiled softly to herself. She gently straightened Calvin’s bedsheet, smoothed his forehead, and uttered the cold phrase that ultimately broke his heart inside. Later on, she and Ruby stood right outside in the hallway, openly discussing selling his private apartments, discarding Barbara’s old antique sofa, and planning a cheap funeral service. Calvin gritted his teeth until his jaws began to ache terribly.
When evening fell, Elias Herrick arrived at the hospital room. He was Calvin’s trusted driver of thirty years and a loyal friend who had stayed by his side when Barbara passed away. He carried a hot thermos of homemade soup sent directly by his wife.
Calvin immediately confided everything to his old friend.
“Let us get a proper second medical opinion first,” Elias suggested calmly. “My own brother-in-law was once given a terminal diagnosis over a dark spot on his organ, and it turned out to be nothing more than an abscess. I personally know a great specialist practicing over in Nashville.”
Calvin reached out and firmly gripped his driver’s arm.
“Help me through this, Elias, and you will never have to work another day in your life,” Calvin promised.
“I will help you because you are like a brother to me, not for any sum of money,” Elias replied with total sincerity.
The very next morning, Calvin officially requested full copies of all his medical files. Amber tried her best to stop the release, while Ruby openly mocked him for desperately clinging onto his life. However, Elias successfully forwarded the complete files to Nashville, and Calvin secretly reached out to Paula Neff, the reliable attorney who had expertly managed his business affairs for over two decades.
“Do not sign a single piece of paper,” Paula instructed over the phone. “I am coming to see you tomorrow morning. Make sure the medical staff documents in writing that you are fully conscious and in complete possession of your mental faculties.”
At that exact moment, Amber walked into the room carrying a dark leather folder containing three legal documents.
“These are simply basic powers of attorney to pay taxes, manage bank accounts, and protect the firm while you rest,” Amber explained with a sweet tone.
Calvin looked up slowly at her.
“I will review every page with Paula tomorrow,” Calvin stated firmly.
Amber’s polite smile vanished in a split second. She quickly gathered her papers and murmured quietly to Ruby on her way out the door: “I need to talk to the physician. He clearly needs much stronger sedatives.”
Calvin heard the entire exchange and immediately pressed the call button to summon the floor nurse. At that moment, he realized his wife was not merely waiting for his eventual death, but was actively trying to seize full control before he even passed away.
PART 2
Two days later, Elias placed a smartphone right in front of Calvin on the tray table. Appearing live on the screen was Dr. Laura Minard, a renowned hepatobiliary surgeon joining from a specialized hospital in Nashville.
“The physical lesion is definitely present,” Dr. Minard clarified. “However, writing off a patient based solely on an initial scan is completely irresponsible. Judging by the elevated infection markers, this appears to be a massive internal abscess. It requires an urgent drainage procedure, a proper culture, and a thorough biopsy.”
Amber protested fiercely against the proposal for hours. She repeatedly claimed that the invasive procedure would only prolong the suffering of a terminally ill man. Dr. Gable, growing increasingly uncomfortable with her strange insistence, ultimately initiated the medical protocol without requesting her personal permission.
The detailed laboratory results arrived precisely forty-eight hours later.
“There are absolutely no malignant cells in these samples,” the doctor reported cheerfully. “It is a severe infection, but it is completely treatable with proper medication. He is going to live a full life.”
Calvin experienced immense relief, followed quickly by a heavy wave of deep sadness. Physical death had receded, yet his home life was entirely shattered.
Elias immediately wanted to confront the women with the truth, but Paula advised against it.
“If they learn that he will survive, they will cry fake tears, change their story, and claim it was all driven by emotional panic,” Paula warned. “We must allow them to keep acting out their true intentions.”
For five consecutive days, Amber received vague daily updates regarding Calvin’s temporary stabilization. Meanwhile, Paula systematically revoked all old powers of attorney, blocked every corporate bank account, and began carefully tracing internal phone records. She quickly discovered that Amber had already inquired about accessing private safe deposit boxes, calculated the exact value of her corporate shares, and researched ways to expedite estate settlement.
Calvin eventually returned home by feigning extreme physical weakness. Every morning, he quietly took his prescribed antibiotics and slumped into a large living room armchair while keeping a tiny recorder hidden inside his pocket. Amber spoke freely on her mobile phone right in front of him as if he were a piece of wooden furniture.
“He is still breathing, but he barely touches his food,” she remarked during one afternoon conversation. “It is probably best to wait just a little longer before moving the real estate properties.”
Ruby went even further with her actions. She personally brought two prospective buyers right into the private garage to inspect the vintage Mustang.
“The actual owner is still alive upstairs,” one buyer pointed out cautiously.
“Only for a short time,” Ruby responded nonchalantly. “After that happens, he will not care about anything anyway.”
Calvin overheard the cold remark from the nearby staircase landing. The precious car he had painstakingly restored alongside Barbara had just been reduced, in Ruby’s eyes, to quick money for a beach trip. That exact night, he called his attorney without hesitation.
“Include the Ford Mustang in our new estate plan,” Calvin instructed. “They will not get their hands on it.”
The attorney swiftly drafted a postnuptial agreement, a revised last will, an arrangement for the gradual transfer of company shares to key long-time employees, and a total revocation of any previous legal authorizations granted to Amber. She also arranged for a licensed notary to officially certify Calvin’s mental capacity.
Soon after, Amber proposed hosting a large Sunday gathering at the house for relatives, neighbors, and long-standing former staff members.
“Everyone truly wants to say their final goodbyes,” she said softly while gently stroking his shoulder. “We must allow our loved ones to prepare themselves.”
Calvin agreed to the gathering without showing any resistance.
