Chapter 4

Chloe's POV

At 2:00 PM sharp, I walked into the laboratory.

The facility was quiet, sterile, and smelled heavily of disinfectant. After verifying my ID, the receptionist led me into a cold, windowless conference room.

A thick stack of documents was laid out in front of me with a dull thud.

"Miss Vance, today is your final in-person consultation. We need to confirm your absolute consent one last time."

The coordinator flipped to the most critical clause, reading it aloud clearly:

"Once signed, this agreement is legally binding and completely irrevocable. Upon your passing, your body will be under the sole custody of this laboratory for irreversible medical and neurological research. Your husband, children, parents, or any direct relatives will have no legal right to claim your body, nor will they have the right to revoke this agreement."

The papers on the table felt as cold as metal.

I looked at the text. A soft, relaxed smile actually appeared on my pale face.

"So," I spoke softly, my voice hoarse but incredibly firm, "after I die, they won't even be able to get a single grain of my ashes. Is that correct?"

The coordinator looked at me with a complicated expression, then nodded. "Yes. All your physical remains will have absolutely nothing to do with your family."

"Perfect."

Without a single moment of hesitation, I grabbed the pen.

The tip of the pen swept across the signature line, leaving a sharp, decisive stroke.

Along with the scratching sound of the pen, I closed my eyes. I had finally severed the very last tie binding me to the Vance family.

By the time I walked out of the building, the sky had already turned dark.

On my way back to the motel, the streetlights flickered on, casting a warm glow through the windows of local shops, reflecting the happy laughter of ordinary families.

I paused, watching the warm scenes through the glass for a moment. Then, as if nothing had happened, I looked away and kept walking into the dark alley.

The creaky wooden stairs of the motel groaned under my feet.

I held onto the peeling banister as I walked back to my room. I pushed open the bathroom door and plunged my hands into the cold water. Suddenly, a rush of copper sweetness welled up in my throat.

A massive amount of dark red blood splattered violently across the stained sink.

I doubled over in agony, my hands gripping the edge of the porcelain sink so hard my nails made a screeching sound.

Every violent cough felt like dozens of rusty knives hacking away at my chest and abdomen.

Another wave of blood splattered directly onto the mirror.

The cold water kept running, washing the blood down the drain in a swirling, pink vortex.

My body was completely giving out.

I tried to reach for my pills, but my legs gave way. My back hit the wall hard, and I slid down onto the freezing, wet tile floor.

My pain medication was in my bag right next to the bed.

I struggled to reach out, my fingers clawing at the empty air, but I couldn't even reach the bathroom threshold.

The faucet was still running, and the water began to overflow onto the floor, seeping through the crack beneath the door.

Night fell completely.

I heard the motel owner's heavy footsteps coming up the stairs to collect deposits. He stopped outside my door, pounding on the wood. "Miss Vance? Miss Vance, are you in there?"

He knocked three times. But other than the sound of rushing water, there was no response.

I heard his voice, but I couldn't make a sound.

Suddenly, I heard the owner let out a terrified scream.

"Oh my God! Someone's dead! Call the police!"

His frantic footsteps scrambled back down the stairs.

He would probably call the emergency contact on my form, Vanessa.

In the corner of the dark bathroom, I slumped against the wall, surrounded by a pool of diluted blood.

I looked up at the flickering bulb on the ceiling, my vision slowly fading. Before slipping into complete darkness, only one thought remained in my mind:

Logan... we are finally even.

By the time Vanessa rushed to the motel, I was slumped against the wall. The blood on my lips had dried, and my face was terrifyingly pale.

"Chloe!"

Vanessa knelt down, slapping my cheeks gently, but I had absolutely no energy left to respond. I saw her pull out her phone, her voice shaking with panic as she called for an ambulance, repeating the motel address twice before I finally blacked out.

The emergency room lights stayed bright past midnight. I heard the doctor walk out into the hallway with my lab results, his tone grave.

"The patient is in the terminal stage of cancer. Multiple organs are already showing signs of failure. She has been pushing her body to the limit with heavy medication."

Vanessa stood in the hallway. "Is there any way to treat her?"

The doctor replied, "We are stabilizing her now, but she needs to be moved to an ICU. Her family needs to get here as soon as possible."

"She has no family."

As soon as Vanessa said that, I heard her dial a number. Someone answered quickly. Half an hour later, a lawyer arrived at the hospital, his suit jacket still carrying the chill of the night wind.

"The authorization agreement has already taken effect." The lawyer handed the legal documents to the doctor, then turned to Vanessa. "She signed the donor agreement in advance. Our partner hospital is ready to receive her. Her former family has no legal right to make decisions for her."

Vanessa's fingers trembled as she stared at the papers.

"When did she sign this?"

"She signed it remotely while she was still in prison. We finalized the in-person verification today."

Vanessa turned her head to look at me through the glass.

I lay on the bed with an oxygen mask strapped to my face. My wrists were so thin that the IV tape looked ridiculously wide. Vanessa walked into the room and pulled up a chair. She opened her phone and looked at the message I had sent her on the day I got out of prison.

It was just one sentence:

Vanessa, I'm leaving.

She turned off the screen and placed the phone on the nightstand. The lawyer walked in to inform her that the transfer paperwork was complete. They would move me to the research facility first thing in the morning.