CHAPTER 8: The Devil In My Corner.

MARA'S POV

I wake to the sound of the heart monitor beside my mother's bed. For a few seconds, I lie still, staring at the ceiling while I try to remember where I am. My neck aches from sleeping in the chair, and there is a dull pressure behind my eyes that tells me I must have been asleep for hours.

Then I turn my head.

Mum is lying beneath the white hospital sheets, an oxygen tube beneath her nose and wires running from her chest to the monitor beside her.

The memory of last night comes rushing back.

I sit up quickly, and the room tilts for a second. I grip the arm of the chair until everything settles, then lean toward the bed.

“Mum?”

Her eyelids move. I reach for her hand instinctively, my eyes widening with fear.

“Can you hear me?”

Her eyes open slowly, and when she looks at me, I see how tired she is.

“Mara.”

Her voice is so weak that I almost don't hear it.

“Don't talk,” I whisper, rubbing my thumb over the back of her hand. “Please, just rest.”

She closes her eyes again.

I sit there holding her hand, watching the monitor until the door opens.

Dr. Collins walks in with a nurse. He checks the monitor first, then examines my mother's chart before looking at me.

I stand, my legs weak beneath me, and try to keep them steady.

“Dr. Collins, how is my mother?”

He gives the nurse a brief instruction about the medication before turning his attention to me.

“She is stable at the moment, but the collapse has put more pressure on her body. We need to move quickly with her treatment.”

My fingers tighten around the strap of my bag.

“What does that mean?”

“She needs surgery.”

The word makes my chest tighten, my pulse pounding in my ears. I force myself to speak.

“When?”

“As soon as we can arrange it.”

I glance at my mother.

“How much will the surgery cost?”

“The surgery will cost thirty-eight thousand five hundred dollars,” the doctor tells me, glancing down at the file. “And we need the payment secured before we can schedule it.”

He says the words so easily, like we are talking about groceries.

I stare at him.

For a moment, I genuinely think I have heard him wrong.

“That much?”

“I know it's a significant amount, Mara.”

My eyes sting at the corners, my throat painfully dry.

“But... I... I don't have that kind of money. It's just me and Noah. Where do I get that money from?”

He gives me a sympathetic look.

“I understand.”

I look toward the bed again, forcing myself to breathe.

“What happens if I can't pay it today?”

“We can continue stabilizing her for the moment, but I would strongly advise we don't delay the surgery. She's in a very critical condition.”

I nod slowly, my vision blurring.

“Okay.”

The word barely comes out.

I take out my phone, my hands shaking as I try to steady them over the keypad.

“I'll find the money.”

Before Dr. Collins can respond, I hear movement behind me.

Noah lifts his head from the chair near the window. He looks exhausted, his hair disheveled and his shirt wrinkled from sleeping in it.

“What did he say?”

I turn toward him.

“Mum needs surgery.”

Noah gets to his feet.

“How much?”

I tell him the amount, and his face goes pale immediately.

“I'll find something.”

“Hey, no. You're not finding anything.”

“I can get a job.”

“Noah.”

“I mean it, Mara. I can work after school.”

“You're in school. Don't even think about that.”

“I can still work.”

I step closer and lower my voice.

“You need to focus on your academics. That's why I'm working. You don't have to carry this with me.”

“But you can't keep doing everything yourself.”

“I know.” I squeeze his shoulder. “And I'm not asking you to. I just need you to stay here with Mum while I figure this out.”

He looks like he wants to argue, but he eventually nods.

“Call me if you need me.”

“I will.”

I turn away before he can see how close I am to crying.

Outside the room, I start making calls.

I message people I know from the flower shop. I check my account. I think about asking for a loan and immediately calculate how long it would take me to repay it.

The number Dr. Collins mentioned earlier flashes on my mind again.

Thirty-eight thousand five hundred dollars.

It's not even close to my monthly salary combined.

Just then, my phone rings.

Dr. Collins.

I answer immediately.

“Doctor Collins?”

“Could you come to my office for a moment?”

I look through the glass panel toward my mother's room.

“Is something wrong?”

“I would rather speak with you here.”

The words make my stomach drop, fear creeping beneath my skin. I hesitate before walking down the corridor.

When I enter his office, he is standing behind his desk with a file open in front of him.

He looks up when I walk in.

“Please, sit down.”

I remain standing.

“What happened?”

He closes the file.

“The outstanding hospital charges have been cleared.”

I blink.

“What?”

“The bill from last night has been paid.”

For a moment, I don't know what to say.

A strange wave of relief moves through me so quickly that I have to grip the back of the chair.

“Someone paid it?”

“Yes.”

I let out a breath.

“Who keeps doing this, and why?”

Dr. Collins looks at me for a moment. “This particular payment wasn't anonymous.”

My relief fades slightly. I straighten.

“Then who paid it?”

He pauses before answering.

“Mr. Damian Vescari.”

I stare at him. The room seems to go very still.

“I'm sorry?”

“Mr. Damian Vescari made the payment.”

I shake my head once. “No.”

Dr. Collins remains quiet. I look down at the floor, then back at him.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

My fingers curl around the back of the chair.

Damian? The man I met only two days ago. How on earth did he even know about my distress?Wait. Is it what I am thinking?

My eyes narrow.

“Doctor, has he been paying my mother's bills?”

Dr. Collins doesn't answer immediately.

“Doctor?”

“I cannot discuss previous payments with you.”

My jaw tightens.

“But you just told me he paid this one.”

“Yes, because Mr. Vescari specifically requested that you be informed of this payment.”

I stare at him.

“He requested that you tell me?”

“Yes.”

Something hot moves through my chest.

“Why?”

“I wasn't given a reason.”

I release the chair and fold my arms.

“So he pays my mother's hospital bill and then makes sure I know about it. What does he want from me?”

Dr. Collins watches me carefully.

“I can only tell you what I have been authorized to tell you. I thought you wanted to know who paid the bills. Now that this person has offered to drop his identity, you're worked up?”

I look away, swallowing hard.

Dr. Collins has no idea who Damian Vescari is.

For some reason, I feel angrier than I should.

I should be relieved. My mother's immediate hospital bill has been cleared. That should be the only thing that matters right now.

Instead, my mind keeps going back to the same question.

How does Damian know?

How did he even know my mother was in the hospital?

And if he knows enough to pay the bill, what else does he know about me?

I turn back toward the doctor.

“Thank you for telling me.”

“Mara—”

“I understand.”

I don't wait for him to say anything else. I walk out of the office and close the door behind me.

The moment I'm back in the hallway, I stop, my hand closing around the strap of my bag.

Damian Vescari.

I grit my teeth.

Has he been watching me?

The thought makes my stomach twist.

All those years when things somehow worked out at the last minute. All those hospital payments I could never explain. The problems that disappeared before I could solve them.

Could he have been behind them?

No.

I shake my head.

I can't make that assumption, but I also can't ignore what just happened.

I walk back into my mother's room.

Noah looks up immediately.

“You're back.”

I nod.

“Stay with Mum for me.”

His eyes move over my face.

“What happened?”

“Nothing you need to worry about.”

“Mara.”

“I'll be back soon.”

He stands.

“Where are you going?”

I pick up my bag.

“To talk to someone.”

“Who?”

I look at him for a second.

“Just stay here, kiddo, okay?”

He doesn't look convinced, but he sits back down.

I walk to my mother's bed and gently touch her hair.

“I'll be back, Mum.”

She doesn't open her eyes.

I straighten and leave the room.

Outside, I pull out my phone and message Nina.

Me: Can you cover the shop for me for a while?

Her reply comes quickly.

Nina: Is everything okay?

I stare at the message before typing.

Me: I need to handle something.

I put the phone away. I don't know what Damian wants from me. Maybe he thinks paying my mother's bills would give him some kind of hold over me. Maybe he thinks I will come running because he helped when I needed it.

Either way, I'm going to ask him myself. Damian Vescari does not get to become the devil in my life simply because he decided to play the savior.

I step outside the hospital and raise my hand for a cab.

There is only one place I can think of where I am almost certain to find him.

The Vescari manor.