Chapter 1

Anger boiled inside me. I wanted to scream until my lungs gave out. But my body felt like lead. I couldn't move a muscle.

The nurse gently patted my mother's hand as she explained the euthanasia procedure. "Over the next three days, we'll gradually reduce her nutritional support. After that, we'll proceed with the euthanasia protocol."

It had been three months since someone injected the wrong antibiotic into my bloodstream. Three months since my world came to a standstill.

The doctors said I was in a vegetative state. I showed no response to anything around me.

Worst of all, the person responsible for my condition was still walking free, thanks to my father's testimony.

The door opened.

In walked Dr. Alvin Attwood, my father. The man who had helped someone else get away with practically murdering his own daughter.

"Dr. Attwood, you're here."

He came to my bedside and took my hand. These were the same hands that had once stroked my forehead all night when I was sick with a fever. Now, his touch felt so cold and unfamiliar.

He bent down and whispered in my ear, "Cassie, I know you can hear me.

"Don't blame me, sweetheart. I owe my mentor a great deal, and this is my chance to repay him. Besides, the hospital has agreed to pay us three million in compensation. Your mother and I will be set for life.

"Mr. Fletcher's son can't have something like this on his record. He's only 28. He has his whole future ahead of him. And since you're already like this, why not… do your old man one last favor?"

Beside him, my mother, Meredith Blake, spoke in a trembling voice. "All the paperwork's been taken care of. The hospital said… it'll be peaceful. Just like falling asleep."

Alvin let go of my hand, his voice turning stern again. "What's there to cry about? This is the best outcome we could hope for. What would you rather do? Spend the rest of your life coming here every day to cry over someone who's practically dead?"

"But she's our daughter…"

"She was," Alvin cut in. "Now she's a patient who deserves to be put out of her misery. Have you forgotten everything I taught you in medical school? Once someone's quality of life reaches zero, keeping them alive only prolongs their suffering."

He talked about prolonging my suffering as if he weren't the one responsible for it.

Meredith said nothing. I heard her sniffling quietly before she placed a hand on my forehead. "Cassie, I'm so sorry. But your father's right… This is what's best for all of us."

I couldn't move, but the tears wouldn't stop falling.

I remembered the afternoon Alvin first introduced me to his mentor, Dr. Ben Fletcher, the hospital director.

Ben had patted me on the head and said, "Alvin, you've got a smart little girl here. I bet she'll be a doctor someday, just like you."

Alvin had grinned so widely that the corners of his eyes crinkled. Back then, I'd thought he was proud of me. I hadn't realized then that he'd only ever seen me as an investment.

"The notary's coming tomorrow to record us confirming that we're signing the euthanasia agreement of our own free will," Alvin told Meredith.

"Try to act natural. Stop looking like you're being led to the gallows. This is a medical decision, not some tragedy. We're being rational about it."

"But Cassie's only 22…"

"And?" Alvin's voice turned icy.

"You want her lying here for another 20 years, hooked up to machines? That's a waste of resources. Meredith, you went to medical school too. You should know better."

Meredith fell silent.

I knew that silence all too well. Whenever my father used his medical knowledge and lectures about what was supposedly right to shut her down, she always gave in without another word.

"I'm going to go over the final details with Mr. Fletcher," Alvin said. "Stay with her for a while. And don't do anything stupid."

The door opened and closed behind him. Meredith's muffled sobs were the only sounds left in the room.

Her hand was still on my forehead when a warm tear landed on my eyelid. "Cassie, I'm so sorry… If I could trade places with you, I would. I'd give anything to be the one lying in that bed."

But she didn't do anything. She didn't stand up and tell the truth at the hearing. She didn't stop Alvin when he lied under oath. She didn't even say no when those doctors decided I should die.

Instead, she sat here crying, waiting for me to die.

"Cassie, I'm sorry…" she whispered. Then she pulled her hand away and hurried toward the door. "I'll come see you tomorrow, sweetheart."

The door closed. The room went quiet, leaving only the steady beeping of the monitors. Each beep sounded like another second ticking away.

Three days. That was all I had left.

I stared at the blurry water stain on the ceiling. When I was little, I used to say it looked like an angel. Alvin would laugh and lift me so I could see it better.

The same man who used to spoil me rotten now wanted me dead.

Late that night, the hospital fell silent. I lay in bed, counting my heartbeats.

Then, out of nowhere, I realized I could feel the tip of my tongue against the roof of my mouth. I tried moving it.

It shifted a bit to the left.

I tried again. This time, I noticed that I could move my right eye a little farther than I could yesterday. They were tiny changes, but I was thrilled.

For the first time in three months, a thought filled me with hope.

I had to find a way to move again. Before they pulled the tubes keeping me alive.