The Family That Destroyed My Clan Came Asking for a Cure

One of my ancestors was once a legendary physician of traditional medicine. Because he treated a powerful figure, our entire clan nearly faced extermination. From that day on, our forefather laid down a strict family rule: no descendant was ever allowed to practice medicine again.

Though the family stopped practicing, the medical knowledge itself was passed down to me.

In everyday life, whenever relatives or friends had minor ailmentsheadaches, fevers, nagging painsI would take a look.

I never guaranteed results, and I never charged a fee.

At most, I would prescribe a formula or help with acupuncture.

Yet some illnesses that hospitals couldn't cure somehow showed signs of hope in my hands.

Privately, the relatives started calling me little doctor.

This was especially true on my wife's side of the family. Every time we met, they couldn't help praising me.

Because of that, my wife admired me deeply, and it made me feel quietly satisfied.

I once thought my life would continue peacefully like this, steady and uneventful, all the way to old age.

Until my wife introduced another patient, and everything changed.

Everyone had a sense of vanityit was only a matter of degree.

My wife always hoped I would gain fame through my medical skills. We argued about it several times. Because of my insistence, she could only give in.

But behind my back, she kept bringing people to me for treatment anyway. Not relatives, but people like former classmates or current colleagues.

Their conditions were minor. I was confident I could handle them, and I didn't want to start another argument, so I treated them as a favor.

Afterward, I would always talk to my wife, asking her not to bring anyone except family again.

She agreed every time, but afterward, she went her own way, disregarding what I said.

Gradually, I noticed she began wearing extra jewelryaccessories she hadn't had before.

It turned out she had been charging them in secret.

When I found out, I flew into a rage. Only then did she repeatedly promise she would never bring another patient again.

But today, she asked once more. "Hubby, it's my boss's father. Please help me, okay?"

"I already bragged about you. If you don't help, I might lose my job. You wouldn't have the heart to let me lose my job, would you?"

"Hubby... darling..."

She grabbed my arm and shook it gently, acting spoiled.

"My salary alone is enough to support our little family," I said patiently. "Be goodwe don't have to bow for a few grains of rice. Besides, with your ability, if this place won't keep you, another will."

"Hubby..." She looked up at me, and tears spilled from her eyes.

I hurriedly wiped them away.

She said nothing, just cried and looked at me. Her tears were her most lethal weapon. I couldn't defend against them.

"Fine," I sighed. "Just this once. Never again."

"I knew you were the best to me!" She rose on tiptoe and brushed a quick kiss against my lips.

I pulled her into my arms and rubbed her head indulgently. "I really don't know what to do with you. Let's go."

...

More than an hour later, my wife and I arrived at the Holland residence.

The moment I saw the portrait hanging in the Holland family's living room, I froze.

I never imagined such a coincidence could exist in this world.

My family had the same portrait.

It was our family's eternal pain.

My ancestor left that portrait behind as a warning to future generationsnever practice medicine again.

The man in the painting was the very person who had caused my forefather to be imprisoned and eventually executed.

Even though I secretly treated people now, I would never treat anyone from this family.

Not for any illness.

This was my bottom line.

I had only known that my wife's boss had the surname Holland. I never imagined he was descended from that man.

"What's wrong?" my wife asked softly when she noticed I was dazed.

"I suddenly don't feel well," I said, grabbing her hand. "Let's go home."

"Wait."

My wife's boss stopped me.

"You're a descendant of the Ramirez Divine Physician, aren't you? You refused to treat my father because you recognized the portrait of the Holland family's ancestor, right?"

He looked straight at me.

"I know my father's illness can only be cured by a descendant of the Ramirez family. If you don't step in, you won't be walking out of this door."

"This is a country governed by law," I said calmly, pulling out my phone and pressing the emergency call screen. "Are you sure you want to keep me here by force?"

The man stared at me.

"You can call the police," he said coldly. "When that happens, I'll provide them with evidence. You've treated quite a few people over the yearsbut you don't have a medical license. Do you need me to explain the law to you?"

"I still believe in human conscience," I said, meeting his gaze. "Not everyone is as cold-blooded as your family."

"Conscience?" He laughed softly. "You're in your thirties, aren't you? And you still believe in conscience? Should I call that innocenceor childishness?"

"Jenna told me she has a habit. Every time you treat someone, she records it."

"She said she likes how you look when you're saving lives, so she films it to watch again later."

"Did you really believe that?"

He unlocked his phone and opened a video.

"I have all of them. Even if every patient you treated suddenly grows a conscience and denies you ever helped themhow do you explain these videos to the police?"

I turned to look at my wife, Jenna.

"Hubby..." Her voice trembled with tears. "I just wanted to prove to Mr. Holland that you really know medicine. I never thought it would turn out like this."

"It's okay," I said, taking her hand. "This isn't your fault."

Then I looked back at Hugo.

"Mr. Holland, your way of driving a wedge is very straightforward. So I'll be just as direct."

"I will not treat your father."

"As for being arrestedI'll accept it."

"Accept it?" Hugo poked my chest repeatedly with his finger. "Will your family accept it?"

"You still have a mortgage on your house. Your car payments aren't finished either."

"Your son's training classes cost a fortune every year."

"And the elders in your family still rely on you for support."

"You accept itwho's going to pay all of that?"

He turned his gaze to Jenna.

"Her?"

"You think she can keep working at my company if you refuse?"

"With my position, do you think I can't blacklist her from the entire industry?"

"You go inside, and the people outside still have to live."

"Derek, have you thought about any of that?"

Jenna grabbed my arm, a hint of panic gleamed in her eyes. "Hubby, you always say that saving one life earns seven lifetimes of merit. The grudges of the past should stay in the past."

"President Holland said that as long as you help, I'll get a promotion and a raise. He'll also give us a generous consultation feeand even help our son get into the best elementary school."

I looked at Jenna.

I didn't blame her for letting vanity get the better of her, for showing off my medical skills everywhere.

But I never expected her to say something like that.

Let the past go?

Could it really be let go?

I had told her about our ancestral grudge. That failing to avenge our forebears was already unfilial.

Treating the enemy's illness?

That was unforgivable.

Yet when I saw her reddened eyes, how could I bring myself to blame her?

She was too simple-minded.

Just like me, she was also a victim.

Hugo had seized my weakness perfectly. In the end, I could only compromise.

For the next seven days, my wife and I remained at the Holland residence.

Every day I examined the old master's pulse, prescribed medicine, and performed acupuncture.

My heart was in torment.

The past was a hurdle I still couldn't cross. But I lived in the presentand I couldn't drag down the people around me.

Seven days later, the old man, Oliver, was able to get out of bed.

All he needed was another week of medicine, and he would fully recover.

My wife and I were still kept at the Holland house.

Another seven days passed.

Oliver moved freely. He went to the hospital for a full examination, and the results confirmed that there were no remaining issues.

Oliver specially arranged a banquet in my honor.

I didn't want to attend, but I was forced to stay.

Midway through the meal, Oliver looked at me and spoke.

"The Ramirez family's medical arts are indeed extraordinary," he said courteously. "Next, I'd like to go over the entire treatment process you used on me. If there are any shortcomings, I hope you'll enlighten me."

His tone was polite.

Then he beganfrom pulse diagnosis to acupuncture, from prescription theory to the final medicationmeticulously analyzing every step.

My expression grew darker by the second.

They were stealing my craft.

With modern technology, cameras could record my entire treatment process, including every acupuncture technique.

And the Holland family itself was a lineage of traditional physicians.

My worst fear had come true.

Just as always, the Holland family crossed the river and destroyed the bridge behind them.

Right in front of me, Hugo dialed the police.

The Holland family's illness was geneticonly my family had ever been able to treat it. Now that they had mastered the method, fulfilled the dream they had once failed to steal... Why would they let me live?

I had been too na?ve.

...

"Before the police arrive," Hugo said calmly, "let me tell you one more secret."

Holland family servants brought in two childrena boy and a girl.

"Mommy!"

"Mommy!"

They ran straight toward Jenna.

Jenna embraced them, smiling radiantly.

She looked at me.

"Thank you," she said softly. "Hugo promised that as long as I cooperated and got you to treat him, he'd give me status."

Memories surged violently in my mind.

"So that's why," I said hoarsely, "you deliberately had your relatives call me back then and made me leave overnight."

"And after I left, you told me the baby didn't survive... but the truth was, you gave birth."

"Because you were certain the child wasn't mine."

Jenna stayed silent. Her expression was answer enough.

"Then our son..." My voice trembled. "Is he mine?"

"Who do you think he looks more like?" Hugo asked with a victor's smile. "Youor me?"

That smile became an invisible blade, plunging straight into my heart.

I turned to Jenna again.

"So from the very beginning, you approached me with an agenda?"

She answered with silence once more.

Only then did I realizethis marriage that lasted ten years had been a lie from start to finish.

For ten years, she acted gentle. For ten years, she played the role of the virtuous wife.

All for this single day.

Hugo poured me a glass of wine.

"Anything else you want to ask?" he said lightly. "Anything you want to say?"

This time, I was the one who fell silent. There was nothing left to ask. Nothing left to say.

"A feud spanning centuries must eventually come to an end," Hugo said, clinking his glass against mine. "You should understandso long as a Ramirez descendant exists, the Holland family can never stand at the pinnacle of medicine."

"So the Ramirez family can't be allowed to remain as a hidden threat."

"This is nothing more than your loss. If you're a man, you should accept defeat."

My ancestor left a rule forbidding future generations from practicing medicine.

Yet no descendant ever forgot the blood-soaked lesson of the pastor abandoned the hope of someday turning the tables.

Over centuries, the Ramirez family spread and branched out.

In every generation, one representative would be chosen.

Only that person would know the deeper truths. Only that person would understand the Holland family and continue the struggle.

I was not the chosen representative of my generation.

So the one who truly lostwasn't just me. It was the entire Ramirez family.

The Holland family was powerful. Now that they had fully mastered the cure to their hereditary disease, they would surely unleash merciless force against the Ramirez clan.

I looked at Jenna.

For this womanI had doomed my entire family.

Even ten thousand deaths would not atone for my sin.

"Every generation has its heroes and its cowards," Hugo continued, twisting the knife. "Of course, to different people, the same person plays different roles."

"To the Ramirez family, you're nothing but a traitor and a coward."

"But to Jenna..."

"You're a hero."

"For this small family, you gave everythingshouldered all the blameand bore the infamy alone."

"Practicing medicine illegally won't get you a long sentence," Hugo said coldly. "But it's enough to destroy everything you have. And once you're out... the Ramirez family may come for you themselves."

"Hugo." Jenna stopped him from continuing.

She stepped to my side.

"I did marry Derek with a purpose," she admitted. "But we lived together for ten years. He treated me well. One should still have a conscience."

"We can't drive him to total ruin. You've seen his medical skillswhy not keep him here and let him flourish under the Holland family?"

Hugo frowned.

Oliver spoke up calmly, "Jenna has devoted ten years of her youth to this family. We should at least respect her wishes."

Only then did Hugo relent.

"Derek," he said, "as long as you agree to work for my family, I'll explain everything to the police when they arrive."

I looked at Jenna and laughed softly. "Do you really think I'm that na?ve? That stupid?"

"You sell me outand expect me to help you count the money afterward?"

"Derek, I'm doing this for your own good," Jenna said urgently. "How can you think of me like that?"

She even forced out a few tears. "Don't be so stubborn. If you're convicted, your life will be over."

"You won't be in prison for many years, that's truebut will the Ramirez family forgive you?"

"If you stay with the Holland family, with your skills, you'll still live well. They'll even help you get a medical license."

I cut her off.

"I lost," I said calmly. "And I accept it."

"Why are you being so stubborn?" She frowned. "Can't you hear it? The sirens are getting closer."

"You were able to deceive me because I loved you. Because I still believed there was goodness in this world," I clapped back. "But don't think you can force me."

"My back can be brokenbut it will never bend on its own."

I stood up and walked toward the door. "Whatever comes next, whatever I have to bearI'll take it."

Jenna's face turned ugly.

I was only a collateral branch of the Ramirez familybut my medical talent was exceptional.

The Holland family wanted me alive, wanted me working for them.

Jenna tried everythingemotional ties, threats, temptations.

She hadn't expected me to reject it all.

She approached me to harm me. Even the child I thought my son wasn't mine.

My heart was already deadwhat was there left to fear?

I walked out of the room and faced the arriving police officers, extending my hands voluntarily.

Jenna and Hugo followed behind me.

Hugo lowered his voice. "Derek, before the police asked me why I called themyou still have a chance."

Jenna echoed him, "You're still young. You have a future. Don't be obsessed and ruin yourself."

I didn't respond.

Hugo's expression hardened. He reported my illegal medical practice to the police and submitted the videos as evidence.

I was taken away and placed in temporary detention.

The police launched an investigation, visiting the homes of patients I had treated.

At the same time, the Holland family had already begun celebrating.

Their hereditary illness had tormented them for centuries. With no cure in sight, everyone lived under constant fear.

Today, that curse was finally broken. They summoned the entire clan home to celebrate.

Inside the Holland estate, there was laughter and jubilation. While inside the detention center, I waited in silence.

That night, Holland family membersyoung and oldarrived one after another, celebrating as a whole clan.