Chapter 4

I hailed a car barefoot and rushed to the hospital. By the time I arrived, my father had already been wheeled into the resuscitation room.

The patient financial coordinator handed me the paperwork. "Emergency treatment won't stop, but for care after he is stabilized, the family will need to sign a self-pay agreement or wait for a bed at the county hospital. Given his cardiac condition, the attending physician advises against a transfer."

I handed over every bank card I had.

After trying them one by one, the clerk shook her head. "The joint account has been frozen, your company credit cards have been canceled, and the company's payment authorization for your father's care has been withdrawn."

Every dollar Daniel and I had earned since starting the business went into that joint account. For the convenience of company reimbursements and my father's medical payments, most of the cards were managed by Daniel's finance team.

He had chosen to cut off my access at the exact same moment the launch began.

He knew my father's illness was my greatest vulnerability.

My father had been a woodworking teacher at a public school when he was young. After my mother passed, he sold the small house in the suburbs to pay my college tuition. Even after his kidney disease worsened, he insisted on going to dialysis on his own, refusing to distract me during the hardest stretch of the startup. Once the company was established, I arranged for it to cover his dialysis and long-term care. It was the first time I felt I could finally give something back.

Now Daniel was using even that care funding as a leash to force me into submission.

The red light above the resuscitation room stung my eyes. My father was the only family I had left. I couldn't let him die in transit over a payment authorization.

The click of high heels echoed from the far end of the corridor.

Claire walked in on Daniel's arm, still wearing her gown from the launch. When she saw me sitting on the floor, the corner of her mouth slowly curved upward.

I rushed over and grabbed Daniel's sleeve. "Restore the payment authorization. Unfreeze the joint account. My father is still being resuscitated."

Daniel pulled his arm free, his voice stiff. "Stop the public accusations, and the company will cover the treatment. But you'll need to sign a statement admitting that what you said at the launch was caused by post-surgical emotional distress, and waive any claim to authorship of the product."

Claire took a phone from her assistant and switched on the camera.

"A statement isn't enough. You humiliated me in front of all that press and ruined my debut. I need a public apology with some real sincerity."

She aimed the lens at me and said softly, "Kneel. Admit you stole my design. Admit you made those accusations out of jealousy. Once we have the video, Daniel restores the payment authorization."

Daniel frowned. "Claire, that's enough."

"What, you feel sorry for her?" She shot him a cold look. "The acquisition agreement hasn't been signed. My father decides what Shoreline Lab is worth."

Daniel said nothing.

I looked back at the sealed doors of the resuscitation room.

Then my knees buckled, and I knelt on the cold hospital tiles.

Claire held up the phone, satisfaction in her voice. "Look at the camera."

I raised my head and spoke, word by word. "My name is Irene Hart. The accusations I made at the launch were false. The rehabilitation system was designed by Claire Winston. Out of jealousy and resentment over personal matters, I falsely claimed she had stolen my work."

When I finished, she still didn't stop filming.

Nurses, patients' families, and orderlies passed through the corridor. Some slowed down. Some looked away, unable to watch. But no one knew that behind the door just out of frame, someone was fighting for his life. Claire had chosen this spot on purpose. She wanted me to remember that as long as she controlled the money, my career, my marriage, and my dignity could all be priced and sold.

"Apologize to me."

"I'm sorry."

"Say it again."

"I'm sorry."

My knees were numb against the hard floor, and cold sweat covered my forehead. Daniel finally looked away and muttered, "That's enough. Restore the payment authorization."

His finance director quickly processed a temporary payment authorization. I grabbed the authorization form, rushed to the billing office, then ran back to the resuscitation room doors.

The doors opened at that very moment.

The doctor pulled off his mask, his expression grave. "I'm sorry. Your father went into acute heart failure. We couldn't save him."

The world lost all sound.

I didn't even cry right away. The last time my father was lucid, he had called to ask how my launch preparations were going. He said once he was feeling steadier, he'd come sit in the back row. He wouldn't get in the way; he just wanted to see his daughter standing in the spotlight. The guest badge I had saved for him was still tucked inside my handbag.

I slid down the wall and sat on the floor. I couldn't even make sense of what the doctor was saying next.

Until he added, "The patient's vitals had stabilized briefly. A few minutes ago, a young woman in a gown entered the observation area with a visitor pass, claiming to be a friend of the family. After she left, the patient's condition deteriorated sharply. The bedside call device had also been switched to silent mode, so the nurses weren't alerted in time."

My head snapped up.

Claire was walking back from the direction of the restrooms. She met my eyes, froze for a split second, then let a faint smile cross her face.

"He was old and fragile. How is that my fault?"

The words had barely left her mouth when several hospital security officers and police rounded the corner.

The lead detective showed his badge. "Claire Winston, the hospital reported an incident. Security footage shows you entered a restricted visitation area without authorization and disabled the patient's call device. A visitor recording from the neighboring bed also captured your conversation with the patient. You are suspected of endangering patient safety and causing his death. Please come with us."

Daniel's face went white.

"There must be a mistake. She only went to the restroom."