Chapter 1

~ LENA ~

My legs gave out the moment I stepped outside the hospital. I barely made it to the nearest bench before collapsing onto it. My whole body was shaking like a leaf. I had to clutch the edge of the seat to support myself.

“Breathe, Lena,” I whispered. “Breathe.”

I tried to, but my lungs seemed to have forgotten how. It felt as though a hand had wrapped itself around my chest, squeezing tighter and tighter until it hurt.

Around me, everything was normal. The world continued as though nothing had happened. Nurses rushed past, stretchers rolled by, voices rose and fell.

Life went on.

But it all sounded distant to my ears. Muffled. Because my world had just fallen apart.

Forty-eight hours.

That was how long my sister, Sofia, had left to live.

The doctor’s voice wouldn’t stop echoing inside my head. He had spoken calmly to my mother and I, but his words had landed like a death sentence.

“Mrs. Martinez… I’m afraid we don’t have much time. Sofia needs surgery within the next forty-eight hours. Without it, her heart could fail. We could lose her.”

I swallowed hard as the weight of those words pressed down on me.

Sofia had been born with a congenital heart condition that had slowly gotten worse over the years. Now, it had reached the point where she needed an urgent surgery to survive. A surgery that cost a fortune we didn’t have.

I had tried everything to raise the money. Everything—from loans, to charities, to churches. Even friends I hadn’t spoken to in years.

Dead ends. Every single one of them.

Now I sat here asking myself a question I already knew the answer to.

Where, in God’s name, were we supposed to find a hundred and eighty thousand dollars for a life-saving heart surgery?

My salary as a secretary was barely enough to keep food on the table and the lights on.

My mother cleaned houses for a living. A job with no benefits, no insurance, nothing to fall back on.

Together, we barely survived.

Now this?

This was impossible.

Inside the hospital room earlier, I’d watched my mother collapse into a chair after the doctor delivered the news and walked away. She had gone pale instantly.

“I’m just a maid,” she’d cried, her voice breaking. “W-where am I… Where am I going to get that kind of money from?”

I had held her. I had told her everything would be okay, that we’d figure it out.

I had lied because she needed me to be strong. She couldn’t see my fear. She couldn’t know how close I was to falling apart myself.

But out here, alone, I couldn’t hold it in anymore. The tears came fast, flowing down my cheeks as my body shook with quiet sobs.

I felt so small, so helpless. Trapped. Like the world had finally backed me into a corner with nowhere left to turn.

Only a miracle could save my sister now. I knew that.

So I prayed, broken words spilling between my sobs.

“Please, God… Please don’t let Sofie die… Please don’t take her away from us.”

My mother wasn’t going to survive it. I was sure of that.

I didn’t know how it would happen. I didn’t know where the help would come from.

I only knew it had to come. God had to do something.

“Miss Martinez?”

The voice cut through my thoughts so suddenly that I jerked, my heart leaping into my throat. I looked up, wiping my face quickly as I came to my feet.

A man stood a few steps away from me. Tall, well-built, impeccably dressed in a dark Tom Ford trench coat and business suit that looked completely out of place in a public hospital.

Everything about him screamed wealth. Power. Control. From his polished shoes to the calm, assessing look in his eyes. And for reasons I couldn’t explain, my heart skipped as he looked at me.

There was a brief glint of something else I caught in his eyes. Something that looked like amazement. But it was quickly masked.

“Yes?” I answered, my voice sounding a bit hoarse.

“Miss Martinez.” He met my gaze with a serious expression. “My name is Julian Blackwood. I’d like to have a moment with you, please.”

Panic hit me instantly. My heart began racing. I had stepped out of Sofia’s room only minutes ago. Had something happened in the little time I’d been away?

“Wait—a-are you from the doctor? Is something wrong? My sister—” My voice broke. “Is she okay?”

“Relax,” he said calmly. “Your sister is fine. She’s going to be fine, I assure you.”

He sounded certain. Too certain for a stranger.

“Wait—” Confused, I moved a step back. “Who are you again?”

“Julian. Julian Blackwood. We haven’t met before.”

“But you know me… How do you know my name?”

“Can we talk somewhere quieter?”

I scoffed, impatient. “Look, Mr., I don’t know who you are or what you want from me. But as you can see, this isn’t a good time, and the last thing I feel like doing at the moment is talking!”

That sounded harsh, but I couldn’t help it. My pain and frustrations were eating at me so badly that I just wanted to be left alone to cry in peace.

“I understand.”

He didn’t flinch at my tone. He didn’t look offended. Rather, something like compassion flickered in his eyes as fresh tears rolled down my cheeks.

“I don’t mean to be a bother, Lena,” he said quietly. “I just want to help.”

My eyes snapped back to his at the sound of my first name coming from his lips. “How do you know my name?”

“I know much more than your name, Lena Martinez,” he continued, taking a step closer, but making sure not to come too close. “I know where you live, where you work. I know you’re the daughter of Isabella Martinez. Your sister, Sofia—she needs urgent surgery. Surgery that costs a lot of money.”

I froze at his revelation, my eyes widening more and more with each fact he stated.

“I can give you the money—all of it.”

“What?”

Shock barely covered what I felt. At this point, I didn’t know whether to be happy or terrified.

Just who was this man, and where had he come from?

“I can make sure your sister gets the surgery done immediately. With the best doctors in this hospital.”

My mind struggled to catch up with what he was saying.

This didn’t make sense. Nothing about this made sense.

“Why?” I asked, confused. “What do you want—in exchange?”

There was no way this was free. Angels didn’t wear Tom Ford suits. There was definitely a catch, and it wasn’t something I was going to like. I was sure of it.

Julian glanced briefly towards the emergency entrance where an ambulance was pulling in, then looked back at me.

“Give me five minutes of your undivided attention. Not here—someplace quiet. If after five minutes you’re not interested in my offer, you can walk away.”

He paused, letting the words hang in the air as he studied my face, waiting for my answer.

My mind raced, thinking about everything.

Sofia.

Forty-eight hours.

One hundred and eighty thousand dollars.

My throat went dry. “Y-you’re sure about this? This isn’t a game, is it? You’re not messing with me, are you?”

His gaze held mine, unwavering. “Miss Martinez, I didn’t come all the way from New York to play games with you. I mean every word I said. Trust me. You could make the right choice now and save your sister’s life.”

My heart hammered against my chest. Something about him—the certainty, the way he said it—made my mind teeter on the edge of desperation.

I wanted to ask more questions, demand more explanation. But deep down, I knew I didn’t have the luxury of doubt or time. Sofia was counting on me. She was counting on her big sister to save her life. And that was all that mattered.

In sudden determination, I took a deep breath, wiped my face and nodded. “Okay.”

“Good.” Something unreadable flickered in his eyes before he turned, leading the way. “Come with me.”