Chapter 4

It was not easy for me to finally get into my car, and that was when Irina called me. “It must feel horrible to be hated by everyone. Do you admit defeat now, Son?”

I stopped her right away. “Shut up. It was disgusting to hear you call me that.”

“It hurts to know you feel that way. Unfortunately, I’m still your mother whether you admit it or not.” Irina laughed, then sighed.

“You should agree to the surgery as soon as possible. You need to understand that I have other ways to save him besides using the artificial heart.”

“If that is true, go ahead.” I hung up without hesitation and drove home. I saw cars surrounding mine through the rearview mirror. It took less than a minute before I was stopped.

A black Mercedes‑Benz blocked my path, and someone stepped out. It was Irina. She leaned against the car. “If you refuse to do this the easy way, I will have to do it the hard way.”

Her bodyguards held me down on both sides and forced me into her car. Irina sat next to me and said, “I can’t believe it’s you, Leo, and I really want you to stay alive. If only you agreed to the surgery, but you didn’t.

“Without an artificial heart, I’ll need to use your heart to replace your father’s.”

As I was held down, I could only glare at her. “This was the same way Dad died 10 years ago, wasn’t it?”

Irina lit a cigarette and took a drag, blowing smoke into the air. “You’re a smart boy, but just as stubborn as your father.” She glanced at me from the corner of her eye. “I wanted to discuss things with him, but he refused.

“He said he promised to travel with you after your graduation and wanted to keep his promise before giving his heart to Steve. Did he think I was stupid? I could tell he was trying to stall for time.

“Your father wanted to stall until Steve died so he could live. How could I let him do that?”

I could hardly control my emotions. “So, you kidnapped him that day and forcefully took his heart to extend Steve’s life.”

“That’s right. I didn’t expect his heart to be as useless as he was. It lasted only 10 years before it started to fail.” Irina looked at me coldly, as if I was already dead. “Fortunately, I begged him for a child when I learned I could use his heart.

“If his heart failed, I would still have yours. If you hadn’t left home 10 years ago, and I lost my source of a heart, I wouldn’t have thought about the artificial heart.”

I glared at Irina. “So, you framed me for embezzling funds and orchestrated the smear campaign to encourage everyone to dig up my information.”

Irina laughed. “Didn’t you already know that?”

The car drove toward a private hospital where Steve was admitted. Irina escorted me out and looked sincerely into my eyes. “Don’t worry. You’ll sign the agreement to voluntarily donate your heart just like your father did, and you’ll help Steve extend his life.

“When people talk about you in the future, they will say you did it to redeem your sins.”

I clenched my teeth and roared my last words. “You’ll regret this, Irina Cress. You’ll pay for everything you did.”

Irina did not give me a second glance and pushed me toward the doctors. “Sure. I’ll be waiting.”

When I turned my back on Irina, I finally smiled. The phone in my pocket blinked with a signal that showed everything was being livestreamed.

Everything Irina said and did became evidence in that moment, including the truth about my father’s death 10 years ago.

When I entered the surgery room, I saw Steve lying in bed. He cried as he said to Irina, “This is wonderful. You found him. We can be together again.”

Steve was never innocent. He had been part of this from beginning to end, and I looked at him with deep hate. I was tied to the operating table and was about to be injected with anesthesia through the back of my hand.

When the liquid was about to enter my skin, I heard commotion outside, and I knew the people I had been waiting for had arrived. The surgery room door was kicked open, and it crashed against the wall.

“Don’t move. Nobody move.”