Chapter 3

Nellie was only five, so thin that her arms were barely thicker than an adult's wrists. Yet she stood in front of me as if she were willing to fight to the death to protect me.

Caleb crouched down, trying to get closer to her.

"Nellie, I'm your daddy. I'm not a bad guy."

"I don't have a daddy!" Her little face turned bright red with anger.

Caleb froze, but before he could respond, Nina hurried over.

"Miss Shaw, how can you teach your own daughter to disown her father just for money?"

Caleb straightened, his expression turning cold again.

"If you think that's going to work on me, you're wrong."

I had no desire to argue with either of them. Taking Nellie's hand, I went to find a doctor.

The cut in my palm needed seven stitches. After my palm had been stitched up, the doctor treating Nellie called me into the hallway.

"Your daughter's clotting levels are extremely unstable. She'll need a bone marrow aspiration and genetic testing. Including hospitalization and medication, you're looking at a deposit of at least two hundred thousand dollars."

Two hundred thousand.

I had less than a thousand dollars left in my bank account.

Caleb was waiting outside Nellie's room, the same agreement in his hand.

"I'll pay the hospital directly, so you won't have to worry about the bills." He paused. "But Nina will need to review every expense."

"What gives her the right to decide whether my daughter lives or dies?"

"She's just making sure everything is legitimate, so you can't inflate the bills and pocket the difference."

I stared at Nina's signature on the agreement, suddenly struck by how absurd it all was. Five years ago, she'd tricked me into signing a fifty-million-dollar compensation agreement. Now she wanted to control the money that could save my daughter's life.

"I'm not signing it."

Caleb slipped the agreement back into his suit pocket, his voice as matter-of-fact as if we were discussing a business deal.

"Then find the money yourself."

After he left, I searched through everything I owned. The only thing I had left that might be worth anything was an old ring with a diamond barely the size of a grain of rice.

Caleb had bought it when he was struggling to get his business off the ground. It had cost him three months' worth of living expenses, and when he slipped it onto my finger, his eyes were red as he promised that one day, he'd give me the best life possible.

Once he became wealthy, he offered several times to replace it, but I always refused.

Not because the ring was valuable, but because the Caleb who'd given it to me had truly loved me.

None of those memories could save Nellie now.

While she was still asleep, I slipped out to a pawnshop near the hospital. The owner examined the ring and offered me two thousand dollars. I didn't hesitate. After filling out the paperwork, I stuffed the cash into my pocket and hurried back.

I'd just reached the hospital entrance when a black sedan pulled across my path.

Caleb stepped out, holding my ring between his fingers.

"Zoe, you deliberately pawned our wedding ring to remind me how much I used to love you, didn't you? You've blown through all your money, so now you're using our past to pressure me into dropping the financial oversight agreement?"

Looking at him, I finally understood something. In Caleb's eyes, everything I did was a calculated move.

I couldn't possibly have pawned the ring because I was desperate. No, it had to be some scheme to manipulate his feelings and get him to withdraw the agreement.

"You bought it back, so keep it," I said, making no move to take the ring. "I don't need your pity."

I returned to the hospital with the money and paid for Nellie's most urgent tests and medication.

At noon, I received the decision on my financial assistance application.

Rejected.

According to the notice, I'd possessed fifty million dollars in assets five years earlier but had depleted my wealth through purchases of overseas properties, luxury cars, and designer goods. My circumstances were therefore considered the result of irresponsible personal spending, making me ineligible for assistance.

I stared at the words, a crushing weight settling over my chest.

That fifty million dollars had never once passed through my hands. Five years ago, it had nearly cost me my life. Now it was threatening my daughter's chance of survival.

I immediately requested a review of my financial records, including the account-opening documents, login history, linked phone numbers, and transaction records for the account that had supposedly held the fifty million.

Then I called a charitable hospital in the neighboring state.

After reviewing Nellie's medical records, they got back to me almost immediately.

"Miss Shaw, we can waive most of your daughter's treatment costs. We have a medical transport vehicle coming to your city in three days. As long as her condition is stable, we can bring her here."

For the first time in days, I could finally breathe.

"Thank you. We'll be ready."

That evening, Nina knocked on Caleb's office door.

"Her financial assistance application was rejected. Zoe has less than two hundred dollars left in her bank account."

Caleb leaned back in his chair without a word.

Nina turned her tablet toward him, showing him the figures. "There's no way she can come up with two hundred thousand dollars. Give her three days at most, and she'll come back to sign the agreement."

Caleb remembered how I'd looked outside the hospital, and something flickered across his face.

"She sold her wedding ring."

"Because she knew you'd feel sorry for her." Nina sounded certain. "It's the same trick she always uses to manipulate you. First, she makes herself look completely miserable, then waits for you to give in. The softer you are with her, the more she'll demand."

Caleb remained silent for a moment before finally nodding.

"She won't be able to put up with this for long. She'll come back."

Back in the hospital room, I'd already signed the transfer application and hidden our packed suitcase beneath the bed.

Nellie woke up rubbing her eyes.

"Mommy, where are we going?"

I leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"Sweetheart, in three days, we'll finally be able to leave this place."