Chapter 1

"So after all that planning, your ultimate goal is just to trick her into giving back the 500 thousand dollars your parents left her?" Jaiden Erickson frowned.

He was a friend of my brother, Darnell Huff.

When Darnell didn't deny it, Jaiden looked at him in absolute disbelief. "Your family gave her life, but failed to raise her. You were the one who screwed up and lost her in the first place, leaving her at the mercy of human traffickers for 15 years.

"Now that you finally found her, you're pushing her away again? Darnell, are you even human?"

"Shut up!" Darnell grabbed Jaiden by the collar, furious.

"Even if it was my fault back then, I saved her from those traffickers myself. We're even!

"And my parents only told me to bring her back. They never said she had a permanent place in this family. Besides, I did give her the money. She's the one dumb enough to use it to save me. What was I supposed to do?"

He shrugged, completely indifferent. He didn't show a shred of sympathy for me.

"Amber, on the other hand, has a congenital heart condition. If she doesn't get this off her chest, it's going to ruin her health. As her brother, it's my job to protect her."

Darnell crossed his legs, sat back in the chair, and lit a cigarette.

Through the haze of smoke, I stared at his cold, detached face. My heart felt like it was being ripped out.

Because I had abruptly canceled my surgery, I had wasted the slot the hospital had reserved for me, taking a chance away from another stomach cancer patient.

Of the 505-thousand-dollar medical fee, the hospital only refunded me 500 thousand dollars.

To save Darnell, I couldn't bear to spend money on a cab. Ignoring the agonizing pain, I ran six miles with the cash on my back.

Now, my feet were bleeding, and my knees were scraped raw.

Worse, my late-stage stomach cancer had left me incredibly weak. The slightest exertion made me cough up pools of blood.

I had carried that heavy bag of money all this way, and the front of my shirt was soaked through with blood.

I had pushed through everything just to find Darnell, only to discover the entire abduction had been a setup.

My strength gave out, and I collapsed against the iron gate.

The noise startled Jaiden.

To play along with Darnell, he was wearing a ski mask, pretending to be an abductor as he stared down at my pathetic state.

But when he saw me covered in blood, his hand holding the knife froze midair.

It reminded me of the first time we met.

I hadn't eaten in three days and was being forced by traffickers to beg. Because I hadn't brought back enough money, four men hung me upside down from a post and beat me.

In the freezing April chill, I wore nothing but a thin, tattered shirt full of holes.

The gashes on my arms were deep enough to expose the bone.

When Jaiden saw me, his face was a mix of horror, pity, outrage, and helplessness.

He even got into a fistfight with the traffickers.

But Darnell, the toughest heir in Jindale, did nothing more than furrow his brows before casually throwing the money to the traffickers.

He didn't call the police or demand justice. He just said coldly, "Put her in the car."

"Sir," I rasped. "I brought the 500 thousand dollars."

Even with the mask on and the knife in his hand, I knew that Jaiden didn't really want to hurt me.

And I didn't want him to be caught in the middle of Darnell and me. So, I had no choice but to play along with their little act.

"Every single dollar is here. Please, I beg you, let my brother go! He's the only family I have left."

Suppressing the agony rising in my chest, I choked out the sentence.

My hands trembled violently as I held the bag of money out to him.

Jaiden hesitated. Just as his resolve seemed to waver, a beep suddenly sounded from the mini communicator attached to his chest.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught the words flashing on the screen.

My heart sank instantly.

"What are you waiting for? Take the money! She's just putting on an act to play the victim. Classic women's trick. Since she wants to play games, let's mess with her too!"