New York – The Murphy Mansion
The dinner Adam had set up completely threw Steven Murphy off his game.
So much so that he clocked out early and headed home.
His father, Peter Murphy, wasn't back yet.
It was just his mom at the house.
Steven spilled the whole story.
"Oh, I see," Mrs. Murphy said with a smile. "You did it for the patient's sake, right? A couple hundred grand's no big deal. As long as you're happy and learning something, I don't see the problem."
"Mom, then why do you think Adam set up this dinner?" Steven asked, puzzled.
"Maybe he's trying to play nice with you," she replied breezily. "Don't worry about what's going on in his head."
"Yeah!"
Steven perked up, soaking in his mom's confidence.
Exactly!
Who cares what Adam thinks? It's about what he thinks!
With his doubts melting away, mama's boy Steven and his mother started chatting about funny hospital stories, laughing and bonding like old times.
"Sir's back," the maid announced after a call from the lobby downstairs. She told Mrs. Murphy, then headed to the door and opened it.
The private elevator dinged.
Pharma titan Peter Murphy stepped out, his face a mask of cool indifference.
"Dad!"
Steven jumped up to greet him.
Mrs. Murphy stepped forward, taking her husband's briefcase and helping him out of his coat.
"Hm."
Peter sized up his son with a glance and gave a slight nod. "This Adam Duncan—he's your classmate, right? You two were never tight. Why's he inviting us to dinner now?"
"Uh…"
Under his father's piercing stare, all the bold CEO vibes Steven had picked up from his mom vanished.
Because his dad? He was the real deal. Steven? Not even close.
"Here's the thing…" Mrs. Murphy jumped in, brushing it off with a casual recap.
"That's reckless!" Peter snapped, his brow furrowing. "You're a doctor, Steven. Your job is to quietly sharpen your skills, impress your superiors with your talent, earn their respect, and get more surgeries. That's how you grow—it's a virtuous cycle. You don't buy your way into an OR!"
"Honey, what's the big deal?" Mrs. Murphy tried to smooth it over. "It's just one surgery. A few hundred thousand. Steven said it's cutting-edge—great learning experience."
"What do you know about it?" Peter shot back. "This isn't about the money! Adam Duncan's a billionaire too—the youngest one out there. You ever see him throwing cash around like that? No! Even when Steven snatched his surgery right in front of everyone, he didn't flash his wallet to take it back!"
"That's because he knows he can't outspend Steven," Mrs. Murphy countered.
"Steven's money?" Peter's gaze sharpened as his usually gentle wife went full mama bear. "What money does he have? That's my money! And without my say-so, no one's touching it."
Mrs. Murphy clammed up.
Steven dropped his head, quiet as a quail.
Peter's expression softened a bit as he sighed. "Adam Duncan's fortune might not match mine, but he built it from scratch in the arts. His liquid cash might even top mine.
A creative kid like that, striking it rich so young—he should be the cockiest guy in the room. If something like this happened, he wouldn't hesitate to throw down, whether it's against you or even me.
But has he?
No!
Not only did he not get mad or flex his wealth over the surgery, he reached out to us, trying to smooth over any bad blood.
That's maturity!
Steven, you and him are classmates and colleagues.
You're both loaded—you didn't need to grind through med school or put up with all that crap.
But you both did.
Why? Because you're cut from the same cloth. You should've been best friends—the perfect pair to be best friends.
I told you this back when you started med school.
But you didn't listen.
Fine! If you can't be best buds, at least don't clash—just be regular classmates.
But what are you doing now, Steven?
You're stealing his surgery, picking a fight. For what?
You short on cutting-edge cases? If you really want them, I can ship you somewhere tomorrow where you'll get groundbreaking surgeries every day!
You up for that?"
Steven's head sank lower, regret creeping in.
"Peter," Mrs. Murphy said softly, unable to watch her son squirm.
"Ugh."
Peter shook his head at his son's meekness. "Fine, forget the best friends thing. Let's talk about buying surgeries. Even if it wasn't Adam Duncan's case, you still shouldn't have done it."
"Why not?" Mrs. Murphy asked, confused.
Steven peeked up at his dad too.
"Because it's not just about the money," Peter said gravely. "If this gets out, Steven's a target. Every patient he operates on will demand he foot the bill. Then what?
Sure, we can afford it.
But what's the point of being a doctor who only gets cases by paying for them? And if some fearless crook comes along to scam us, we might not plug that hole. Worst of all, how do we keep Steven safe?
Didn't the med center just have a shooting a few days ago?
I'll tell you this: the med center's tame compared to the rest of the country. Hospital shootings happen way too often across the U.S.
If Steven's wealth gets exposed and every schemer's got their eyes on him, how dangerous would that be?"
"Oh!" Mrs. Murphy gasped, startled. "That's terrifying! Maybe, Steven, you should quit medicine and come home to learn the family business with your dad."
"Steven, what do you think?" Peter asked, turning to his son.
"I still want to be a doctor," Steven said, his face pale but resolute.
Like his dad said, he had everything—yet he'd busted his ass through med school because he loved it.
"Fine. But you've got to keep a low profile. No more buying surgeries," Peter warned. "And tonight, you're apologizing to Adam Duncan—sincerely!
Trust me, he's already thought all this through. He hasn't spread some 'free healthcare courtesy of Murphy' rumor because he's in the same boat as you—rich and a doctor by choice.
Unless you push him too far, he's not about to do something dumb that screws you both.
But if you keep poking him, do you really think a guy who made it big so young is gonna keep taking it?"
"Steven, listen to your dad," Mrs. Murphy said, her tune completely flipped.
"Yeah," Steven mumbled. What else could he say?
Nightfall
When Adam arrived, he didn't even get a chance to drop a subtle threat before Peter laid out his whole thought process. Adam couldn't help but admire how Peter had built his empire from nothing—success like that wasn't random.
He accepted Steven's apology.
Better to bury the hatchet than keep a grudge.
Especially since the other side's firepower outclassed his.
Still, Adam was curious—what flipped Steven Murphy so fast?
"No big reason," Steven said, eyes down. "You're just getting bigger at the hospital, and the gap between us keeps growing. I didn't want to fall too far behind."
"Heh." Adam chuckled.
After Dinner
Back at his apartment, Adam dialed a number.
As someone said: Own your mistakes, and take your lumps standing tall!
Steven had owned up.
But he hadn't taken his lumps yet.
How could this be over…?