Chapter 4

"Thank goodness."

"The receptionist said they've been searching for her everywhere."

"She must have wandered off."

Sabrina slowly rose to her feet.

Only now did she realize that these weren't ordinary men.

The concern on their faces was personal.

The kind of panic people had when something happened to someone important.

As the crowd shifted, a familiar figure stepped forward.

For a split second, Sabrina froze.

Him?

The man she had met on the staircase… Finn's brother.. What was Miller doing here..? His composure had cracked and his eyes never left the little girl.

"Erica." The name left his lips in a low, strained voice.

Wait.. could he be the poppa she was referring to? For a moment, Sabrina was too stunned to move close.. Finn had mentioned having a brother but his brother having a child was what she had no idea of.

Still lost in thoughts, her phone rang and she answered without hesitation, her eyes still glued to the ambulance, “Hello?”

“Is this Sabrina Smith?” A sharp voice cut through the line.

“That's me.”

“This is St Faith General hospital. Your sister, Clara Anderson collapsed this morning and was rushed into our

hospital this morning.”

Sabrina's face turned ghostly white and her voice trembled instantly. “What? Why? What happened?”

Just then, it started raining.

“We found a mass tumor in her brain. If it isn't removed within 72 hours, there's a possibility she could become brain-dead. We need you to come in immediately.”

Sabrina's body shivered, “I'll be there in 5 minutes,” She dropped the call and rushed towards the gate to flag down a taxi then suddenly, she heard a deep hoarse voice behind her.

“If you have somewhere urgent to be, my driver can take you.”

She turned and Miller was standing behind her dressed in a long black tailored suit that made him look like a god who ruled a sovereign nation.

Miller was about to leave when his bodyguards informed him that the woman from the parking lot was the one who had helped Erica during her asthma attack. While the crowd panicked, she had acted and found the inhaler. The realization left him unusually unsettled. A few minutes' delay could have changed everything.

He had only agreed to attend Smith Holdings’ presentation because he was still in the country. Erica, meanwhile, had stubbornly insisted on coming with him, unwilling to miss the Disneyland trip he'd promised her afterward only for her to wander off without his bodyguards noticing.

Sabrina remembered Finn's warning in getting close to everyone except Miller.

“No..” Her voice cracked. “I don't want to be a bother.”

His expression remained the same, “Where are you headed?”

Sabrina hesitated, “St. Faith Hospital. My sister was admitted there.”

"That's where the ambulance is headed."

Miller looked away from her and toward the driver. "Leo."

"Yes, sir."

"We're taking Ms. Smith with us." He said, his eyes never leaving hers. The rain intensified and her hair got wet. Without a word, Miller took off his long blazer and placed it over her hair.

"Mr. Gudotti, I can't—"

"Get in." His voice wasn't loud, but it left no room for argument.

She looked up at him and he did the same. Everything about him screamed power and wealth. He was the complete opposite of Finn. He looks cold and dangerously charming. His aura sent chills down her spine.

When she got in, Miller smiled slightly. He found his body reacting involuntarily to her proximity. He almost wondered why he couldn't resist the urge to help her.

For a few seconds, they remained like that until she muttered, “Thank you.”

As soon as they arrived, Miller went in with his daughter, leaving one of his bodyguards to accompany Sabrina, who rushed to the receptionist desk, “Clara Anderson.. I'm her sister..”

“Ward 119,” The lady pointed upstairs.

By the time she got to the room, she was breathless. Clara lay motionless on the hospital bed. Machines beeped steadily around her. An oxygen tube rested beneath her nose but her skin looked pale.

A doctor stepped in behind her, clipboard pressed to his chest, "Ms. Smith," He waited until she looked up. "We need a deposit so we can't start the surgery immediately. Every second we wait, the swelling around that tumor increases. Her brain activity is already weaker than it was two hours ago. The longer this takes, the smaller her chances become.”

Sabrina nodded quickly. “Tell me the amount. I'll pay for it right now.”

The doctor handed her a document.

When she saw the amount, her head buzzed. That shouldn't bother her right now.. they asked for a deposit.. She had enough for the deposit.

She walked to the small payment desk just outside the room, slid her card across the counter, and waited for the soft beep that meant approval. Instead, the woman behind the desk frowned, swiped it again, then looked up at her with an apologetic wince."I'm sorry, ma'am. It's declining."

"That's not possible." Sabrina's voice came out tighter than she meant it to. "Try it again."

It declined a second time. Then a third time.

Sabrina's hands were trembling now, not from fear this time, but from a slow, sinking confusion that was quickly curdling into panic.

At that moment, she immediately called the bank. The call connected almost immediately.

After verifying her identity, the representative's response left her frozen.

"Ms. Smith, your corporate account privileges have been suspended."

"What?"

The hospital room seemed to tilt.

"There must be some mistake."

"There isn't."

The representative sounded apologetic.

"The authorization linked to your position was revoked this morning.”

“Revoked?” Sabrina's voice was shaky and her body trembled at the sudden thought.

For the first time that day, genuine panic took hold.

She couldn't access her money.

The surgery couldn't happen without the deposit. And Clara was running out of time.

"Sabrina!"

She turned and her eyes landed on Finn.

What was he doing here?

Beside him was Katherine, walking in her direction, still in the same clothes from that morning, out of breath like she'd run every step from the parking lot. "I came the second I saw your text. How is she? What's happening?”

“Honey, it's going to be alright,” Finn hugged her with genuine concern.

She avoided him and proceeded to explain her ordeal to Katherine.

“...I'm confused. I've never had a problem with this account in my life.”

"Your father took your position this morning." Katherine said it gently, like saying it any other way might shatter her completely. “Harold's office sent the notice out not long after you left the building. Your access was frozen along with it. I only just found out myself.”

“No..” Sabrina took her head as a tear rolled down the corner of her eyes, “They can't do this to me.”

“Vector is the new VP.” Katherine said, trying to console her.

Sabrina's heart broke into a million pieces. Harold hadn't sent her away because he trusted her. He had sent her away because she was no longer needed.

“It's going to be okay, honey. I'm here for you,” Finn said, placing Sabrina's head on his chest.

"My monthly allowance isn't even enough to pay half of the deposit." Katherine's voice broke on the words. She pressed a hand to her mouth, tears welling despite every attempt to hold them back. "If only Clara had agreed to come with us all those years ago. If she'd just let Harold adopt her like I begged her to, none of this would matter right now. His name on her file would have meant his money could move the moment we walked through that door.”

“Mrs Smith? We have to talk.” A doctor appeared and Katherine followed him, leaving Sabrina and Finn in the doorway.

"That jacket looks familiar. Whose is it?"

Finn's voice pulled her out of her own head before she even realized what he was looking at.

Sabrina glanced down. It was Miller's jacket. Her fingers instinctively tightened around the jacket draped over her arm. She hadn't even realized she was still carrying it.

Under different circumstances, she might have answered. Today, she simply walked past him.

Finn grabbed her wrist, "Let's get married. I already booked the registry. After that, you won't have to worry about Clara's medical bills.”

Sabrina's heart raced a bit. She was yet to submit the divorce decree and technically, they were still married.

She didn't care about that right now.

She immediately yanked his hand away.

The disgust she felt was impossible to hide. “Married? Now? Finn, are you drunk?”

"It makes sense, Sabrina. Listen to me." He stepped closer, lowering his voice like that would make it sound less insane. "If I move that kind of money from my account out of nowhere, my grandfather is going to ask questions I can't answer. But if I'm married, if it's framed as helping my wife's family, 1.5 million dollars suddenly looks reasonable. It looks like love instead of suspicion."

Something in Sabrina's chest went cold and still. For years, Finn had insisted on keeping their relationship a secret. Waiting until the timing was right, until he was ready, until his family approved. Now suddenly he wanted to get married immediately?

Was he trying to use her sister's bills as leverage?

"I'd rather die," she said quietly, "than marry a cheating piece of garbage like you.”

The smile vanished from Finn's face.

"Excuse me?”

“You should go marry Elvira instead. After all, isn't that the whole point of that ‘night’? Finn Jr. is already on the way, isn't he?"

His face went pale in real time. She watched the realization land, watched him understand exactly why she'd been looking at him like something she needed to scrape off her shoe.

She'd seen the text? Shit! It was no wonder she acted strange that night.

"Sabrina, listen to me, it's not what you think." The words came fast now, tumbling over each other. "She seduced me. I swear to you, I was drunk."

Sabrina laughed, "Drunk? How many times have you drunkenly slept with her?"

Finn had a defeated look, "Just five.. maybe six or seven but.. she means nothing to me. You're the only one I love. I'll handle Elvira. I'll handle all of it, she won't be a problem, the baby won't be a problem, you don't have to worry about either of them—”