I nodded, too anxious to think about the strange look in his eyes, and hurried off to get the food.
When I returned to the ward, I found my mother struggling to breathe without the oxygen mask, clutching the bed sheets, her chest rising and falling erratically.
Panicked, I screamed for a nurse, "Where is my mother's ventilator? She can't breathe!"
The nurse stammered, "Mr. Johnson came by earlier. He said your mother's condition wasn't critical and took the ventilator for another patient who needed it more."
The nurse's words hit me like a ton of bricks-- who could need it more than my mother?
Without a second thought, I ran to find James, determined to confront him about why he took away the one thing keeping my mother alive.
In a frantic search, I finally spotted him in the VIP room, the ventilator next to the plump woman!
"James! How could you take Mom's ventilator away?"
James sneered, "She was just complaining! The machine is for patients who need it more!"
I looked at the rosy-faced woman; it was clear my mother needed it more!
Desperate, I lunged to push the ventilator away, but James grabbed me and threw me to the ground, disdainfully shouting,