Chapter 5

Caspian was discharged.

But he did not come home. Instead, he and Ivy moved straight into a penthouse downtown. It was the apartment he bought to celebrate our third anniversary. Now, it was their love nest.

I was on the verge of a breakdown. Every time I closed my eyes, the image of them kissing on the balcony wrapped around my neck like a snake. I could not sleep, I threw up everything I ate, and I lost weight rapidly.

One night, at 1 AM, my phone rang. It was my mother.

"Lorelai! Your father had a heart attack! He is in the ER!" she screamed, sobbing hysterically.

I sat up, my blood running cold. "Mom, do not panic, I am on my way!"

"No! The doctors say he needs bypass surgery immediately, but we need Dr. Smith, the best cardiac surgeon in the country! His schedule is full until next year, the hospital cannot reach him!"

Her voice was pure despair. "Lorelai, call Caspian! Use the Solis syndicate's network! Only he can get Dr. Smith here right now! Hurry, your father does not have time!"

The line went dead. My ears were ringing.

Call Caspian? The man who treated me like an enemy and was currently playing house with his mistress?

But my father's life was on the line. I had no choice.

With trembling hands, I dialed Caspian's number.

RING. RING. Every second was torture.

"Hello?"

It was not Caspian. It was Ivy.

I took a deep breath. "Put Caspian on. It is an emergency."

Silence for a second. Then, the sound of wet kisses and a man's heavy breathing came through the speaker.

"Mmm... Caspian, stop, someone is on the phone..." Ivy's voice was sickeningly breathy.

"Nothing is more important than you," Caspian's husky voice pierced my eardrum.

"You are so bad..." Ivy giggled, then spoke into the phone. "Mrs. Solis, Caspian is tied up right now. Call back later."

Before I could speak, Ivy whined softly, "Honey, does this feel good?"

"Fuck yes... I could die inside you."

The vulgar dirty talk made my stomach heave. I hung up immediately.

I ran to the bathroom and dry-heaved over the toilet until my throat burned. I slumped against the cold tiles, drowning in despair.

Caspian was a dead end. What do I do? Who could save my father?

Shaking violently, I scrolled through my contacts.

My finger stopped at the very bottom. A single letter: Z.

Zane.

Caspian had mentioned him before. The Averin family had deep roots in New York, and even Caspian had to tread carefully around him. I had his number from a brief encounter, but I had never contacted him.

Would he even care? I was practically a stranger.

But the clock was ticking on my father's life. I bit my lip until I tasted blood.

Screw it.

I opened the chat and typed with shaking fingers:

"Mr. Averin, we bumped into each other at the hospital. My father is dying. Can you please help me?"