Chapter 3

When I walked into the hospital room, Mom was lying weakly in bed with tears streaming down her face as she listened to the baseless accusations against Annabelle that were being televised.

The moment she saw me, her lips trembled, and she forced the words out with all the strength she had left, "Artie, find the contact…"

Before I even had time to think about what she meant, Winona's voice echoed from behind me, "Honey, I didn't think you'd actually make it out. So, have you made up your mind?"

I spun around and saw her leading a group of people straight into the room.

"What are you doing?" I immediately went on guard.

Winona wrapped an arm around my shoulders with feigned gentleness and said, "Relax. I just want to move Mom to a better room."

But when I saw those people manhandling Mom, I couldn't hold back anymore. I tore myself out of her arms and shouted, "Stop! Don't touch her!"

In the middle of the struggle, I was knocked to the ground.

"Arthur!"

Winona was about to help me up, but Hudson stepped in and stopped her. "Winona, let me."

He crouched down as if he were going to help me, but instead, he drove his foot into my waist.

A sharp pain hit me instantly, and that was when I suddenly remembered that just one month earlier, I had donated one of my kidneys to Winona.

The wound hadn't fully healed yet, and because I had been running around dealing with Annabelle's case ever since my rebirth, I had completely forgotten about it.

Hudson hauled me back up by force, while Winona stood there watching with icy indifference.

"I'll take care of Mom," she said. "But until you sign the Letter of Understanding, don't expect to see her again."

I endured the pain. "Winona, if you dare hurt her, I won't let you off even in death!"

She reached out and brushed my forehead, her voice soft in a way that made my skin crawl. "There's a press conference scheduled for tomorrow. Sign the Letter of Understanding in front of everyone and withdraw the lawsuit, okay?"

"In your dreams!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.

All of a sudden, Hudson cried out and fell to the floor. "Arthur, why did you push me?"

Winona immediately rushed to shield him, and I was knocked down again. The pain in my waist felt like something had torn open.

Warm liquid quickly spread through my clothes, soaking the fabric red. The pain washed over me so violently that my voice was weak as I pleaded, "Winona… My wound… It split open…"

She noticed the blood at my waist and frowned. "What's going on with you?"

Hudson immediately grabbed her arm and said in a snide, mocking tone, "Arthur's a grown man, so how is he this messy? He probably rubbed against someone's wound at the hospital."

Cold sweat beaded my forehead as I forced myself to speak, "Winona, I—"

But before I could finish, Hudson suddenly held his forehead and leaned against her, cutting me off. "Winona, my head hurts so bad."

Winona immediately held him up and asked anxiously, "Is it flaring up again?"

Hudson nodded weakly. By then, I was already in too much pain to get another word out.

Winona shot me a cold glance. "Arthur, cut the act. Hudson isn't feeling well, and I need to take care of him."

I watched them leave together, and in the end, I blacked out from blood loss.

…

When I woke up again, the nurse told me I had almost died.

Back when I donated my kidney to Winona, I had done it anonymously. Afraid she would find out, I never properly rested and forced myself to handle the tedious wedding preparations. That meant the wound never really healed.

I remembered what Mom had said yesterday, and I forced myself to grab my phone.

There was a number in my contacts without a name attached to it. Mom had saved it before she was hospitalized.

My hand shook as I dialed the number. It rang for a long time before someone finally picked up.

"Hello, this is Arthur Langley."

The voice on the other end was laced with impatience. "Mr. Sutton is busy. Quit bothering him!"

The line went dead, and my heart sank.

Just then, a group of bodyguards stormed into the hospital room and yanked me straight out of the bed.

The needle in the back of my hand was ripped out, and blood immediately started pouring out. The nurse rushed over and tried to stop them.

"Stop! He's extremely weak right now!"

The bodyguards ignored her. "Ms. Graham gave the order. He has to be brought to the press conference today."

Just when I thought despair was about to swallow me whole, a low, commanding voice came from the doorway, "Don't you dare lay a hand on him."