Chapter 2

Yvette stumbled into the corner of the table and immediately burst into tears. Yves's face hardened. He caught Lucy by the arm before she could get away.

"Who taught you to hit people? Apologize to Yvette."

Lucy winced and hunched her shoulders, trying to pull free. "No."

Yves took out his phone and reopened the bidding app I'd already quit. "Then you lose your time with me next week. You can have it back when you apologize."

For a few seconds, Lucy only stared at him, as though she didn't understand what he was taking away. Then her gaze dropped to the floor.

"Daddy, I'm not bidding for you anymore."

Yves went still, his finger suspended over the screen.

Before he could respond, a nurse hurried into the room with a test report. "Ms. Langford, we just picked up an abnormality in Lucy's heart rhythm. We need to move her to the ER for observation immediately."

Lucy crumpled before the nurse had even finished speaking.

Yves and I both lunged for her. At that exact moment, Yvette pressed a hand to her side and gave a small cry of pain. Yves instinctively turned toward her, just enough to miss Lucy.

His fingertips brushed her as she fell, but didn't catch her.

She hit the floor hard.

"Move!"

The medical team swept in and rushed Lucy away. I tried to follow the gurney, only for Yves to grab my wrist.

"Why did she suddenly get so much worse?"

I tore myself free. "It wasn't sudden. The doctors warned us she could develop an arrhythmia at any time. Her latest test results have been sitting in the bidding system for a week. You never even opened them."

Yves's brow tightened slightly.

Yvette steadied herself against the table. "Yves has been busy, and there are so many attachments in that system. Jenna, you should've told him directly."

"I did. Eleven times." I looked at her. "The first time, he was helping you choose curtains. The second time, your stomach hurt. The third time, he told me that if I wanted his time, I should follow the rules and bid for it."

Yvette bit her lip. "Then you could've bid higher."

I slapped her.

Yves shoved me back so fast that my lower back struck the door handle. Pain shot through me, and for a moment my vision went black.

"Apologize."

"Not a chance."

He didn't argue. He simply took out his phone and called the finance department. "Freeze every household account under Jenna's name. Restore access when she apologizes."

For a second, I couldn't believe what I'd heard.

"That's Lucy's medical money."

"The money is still there. You're choosing not to back down." Yves checked his watch as though this were nothing more than an inconvenience in his schedule. "I'll take responsibility for Lucy. You still have to take responsibility for what you did."

The doors to the resuscitation room burst open before I could answer.

"Your daughter needs an emergency cardiac catheterization," a nurse said. "We need a $30,000 deposit immediately."

I pulled out my phone and opened the account.

The balance was zero.

Yves stood only a few feet away, waiting. He knew exactly what I would have to do.

Yvette dabbed at her tears. "Forget it, Yves. Jenna's only acting this way because she's worried about Lucy. I don't need an apology."

"She has to apologize."

The red light above the resuscitation room was still on.

I stared at it, then lowered my head.

"I'm sorry."

Something almost like a smile flickered in Yvette's eyes. Yves finally called finance and had the accounts unlocked.

I made the transfer, and the nurse hurried back inside with the payment confirmation.

Afterward, Yvette complained that her back hurt from hitting the table. Yves took her to orthopedics, and that was the last I saw of them that day.

The doctor pulled up the images for me. His expression told me enough before he even spoke.

"Her condition is worse than we expected. We need to operate as soon as possible. There's a specialist abroad, Dr. Chenault, who can take her next week, but he only has one opening. We need the deposit today to secure the spot."

I was about to tell him to take the slot when my phone vibrated.

A transaction notification filled the screen.

$800,000 had been transferred out of our household account.

Before I could even process it, another notification appeared. Yvette had posted an update.

She was sitting in the middle of a brand-new studio, smiling for the camera while Yves hung the sign behind her.

[The best gift when you're at rock bottom is someone helping you start over.]

I called him immediately.

"Did you take Lucy's surgery money to pay for Yvette's studio?"

"I'm borrowing it. I'll replace it later."

"The overseas specialist, Dr. Chenault, has one opening."

"There are local doctors. We don't have to choose the most expensive option." His tone remained maddeningly calm. "Yvette had a breakdown after you slapped her. She needed something to take her mind off it."

I gripped Lucy's test results until the paper crumpled in my hand. "So helping her feel better matters more than your daughter's life?"

"Don't twist what I'm saying. I'll get the money together for Lucy's surgery. If that slot is gone, we'll take the next one."

"She can't wait for the next one."

"Doctors always make the risks sound more serious than they are."

Yvette called to him in the background. They were about to cut the ribbon.

Yves told her he'd be right there, then said to me, "I'm opening tonight's bidding early. If you want me at the pre-op meeting, bid for my time like everyone else."

The call ended.

Almost immediately, the app sent me a notification.

[Your account has been reactivated by an administrator.]

I'd quit. He had put me back in anyway.

At eight o'clock, the only available slot appeared.

I put everything I had on it.

$300,000.

For one brief moment, the screen showed that I'd won.

Then the page refreshed.

[Yvette Xavier: $300,001]

Underneath was her note.

[I'm scared to sleep alone after the studio opening.]