Lucas bursts into his mother's kitchen crying, "Mom, help me — I was bitten by a snake." She dismisses him as a liar, favors Nathan, and orders him out. Paramedics find him in the south residential area and bring him to hospital. Doctors control the venom but blood tests reveal a severe illness; they say he needs an immediate bone marrow transplant or he'll die and demand emergency and antivenom fees. Calls for help fail. Mrs. Miller refuses to meet him and sends him back to his room, leaving treatment and payment unresolved.