CHAPTER 2

The hospital doors burst open.

“Critical head trauma! No pulse for four seconds!” the paramedic shouted as they wheeled Kelvin in.

Clarita followed behind them, her heart racing painfully.

They pushed Kelvin into the emergency room, his hair soaked in blood.

For a moment, Clarita stood there alone. She felt helpless, and weak.

It was about life, about someone hanging between life and death.

The doors slammed shut in her face.

She sat down feeling guilty. She wouldn’t have hit him if she had matched the brake.

She stayed there all night.

Every time a nurse walked past, she lifted her head sharply.

“Is he alive?” she whispered every single time.

No answer.

Only fear.

**

The next morning, while Kelvin fought for his life, Patra stood in her living room, smiling as if nothing had happened.

Her mother, Benita, fussed with her hair, humming.

“You look beautiful, my daughter,” she said. “New beginnings require new beauty.”

Patra smirked. “I feel free.”

“Good,” Benita said. “Dolph is on his way.”

Patra blinked. “Already?”

“Yes,” Benita replied. “I invited him. You two must start planning your future. This time, you will marry well.”

The doorbell rang.

Benita almost danced as she opened the door.

Dolph Jameson walked in. Tall, muscular, dressed in an expensive suit, the kind of man Benita had always wanted for her daughter. A man with money.

He smiled widely when he saw Patra.

“You’re even prettier than in the photos,” he said.

Patra giggled and touched her hair.

Benita stood proudly between them.

“My daughter is single now,” she said boldly.

Dolph was a wealthy, attractive man Benita met at a beach party. Lured by his fortune, she began pushing her daughter Patra toward him, even promising to arrange Patra’s divorce from Kelvin. A promise she kept.

Though Dolph had no genuine interest in Patra at first, her photographs sparked a dark idea. He saw in her not a person, but a tool: someone to exploit for his pleasure and control as a submissive plaything - a living doll to command and discard.

Then, shamelessly, right in front of her mother, Dolph leaned in and kissed Patra.

A deep kiss that made Patra blush.

Benita clapped her hands in excitement.

“Perfect! This is perfect! You two will make a wonderful couple.”

Patra smiled.

She liked how Dolph held her waist, and the way his touch brushed against her breast. It made her feel wanted.. even if she wasn’t sure she should.

Her little boy, their son Mike, walked into the living room.

“Mom, when is daddy coming home?” The five-year-old asked.

“Your dad has traveled, and he won’t be back soon,” Patra replied, brushing his hair with her fingers. “Go meet grandma,” she said, pointing to Benita.

But Mike simply turned and walked back to the room, a poor little boy uneasy with his mother’s reaction and with Dolph’s hand on her waist.

Meanwhile, Kelvin’s blood still stained the streets somewhere in Boston…

But in Patra’s house, there was laughter, kissing, and even wedding talk. Everything was happening so fast, in just two days.

**

That morning, Clarita still hadn’t slept. 

The moment she saw Jack and Pamela walk into the hospital, she broke down. They were her children, and she had held her fear alone all night.

“Mom?” Jack said, rushing to her side.

“Mom, what is wrong?” Pamela asked.

They both hugged her. She felt the love of the children she had raised alone. 

She pointed weakly at the emergency doors.

“There was.. there was an accident,” she whispered. “I hit someone. A young man. He looked.. so broken already. And now he needs surgery. A serious one.”

“The doctor said there’s a blood clot pressing on his brain.”

The doctor stepped out at that moment.

“We need to operate immediately,” he said. “It’s critical.”

“How much is the surgery?” Clarita asked.

The doctor told her the amount.

Clarita didn’t blink.

“I’ll pay everything,” she said. “Do it now.”

Her eyes filled instantly. Pamela wrapped her arms around her.

“Mom, let us take you home. You need to sleep and rest. I’m sure he’ll be fine. You’re really exhausted. Mom, please.. we need you to be okay.”

“No,” Clarita said firmly. “I’m staying. I’m not going anywhere until I know he is safe.”

Her children were more worried - they had never seen her like that.

Not once.

She looked scared.

**

Back at Patra’s house, Dolph had already left, but Patra could still feel his deep kiss. She wanted more of his touch.

“You must sell this house immediately,” Benita whispered from the kitchen.

Patra didn’t even try to argue. She raised her brows. “Now?”

“Yes,” Benita snapped, walking into the living room. “Strike fast before Kelvin starts begging again. Sell it and buy a new house in your own name.”

She grinned, satisfied with her plan. “That way, Kelvin can NEVER claim anything. Not even one brick.”

Patra nodded slowly, thinking. 

Kelvin’s entire life was being erased.

Piece by piece.

In the hospital, he was fighting to stay alive.

At home, they were already replacing him.