Chapter 4

I had just walked out of the mall when my phone suddenly rang.

It was a call from the hospital back in my hometown.

"Are you related to Lucy Crane? Your grandmother, Eleanor Brooks, suddenly collapsed. The preliminary diagnosis is an acute brain hemorrhage, and she needs surgery immediately. Please prepare $100,000 for the surgery."

My mind went blank with a loud buzz.

My parents had both died when I was young. Grandma El had raised me by collecting recyclables. She was the only family I had in this world.

I forced myself to stay calm. "Doctor, please arrange the surgery first. I'll get the money together as quickly as I can!"

After hanging up, I immediately checked all my bank accounts.

I'd put every penny I had into buying Vance's luxury condo, and I'd even taken out a mortgage against my little house.

Now I had less than $20,000 in liquid cash.

I took a deep breath and called Vance. The phone rang for a long time before he finally answered.

His voice was filled with irritation and anger. "Lucy, what the hell did you do? Why is my account frozen?"

I ignored his questions, my voice trembling. "Vance, my grandmother has had a brain hemorrhage and is in the hospital. She needs $100,000 immediately to save her life. Give me back $100,000 of the $300,000 I transferred to you."

There was a moment of silence on the other end.

Then Vance's cold voice came through. "$100,000? Where am I supposed to get that kind of money? That $300,000 was specifically for Margot's treatment. Not a single cent can be touched."

I tightened my grip on the phone, my fingernails digging deep into my palm. "Vance, that's my money! My grandmother is lying in the emergency room waiting for the money she needs to survive! Margot isn't sick at all. Give me my money back!"

Vance panicked, his voice rising. "What the hell are you talking about? How can Margot not be sick?

"Lucy, stop being unreasonable. Your grandmother is already in her eighties. Even if she recovers, she'll only suffer. Let nature take its course. Margot is still young. Her life is far more important than your grandmother's."

My heart sank completely. Cold spread through my entire body.

Then I heard Bridget's voice through the phone. "Lucy, Vance is right. Your grandmother is so old. Throwing all that money into her treatment is just wasting it. You can't let someone who's about to die get in the way of Margot's treatment. Can't you tell what matters more?"

Listening to them sing the same tune, I felt so cold I could barely keep hold of my phone.

These were the fiancé and best friend I'd given my whole heart to. In their eyes, my grandmother's life wasn't even worth as much as one of Margot's designer handbags.

"Vance, Bridget, you'll both get what you deserve," I said calmly, then hung up.

I didn't beg them again.

I called my former college professor and borrowed $80,000 from him. Once I'd scraped together the full surgery fee, I transferred it to the hospital.

Then I bought the earliest high-speed train ticket back home.

On the train, I watched the scenery outside race backward.

I opened my phone and organized all the evidence I'd collected—the transfer records, screenshots of the messages, the private investigator's report, and the video I'd recorded at the mall that day—into a single folder.

Vance, you wanted to go to the Maldives, didn't you? I'll make sure you get there.