Chapter 001

Arianna's POV:

On a bright Friday morning, I was working in a local clinic and attending to arriving patients when Dr. Amos, a tall, brown-skinned young man, stepped out of his consulting office and summoned me.

“Arianna, come over.”

“Yes, Doctor.” I handed my work over to my colleague and followed him into his small office on the first floor of the one-story building.

The atmosphere shifted as I stood watching Dr. Amos sit in his office chair across from me. He was in charge of my mother’s treatment.

“Dr. Amos, what’s wrong?” I asked, my voice quivering after seeing the sorrowful expression on his face.

“Arianna,” he cleared his throat and said, “I’m sorry. But I have to schedule an immediate transfer for your mother to Milos Private Hospital.”

“Why, doctor? It’s an expensive hospital, and I cannot afford it,” I complained, but he shook his head and replied, “This is for the best. They have the best specialists to help your mother recover. Her health is deteriorating fast, and we have to hurry.”

“This will help save her life, and I can guarantee you they will find a matching donor for her.”

“All right,” I agreed at last, signing the paperwork for my mother’s transfer.

Afterward, I stepped out of the office and begged my best friend, Edith Landon, to fill in for me. She was fair-skinned, a 23-year-old student nurse too.

Then I joined the ambulance and accompanied my mother to Milos Private Hospital.

***

The magnificent seven-story building was painted white, with doctors and nurses going about their duties.

When the ambulance stopped, the medics arrived and took my mother away. She was being transferred, so the attending doctor read her case and invited me to his office.

“Miss, I’m Dr. Nolan Bodhi. From your mother’s medical report, she is malnourished due to anxiety and lack of good food. We need to get a donor. Everything will cost 10 million.”

“What?” I gasped, almost collapsing where I stood in Dr. Nolan’s office.

“Doctor, where can I get such a huge amount?” I asked, trembling. Tears pooled in my eyes, and he shook his head. He was a middle-aged man. He informed me, “I don’t know. But you need to act fast and deposit at least 8 million before next weekend for your mother’s surgery to start.”

It was Friday, and I knew I had nowhere to raise the money.

“Doctor, where am I supposed to get that huge amount of money from? I can only afford to deposit 500,000,” I explained to him, but he shook his head.

“That’s the hospital policy. You have to pay the 8 million first. After we complete the surgery, you will need to pay the remaining 2 million balance. So you need to hurry up. To help save your mom, as she’s in critical condition,” he concluded, leaving me dumbfounded.

I left the doctor’s office and returned to the fourth-floor private ward where my mother was admitted. Medical supplies were connected to her body.

I moved closer to her bed, my eyes filled with tears, my body trembling.

“Mom, I cannot afford the kidney transplant surgery. Dr. Nolan said that we have to deposit the sum of 8 million for the surgery to start. Where am I to get that huge amount of money from?” I asked her, holding her pale right hand, as her left wrist was hooked to IV drips. Mom needed immediate surgery before the week elapsed.

My mother, Lilian Maxwell, was full of life before she lost her will to live after my father mercilessly cheated on her. He kicked her out of the mansion they had both built together with my mother’s sweat and effort, helping him build the Maddox Corporation from the ground up. Yet Dad was having an illicit affair with another woman. He called her his first love, the woman he was supposed to marry, not my mother. He called my mother the stepping stone who helped build him. After 24 years of marriage, he kicked her out like she didn’t matter to him.

“Arianna…” Mom called my name weakly. I leaned closer to her bed, my eyes filled with tears.

“Mom, I have to go and beg Dad. He has to help us get a donor. I cannot afford to lose you. Please, hang in there for me. You promised to follow me to my graduation. You promised to attend my wedding. You cannot leave me now,” I sobbed, my body trembling, mucus falling from my nose. But I did not care to wipe it off. What’s there to live for if my mother is not there to see me graduate?

“Don’t go to your father. He will not help you. Rose has him wrapped around her finger. You should take this,” Mom pulled off her precious necklace from around her neck and handed it over to me. It was an enchanting golden piece.

“Leave Eastpoll City and go back to Southpoll. You will meet my father there. He’s a farmer, but I am sure he will welcome you,” Mom said, wanting me to leave.

“No,” I cried, holding her hands firmly. “I am not leaving you behind. Your father cannot help me. Mom, I will try again. I will go and plead with Dad.”

I let go of her hands and turned to leave the hospital room. The smell of disinfectant filled the room.

“Arianna, wait!” Mom called, but I shook my head. I didn’t turn to look back at her face. Her condition was getting worse, and only a kidney transplant could save her life. She had been transferred to this private hospital, and I was only a student nurse. My salary wasn’t enough to take care of us, let alone deposit 8 million for a 10 million surgery.

Rushing out of the private room, I bumped into a tall figure in front of me. The thick smell of pine hung heavily in the air. His firm hands caught my waist and steadied me.

“Easy, Nurse! Watch where you’re rushing to!” His magnetic voice warned, but I was too disoriented to look up at his face and see who he was.

“I am sorry, sir,” I apologized, my body trembling, before I pushed myself away from his grip and ran past him. I rushed to the elevator and got into it.

The moment I looked up, I froze. The man was looking back at me, with two men in black standing next to him.

My jaw dropped when I realized it was Don Gabriel Milos, the owner of this Milos hospital. I knew about the Milos family. I had heard about them. They were the top Mafia family, owning the best private hospital, luxury restaurants, five-star hotels, and granting loans to the impoverished masses.

My heart pounded. I thought about asking Don Gabriel for the money, but he wouldn’t help me unless I brought something equivalent, like collateral, in case I wasn’t able to pay the debt.

The elevator shut, cutting off my hope of going to Don Gabriel. But he stood watching me, his gaze sharp. His blue eyes locked on mine, sending chills crashing down my spine.

I breathed out as the elevator rode to the last floor of this magnificent seven-story building. I needed to visit my father’s house. I knew that I would be bashed by my father, stepmother, and stepsister. But if it ended up saving my mother’s life, it was worth the abuse, the torture, and the humiliation. I didn’t mind it.

The Milos Hospital in Eastpoll was very expensive. But the doctor assured me he would get a matching kidney transplant for my mother, so long as I could afford to deposit the money.

As soon as the elevator stopped in the hospital lobby, I dashed out, rushing from the hospital building.

I made my way to the bus stop and flagged down a taxi.

Upon entering, I gave the taxi driver my father’s house address. My body trembled as I sat in the back seat. I didn’t even change out of my white nurse uniform.

I was working in a local hospital where I earned 100,000 as a new nurse. I was in my final year at the university, and I believed once I graduated, I would apply for a job at a better private hospital.

My phone rang, breaking my thoughts, and it was my boyfriend, Vincent Micah, calling me.

“Hello, babe,” I answered.

“Where are you?” Vincent asked, his voice cold.

“I am on my way to my father’s house. What’s wrong?”

“Babe, did you forget that I asked you to meet me today? Why are you going to your father’s house? You don’t just prioritize me. Why?” Vincent was furious.

“Vince, I’m sorry,” I replied weakly. “My mother’s health became worse, and she was transferred to Milos Hospital today. The doctor advised that I deposit 8 million out of the 10 million needed for the surgery, and I don’t have it.”

“Cut the crap, babe!” Vincent growled, and I felt stunned.

“Everything is about your mother. Your mother this and that. I am sick and tired of having you as my girlfriend. Let’s break up. Besides, you won’t let me sleep with you until we are married. I am done with you. Go find yourself another boyfriend.”

“What? Vincent—” I tried to beg him, but the call ended.

I recalled Vincent had invited me to come to his place this weekend, but my mother hadn’t gotten worse then, nor needed a transplant.

Shaking my head, my fingers brushed across my cheek as I wiped off my tears. The taxi pulled to a stop, and I saw that I had arrived at the housing estate where my dad lived.

After paying for my ride, I climbed out and phoned Vincent once more. But his number wasn’t connecting.

“Sorry, the number you dialed is not available,” the robotic response hit me hard like a physical slap.

Still in my white nurse uniform, I steadied myself and kept my phone away in my dress pocket as I rushed ahead to my father’s house to find him.