Chapter 3

Evelyn's POV:

RSV. Respiratory syncytial virus.

For most healthy kids, it might mean nothing more than a runny nose, a cough, and a few days of low fever.

But since Sophia's diagnosis, the doctors had warned me to do everything I could to protect her from RSV. An infection would drive up her need for oxygen and put even more strain on her failing heart.

"Even without the brain bleed, the RSV infection would be enough to call off today's surgery," Dr. Carter said.

"For Sophia, an infection after surgery could take her life even faster than heart failure."

Everything had happened so fast. I couldn't accept that the healthy future I'd planned for Sophia had been shattered in an instant.

"Then what happens to the heart?"

Dr. Carter was silent for a moment.

"Once the heart passes its safe storage limit, it can't be transplanted anymore."

It hadn't saved Sophia.

And it wouldn't save anyone else either.

I stumbled into the restroom and locked the door. I sat on the toilet lid, covered my face, and finally let myself cry.

Just then, the little pink booklet I'd kept tucked in my bag fell out.

In her wobbly handwriting, the cover read, "When I Get My New Heart."

Inside, Sophia had listed all the things she wanted to do.

"Run to the front gate of the estate to get the mail for Mommy."

"Go to a sleepover at a friend's house without a nurse."

"Swim across the deepest part of the pool."

"And race Daddy to the oak tree in the garden to see who gets there first."

When she woke up, how could I tell her the heart she'd been waiting for was gone?

Half an hour later, I stood at the ICU window, staring numbly at Sophia's tiny body.

The ventilator mask covered most of her face, and machines of every kind loomed around her like giant monsters.

Dr. Carter brought me the third piece of bad news. "The RSV infection has made her heart failure worse. We have to increase her medication just to keep her heart working."

"But what? You doctors always have a 'but' after a string of medical terms."

Dr. Carter let out a deep sigh.

"But we don't know whether her heart can make it through this RSV infection."

I nodded and didn't say anything more.

"Ma'am." It was Mara Bennett's voice.

She led my personal security and was one of the few people in the Vassallo family who answered only to me.

We'd scheduled the transplant a month earlier. Since then, I'd kept Sophia isolated at the estate, just as the doctors ordered.

There was no way she should have caught RSV.

"The staff who cared for Miss Sophia all tested negative for RSV. During that time, she only had contact with two guests."

The answer hit me at once.

Five days ago, Dante had arranged a dinner at the estate to celebrate the alliance between the Vassallo and Ricci families.

Isabella, one of the Ricci family's key members, came with her son.

Dante told me they'd be staying at the estate for a while. It was closer to the cancer center and better guarded than the Ricci home, and he said it would help cement the alliance.

My gut told me it was a terrible decision. With Sophia's surgery so close, this was a critical time, and I didn't want any surprises.

But Dante didn't give me a chance to say no.

"Ever since Leo was diagnosed with leukemia, he's been in and out of the hospital, just like Sophia. He doesn't have any friends. He's lonely. Put yourself in Isabella's shoes. I know you understand. If we turn them away, think how hurt she'll be. Maybe the two sick kids could become friends and cheer each other on."

I remembered the first time a classmate uninvited Sophia from a birthday party. She hid under her blanket, her eyes red from crying, and asked me if her heart condition was contagious.

It had taken me a long time to make her believe she hadn't done anything wrong.

I didn't want to be another grown-up who made a sick child feel unwelcome.

So when Isabella timidly asked if the two kids could play together for ten minutes, I didn't even say no.

"So Leo gave Sophia the RSV?" I asked Mara.

"That's right, but Leo wasn't the original source. Two days before the dinner, Isabella had a cough and a low fever. She went to a private clinic, and her RSV test came back positive."

My hands slowly curled into fists.

Something I'd overlooked suddenly came back to me.

Before Leo went into Sophia's bedroom, I'd asked Isabella specifically about RSV.

"Of course."

She answered without a moment's hesitation and took out two test reports.

"I know Sophia's about to have her transplant. Even if you hadn't asked, I'd never let Leo near her without having him tested first."

There was no doubt about it. She'd faked those test reports and deliberately exposed my daughter to the virus most dangerous to her.

"Why would she do that?" My voice shook with rage.

"Leo has leukemia. Making Sophia miss her transplant isn't going to cure her son overnight. What does she get out of it?"

"I haven't found her motive yet."

"Keep digging." I pressed my fists to my chest. "Until we know, don't let anyone find out what we've discovered."

"Including the Don?"

I looked at the monitor leads attached to Sophia's chest.

"Especially him."

Alarms sounded inside the ICU, and doctors and nurses rushed in.

I couldn't bear to watch. I went out into the hallway, took out my phone, scrolled to the bottom of my contacts, and called a number I hadn't dialed in six years.

"Evelyn?"

"Florian, it's me. Listen, I need you to look at a medical file for me. It's my daughter's. She might not survive long enough for another heart transplant."