Chapter 3

After divorcing my gambler father, my mother raised me alone.

Back then, we lived in the dirtiest alley in the slums. She worked three jobs but still came home to check my temperature and give me medicine.

I'd been sickly since I was little, so my mother had given up a lot to care for me.

Though she was a top surgeon, she spent several years working as an assistant at a community clinic.

Only later did I realize she'd been waiting for her chance.

Salvatore's wife was chronically ill. My mother's surgical skill got her recommended as the Costa family's private doctor.

After that, she became Salvatore's secret lover.

Don Salvatore already had a wife, so my mother had no official place at his side. She was chief surgeon only because he'd ordered it.

The day she first put on the chief surgeon's white coat, she held me in front of the mirror for a long time. "Evelyn, we can never go back to the slums. Never."

Derek, our neighbor, had promised since we were children that he'd always protect me.

Once, while my mother was away treating a patient, I came down with a high fever in the middle of the night. Derek climbed over the wall and stayed by my side until morning. No one could make him leave.

When it was time for college, he even turned down guaranteed admission to an elite medical school so he could train under my mother.

"Evelyn, I'll protect you for the rest of my life."

When did it all start to change?

Probably when my mother brought Chloe home and adopted her.

Chloe's father was a low-ranking mobster who died in a gang war. My mother met Chloe while volunteering at a free clinic in the slums and brought her home.

Chloe was pale and pretty and looked as if a breeze could knock her over. Still, she always tried to look strong, biting her lip and saying, "I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me!"

At first, my mother just said, "Chloe has no parents, and she's in poor health. Let her have her way a little more!"

Later, she'd put an arm around Chloe and scold me. "Look how strong Chloe is. Can't you be a little more independent instead of making a fuss over every scrape?"

Derek saw how much it hurt me, and at first he didn't like Chloe either.

"That adopted sister of yours is too calculating. She's always acting helpless in front of your mom!"

But little by little, I caught him looking at Chloe more often.

"She's had a hard life, you know. After everything she's been through, she's still so strong. It's hard not to feel for her... Evelyn, you have so much. Can't you let her have her way a little more?"

Even today, on our way to get married, Chloe had whined that she wanted a pastry from an exclusive downtown bakery to celebrate.

Derek took a detour without a word. To save time, he even ran a red light and drove straight into a rival gang's military vehicle.

In the last moment before the collision, he yanked the wheel, swinging the back of our car toward them.

Derek and Chloe, in the passenger seat, got away with minor injuries.

But the armored truck, weighing several tons, crushed the back seat where I sat. Shattered bulletproof glass cut through my skin and lodged deep in my organs.

Had the glass pierced my heart? Why else did it hurt as if my heart might stop?

Blood kept rising in my throat, and pain spread through my abdomen.

The will to live cleared my head for a moment.

I can't die in this cold hallway...

I gripped the edge of the nurses' station and used every bit of strength I had to stand.

"Please... call an ambulance. I need to go to another hospital..."

The nurse rolled her eyes impatiently.

"We can't authorize a transfer without the attending physician's signature!"

I forced down the bloody foam rising in my throat.

"Then call me a car... take me to another hospital..."

"Sure!"

The nurse finally stood and tapped the payment code on the counter.

"The car will cost $1,000. How would you like to pay?"

I froze. I didn't have a cent in my account.

Ever since Chloe had come to live with us, my mother had insisted I learn Chloe's "hardworking, frugal ways."

Chloe got one hundred thousand dollars a month in spending money, while I had to submit a written request for every cent.

Yesterday, I'd asked my mother for cab fare to City Hall for my wedding. She'd glanced at the request and tossed it back.

"It's a short walk. Why waste money? Chloe used to walk more than six miles to school every day. She wouldn't even pay for the bus!"

That was why Derek had picked me up on his way. My phone had been blown to pieces in the crash.

When I didn't react, the nurse snickered.

"You'd better wait like a good girl. Didn't Dr. Hart tell you? She'll get to you after she's seen everyone else!

"The doctor made it clear. We follow the rules!"

My legs shook. My knees gave out, and I began to fall.

A pair of hands caught me and held on tight.

It was Lucy. Her eyes were red, and her face was full of worry.

"I'll pay the $1,000!"

The nurse across from us panicked.

"Lucy, are you crazy? Stick your neck out and you'll be sent to the hospital laundry tomorrow!"

Lucy held me protectively.

"I put on this white coat to save lives, not watch someone die!"

She helped me toward the exit, one step at a time.

My mother's cold voice stopped us. "Evelyn, where are you going? Chloe just lost a lot of blood. Go give her some!"

I couldn't believe what I'd heard.

"She only has a two-inch cut..."

"Chloe's always been anemic. Every drop of her blood matters!"

My mother's tone left no room for argument. "You're a doctor's daughter. Don't you know that much?"

I struggled for breath. My voice was barely recognizable. "Mom, did you read the checkup report I left on your desk a week ago?"