Chapter 2

By the time the anesthesia wore off, it was already late at night. My lower waist burned in pain.

I struggled to turn my head, and all I saw was an empty ward.

Miranda was not there. She had never come.

Grandma's hospital bill was also due today.

Before I went into surgery, Miranda had promised to pay it as soon as I gave Lucas my kidney. She had also promised to bring in the best specialists to review Grandma's case.

I found my phone beside the pillow and turned it on.

The screen lit up with dozens of missed calls and messages. Every one of them was from the hospital.

My heart skipped a beat as dread swept over me.

I opened the last message.

It was from the doctor who took care of my grandma.

[Mr. McQueen, we regret to inform you that the patient's medication was stopped for more than forty-eight hours because of unpaid fees. After suffering severe emotional distress, she had a sudden heart attack. We were unable to revive her. She passed away at eight thirteen tonight. Please come to the hospital as soon as possible to make arrangements.]

Eight thirteen?

I was on the operating table at that time.

…Had Miranda lied to me?

Not only had she cheated me out of a kidney, but had she also taken away my grandma's chance to live?!

Before the McQueen family found me, Grandma had raised me on the money she earned collecting and selling scraps and recyclables. We weren't related by blood, but just as Lucas had said, the bond between us had grown over more than a decade too.

Not long after I returned to the McQueen family, I missed Grandma so much that I slipped away to see her.

Lucas caught me and accused me of stealing from the family. He called Grandma a thief and had his men beat her so badly that she needed long-term hospital care.

Miranda had promised to pay for her treatment because she felt guilty.

Instead, they used that promise to control me.

To save Grandma and repair my relationship with my family, I obeyed Miranda and tried to atone for a crime I had never committed.

I could feel grief literally choking me. I had cried until no tears were left, and my dry eyes ached from the weeping. The tears in my grandma's eyes when she sent me away three years ago kept replaying in my mind.

"Go, Evan. They're your biological parents and sister. You'll have a good life with them."

A good life?

It had been hell. I didn't want it anymore. All I wanted was her.

I pulled the IV from my hand and forced myself out of bed despite my weak body. Every movement felt as if the wound in my waist were tearing open again. Blood quickly soaked through my hospital gown.

A young nurse came in during her rounds and cried out when she saw me covered in blood.

"Get back in bed! You just had kidney surgery, and your suture would tear open!"

"I'm leaving."

The nurse froze. "Are you mad? You'll die if you leave like this! Besides, your bill hasn't been paid in full. Ms. McQueen only paid for the operation..."

Ha... She hadn't even paid the entire hospital bill. In her eyes, I supposed the only useful part of me had been my kidney.

"I don't want treatment."

I pushed past the nurse as I gritted my teeth and staggered toward the door.

I wanted to see Grandma.

Even if I had to crawl, I would see her one last time.

The nurse was too frightened by my condition to stop me again. She rushed out to get a doctor.

I leaned against the wall and made my way out of the ward.

Several bodyguards in black suits approached, pushing a wheelchair. Lucas sat in it, looking healthy and flushed. Miranda was pushing the one pushing his wheelchair.

Our eyes met.

The air seemed to freeze.