Chapter 6

A few days later, Nicky had a medical episode and was rushed to the hospital.

Adeline hovered over him, tending to his every need.

"Adeline, my condition is getting worse," he said weakly. "Does Samuel really not want to save me?"

Watching Nicky put on this pathetic act, I felt nothing but disgust.

Sure, his illness was rare—and there weren't many doctors in the country who could treat it besides me. But it was never this severe.

He was just putting on a show, playing up his symptoms because he'd realized Adeline still couldn't fully let go of me.

And it worked. Adeline's hatred for me burned even hotter. Her voice cracked with desperation as she said, "Don't worry, I will find Samuel. I swear it."

For Nicky's sake, Adeline stormed into my mother's hospital room. She yanked my mother—still in critical care—straight off the bed and onto the floor.

My sister, who had been dozing nearby, jolted awake. She'd dropped out of school to work multiple part-time jobs just to cover our mother's medical bills. She hadn't slept in nearly twenty hours. Seeing this, she broke down in tears.

"Adeline, please! Just leave my mother alone! She's so sick. Please don't hurt her!"

Adeline delivered her final ultimatum.

"Have Samuel show up, cure Nicky's illness, and I'll let your whole family go. Otherwise, I'll make sure you lose your last remaining family member today."

And then, the heart monitor beside my mother's bed let out a long, flat beep and flatlined.

Under the relentless torment, my mother had slipped away.

My sister clutched our mother's body and wailed, her grief turning into a frenzy as she screamed at Adeline.

"Samuel is dead! He's been dead for years! Why won't you believe me?!

"He died four years ago! Four years ago, he gave you his heart, and you didn't even know!

"He made us promise not to tell you! He didn't want you to hurt, Adeline!

"I hate you! I hope you regret this for the rest of your life!"

With those words, my sister collapsed, sobbing over our mother's body, completely drained.

Adeline staggered back as though she'd been struck by lightning. Her voice trembled.

"That can't be— I see what this is. You're lying to me! There's no way Samuel—no way someone like him—would ever donate his heart to me! I'm going to look into this myself. I won't believe a word of it!"