第2章

Something inside me snapped.

"Dr. Cole, I can get the money. Please start the treatment now!"

My hands shook so badly I could barely hold the phone. I forced myself to stay calm.

Don't panic. I still have almost a day. I can do this.

I texted Camilla.

"Is Lucien at your place?"

"Yes. But don't get the wrong idea. We're only..."

She was still typing, but I had no time to read it. I raced to Camilla's apartment.

I had seen her address on Lucien's food delivery app more times than I could count.

I had confronted him about it once, but he'd only looked at me in disappointment.

"Do you have to be suspicious of everything? Camilla is on call as my private advisor around the clock. What's wrong with me buying her meals?"

My lungs burned, but I didn't dare slow down.

Her front door was slightly open. I pushed it open and called out between gasps.

"Lucien, I need the money, your mother—"

I froze before I could finish.

A two-tiered cake sat on the table.

Lucien stood at the stove in an apron, cooking pasta, while Camilla wore a birthday tiara and bossed him around.

They laughed together like a happy couple.

Two years ago, we'd been too poor to pay rent.

Back then, we lived on Lucien's pasta.

Once he got rich, he stopped making it.

He said he didn't want to remember those days.

So what was this?

The moment they heard my voice, the laughter stopped.

Lucien stepped in front of Camilla on instinct and frowned at me.

"You chased me all the way here for money? Sofia, you've gone too far this time."

His cold stare made my heart ache.

All the hurt I'd swallowed for years finally exploded.

"I've gone too far? That's your mother in the ICU! Is $30,000 too much to save her life? Lucien, I don't want to fight right now. Just give me the money."

I shoved a photo of Nora lying pale and weak in her hospital bed in front of him.

Lucien's breath caught.

I didn't know whether to feel relief or heartbreak.

Nora would be saved. But what if it really had been my mother?

He opened his mouth, but Camilla peeked out from behind him, her hands on her hips.

"Seriously, Sofia? Maybe Lucien will fall for this, but no one else will. Anyone can tell it's a deepfake.

"You put your mother's face on his mom's body and made a cold look like pneumonia. That's a new low, even for you."

I stared at her, stunned.

"I'm not lying! I have her medical records. I took pictures of them!"

But Lucien pushed me away.

"Enough, Sofia. I don't have $30,000 sitting around.

"Camilla invested everything in the market. If we want the money to grow, we can't keep pulling it out. That's how you get to live like a rich CEO's wife."

My heart sank.

I looked around Camilla's apartment. She had lived there for a year.

Central air cooled her living room. I was still stuck with a broken-down fan in my bedroom.

Her balcony was big enough for a rocking chair. Mine barely had room for a few flowerpots.

Her coffee table was piled with gifts from Lucien, including designer bags and cosmetics.

In three years of marriage, the only gift Lucien had given me was a soda can tab. And I'd treated it like treasure.

"What exactly am I supposed to envy? Have you ever given me money without making me beg for it? Have you ever cared about how I live?

"Fine. You think it's my mother in the hospital. You think she's not that sick.

"Then come to the hospital with me and see her yourself. Will you? Answer me!"

Guilt flickered in Lucien's eyes. He stepped forward and took my hand.

"Sofia, I know I've neglected you this past year. But I promised to spend today with Camilla. I can't leave now.

"Camilla, raise Sofia's allowance. $25 a day should be enough. Sofia, be good and stop making a scene."

$25 a day. Before this, Camilla had given me that much for three whole days.

So he had known all this time that the money wasn't enough.