Chapter 4

Three days before the wedding, a nurse called to ask me to come in for the transfer paperwork.

I had barely stepped into the hallway when the shrill wail of an emergency alarm tore through the air.

Several doctors burst out of a room pushing a gurney, and on it lay my mother, wearing an oxygen mask, her face drained of all color.

"The patient's in acute heart failure! Get her to the ER now! Page the cardiac team and prep the bypass machine!"

The forms scattered from my hands. My mind went blank. White as a sheet, I chased after the gurney and planted myself outside the operating room.

Julian rushed over after getting a call from the nurse.

Seeing my trembling shoulders, he wrapped his arms around me tightly, his voice solemn. "Mia, I've already called in the best cardiac surgeon! Our wedding is just around the corner. Your mother will pull through and be there to bless us!"

Before he could finish, a frantic set of footsteps came pounding down the hallway.

"Mr. Ashford! It's an emergency!"

"Miss Blake collapsed into shock in her room for no apparent reason! After three years bedridden, her heart and lung function is extremely weak. She and the baby could both die at any moment. She needs the bypass machine immediately!"

Julian's face drained of color.

Almost simultaneously, the ER doors burst open and a nurse shouted desperately into the hallway, "Hurry! The patient's crashing! Is the bypass machine here yet? Get the cardiac team in here!"

The hospital's only available bypass machine sat in the middle of the hallway.

The doctor froze. On one side, a dying mother. On the other, a pregnant woman in acute distress. He instinctively looked to Julian.

"Save Serena first!"

Julian's eyes were bloodshot. He gave the order without a second's hesitation.

The nurse was horrified. "Mr. Ashford, Mrs. Harper is on the brink of death! Without this machine and the specialists, she won't survive five minutes!"

Julian whipped around, cruelty written across his face. "Mrs. Harper is already terminal. What's the point of saving her?!"

"Serena is young, and she's carrying my child! Besides, if she hadn't taken that hit for Mia years ago, her heart and lungs wouldn't be this fragile! If something happens to her, Mia would never be able to repay that debt! Do as I say. I'll take full responsibility!"

I stood frozen, like I'd been dropped into ice water.

I could only watch as the machine that could have saved my mother's life was turned around by Julian's command and wheeled toward Serena's room.

Outside the ER, only a young nurse assigned to take notes remained.

She looked at me with reddened eyes, her voice filled with sympathy and dread.

"Miss Harper... did Miss Blake visit your mother's room earlier?"

My entire body jolted. "What did you say?"

The nurse bit her lip, her voice shaking. "Half an hour ago, I saw her go into Mrs. Harper's room. I don't know what she said, but your mother suddenly lost control of her emotions and started coughing up blood... Miss Blake walked out smiling and warned me to keep my mouth shut. Your mother's condition couldn't withstand that kind of shock. She triggered it on purpose..."

Hearing this, I nearly blacked out, but I summoned every last shred of strength and went to beg Julian.

In the VIP suite, the entire emergency team was gathered around Serena.

I forgot about every argument, every shred of dignity. I dropped to my knees in front of Julian, sobbing.

"Julian, I'm begging you, for the sake of our eight years together, please save my mother first, please..."

But when I looked up, there was not a trace of compassion on his face.

"Mia, don't think I can't see right through you."

"Serena is already so bad off from what you did that she needs injections to keep the baby. Now you're using your mother as an excuse to pull the doctors away so she'll miscarry."

I clutched at his pant leg, whimpering.

"I never did anything to hurt her. She planned the car accident. She went to my mother's room on purpose to provoke her and kill her..."

Julian frowned and dragged me out of the room by the arm.

"Mia, if you slander Serena one more time, or make up another excuse to endanger her, I'll pull the medical team right now! In five minutes, you'll really lose her."

"And the doctor says Serena needs rest. Stop making a scene. Once I'm done here, I'll come check on your mother."

Security escorted me out.

Through the crack in the door, I saw Serena. Where were the blue lips and the shock?

There was nothing but a triumphant smile.

The door slammed shut.

The attending physician from the ER walked out, exhausted, shaking his head. "Miss Harper, without the equipment, there was nothing we could do... Go in and say your goodbyes."

I walked into the room in a daze, knelt beside the bed, and gripped my mother's hand with everything I had.

Mom struggled to open her eyes. "Mia... I watched Serena grow up... I knew she was always jealous of you, but I never imagined jealousy could twist her this far... They won't be happy... Don't waste yourself on those two!" She coughed. "They're not worth it..."

Mom lifted her hand with great effort, gently touched my face, and forced a serene smile. "Leave this place. Spread your wings. Be free..."

"Mom! Don't leave me!"

I was crying too hard to form a single complete word, just shaking my head desperately.

"Silly girl, from now on, I won't be holding you back anymore..."

Before she could finish, her hand slipped from my face.

The rolling waves on the heart monitor flattened into one piercing, unbroken line.

I bit down on my lip until I tasted blood.

Minutes later, Julian's assistant arrived with two doctors.

Seeing that my mother's heart monitor had been disconnected, they froze.

The assistant forced himself to speak. "Mr. Ashford sent us to check on the situation. Once Miss Blake is stable, he'll be right..."

I turned my head, bloodshot eyes boring into them. "Get out."

Julian, it was all too late.

You sacrificed my mother's life to save that so-called baby, and now you had the nerve to send people over pretending to care.

The room fell silent again.

I knelt by the bed, my mother's last words echoing over and over in my mind. "They're not worth it. Spread your wings. Be free."

I would go far, far away, and soar higher than ever before.