Chapter 3

The Price of a Soul

The bus ride back to Ballard was long and quiet. I sat by the window, watching the rain start to smear the glass. My head felt light, like it was filled with static. I had walked out on a billionaire. I had thrown a contract at a superstar. My pride was still buzzing in my chest, but it was a cold, hollow feeling.

I kept thinking about Klaus’s eyes. They were so hard. So empty.

When I finally reached my neighborhood, the sun was starting to go down. Our house was a small, gray thing that looked like it was leaning to one side. The paint was peeling, and the front porch creaked under my feet. It was the only thing my parents had left us, and I was failing to keep it together.

I walked inside and headed straight for the kitchen. I needed to drink some water and figure out which bill to pay first with the little money I had left from the gala.

My phone rang. It was the hospital.

I picked it up on the first ring, my heart hammering against my ribs. "Hello? This is Liam."

"Mr. Vance, this is the nurses' station," a woman said. She sounded rushed. "You need to get here as soon as possible. Leo has had a severe respiratory collapse. We’re moving him to the ICU right now."

The phone almost slipped from my hand. "What? I was just there! He was sleeping!"

"Things changed quickly, Liam. Please, hurry."

I didn't even hang up. I just ran. I didn't have money for a taxi, so I ran five blocks to the nearest transit hub, my lungs burning in the cold air. I made it onto a train, tapping my feet against the floor, feeling like the world was moving in slow motion.

When I burst through the hospital doors, I was gasping for air. I ran toward the elevators, my vision blurring.

The ICU was different from the regular ward. It was quieter, but the quiet felt heavy. I saw Dr. Reed standing by a desk, talking to a nurse. He looked up and saw me, and his face fell.

"Where is he?" I asked, stumbling toward him. "Where is Leo?"

"He’s in room four, Liam," Dr. Reed said, catching me by the shoulders to steady me. "We have him on a ventilator. He’s stable for the moment, but his lungs are failing. The infection moved faster than we ever expected."

"Can you fix it?" I gripped his white coat, my knuckles turning white. "Tell me you can fix it."

Dr. Reed sighed. He looked at the floor, then back at me. "We can, but we need to start a very specific, very aggressive treatment tonight. It involves a specialized team and medicine that we don't keep on the general floor."

He paused, and I knew what was coming. I could feel it in my gut.

"Liam, I just got off the phone with the billing office. They’ve flagged the account again. Because of the level of care he needs now, they are requiring a ten-thousand-dollar deposit before we can move forward with the new medication. They won't release the order without it."

"Ten thousand?" I whispered. My head started to spin. I felt like the floor was tilting. "I don't have it. Doc, please. You know me. I’ll get it. I’ll work more shifts, I’ll—"

"I know you will," Reed said, his voice full of pity. "But I don't run the hospital, Liam. The board is strict. If the money isn't there, they’ll keep him on basic support, but it won't be enough to clear the infection. He’ll... he won't make it through the night."

I looked through the glass of room four. I could see Leo’s small body. There were so many wires. So many tubes. He looked like a doll, not a boy.

I looked at my hands. They were shaking. I looked pathetic. I was nineteen years old, and I was watching my brother die because I was too proud to sign a piece of paper. I thought about Klaus in that boardroom, looking at me like I was a problem to be solved.

He had known. He had sat there and watched me walk away, knowing I’d be back.

I walked away from Dr. Reed, heading to a quiet corner of the waiting room. I pulled out my phone and found the number for Sarah, Klaus’s assistant. My eyes were stinging with tears I refused to let fall.

I hit dial.

"Sarah?" I said when she answered. "It’s Liam. I need to talk to Klaus. Now."

"One moment, Mr. Vance."

There was a click, then silence. Then, his voice.

"Liam."

It wasn't a question. It was just a statement. He sounded so calm. So far away from the panic I was feeling.

"I’ll do it," I said, my voice breaking. I hated myself. I hated every breath I was taking. "I’ll sign. I’ll live in the penthouse. I’ll be the fake friend. I’ll do whatever you want. Just pay it. Please. Leo is dying, Klaus. Please save him."

There was a long silence on the other end. I held my breath, terrified he would say no just to punish me for walking out.

"Check your email," Klaus said. His voice was low and focused. "I sent the digital copy of the contract an hour ago. Sign it now. The moment the signature is logged, the wire transfer will hit the hospital’s account."

"I'm signing it," I said.

I opened the email with shaking fingers. I didn't read the pages. I didn't care about the rules or the word count or the settings. I just scrolled until I hit the signature box. I typed my name.

Liam Vance.

"It’s done," I whispered into the phone.

"Stay there," Klaus said. "I’m handling it."

He hung up.

I slumped against the wall and let out a sob that I had been holding in for years. I had just sold myself. I had given my life to a man who didn't even like me anymore.

Five minutes later, Dr. Reed came running down the hall. He looked shocked. "Liam! The office just called. The funds just cleared. Not just the deposit, but a full pre-payment for the next month of care. It’s a miracle."

"Yeah," I said, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand. "A miracle."

I watched them wheel a large machine into Leo’s room. I watched them start the treatment that would save his life. I should have felt happy, but I just felt empty.

My phone buzzed.

A car is outside the emergency entrance. The driver has the hardcopy. You sign it, and you come with him. No stops. No excuses.

I looked at Leo one last time through the glass. I didn't even get to hold his hand. I didn't get to tell him I was leaving.

I walked out of the ICU, down the stairs, and through the sliding doors. The black car was there, idling in the rain. The driver got out and opened the door. He handed me a folder and a pen.

I got into the back seat. The door shut, and the sounds of the hospital faded away. I looked at the paper. It was the same one I had thrown at him. I smoothed out the wrinkles as best as I could and signed my name again, this time in ink.

The driver looked at me in the mirror. "Ready, Mr. Vance?"

I looked at my old house as we drove past the Ballard exit. I looked at the life I had tried so hard to build.

"Go," I said.

The car moved toward the city lights, carrying me away from everything I knew and into the gold-plated world of the man who had bought me.