Chapter 2

Dr. Miller emerged from the burn intensive care unit, his scrubs still on, his brows deeply furrowed.

“Olivia, Eleanor's family?”

I shot up from the floor, my legs numb from kneeling for so long. I stumbled forward.

“I'm here.” I clutched the wall, my voice hoarse, like sandpaper.

He handed me a long payment slip and a critical condition notice simultaneously. His voice was low, yet every word hit like a ton of bricks: “The patient has 70% deep second-to-third degree burns across her body, accompanied by severe inhalation injuries. Her condition is very unstable tonight, and infection indicators are off the charts. Basic resuscitation will continue, but subsequent imported anti-infection medication and continuous hemodialysis require family consent and the fees must be paid as soon as possible. A deposit of $500,000 is needed first.”

I stared at the string of despairing numbers on the payment slip, my vision blurring, my ears ringing.

My mother-in-law, Eleanor, had been burned that afternoon.

An old house in an older part of the city had suffered a sudden electrical short and caught fire. The flames spread quickly. Neighbors had all run out, and Eleanor had initially escaped too. But then she remembered a necklace my mother had left me before she died, still in a bedroom drawer in the old house.

She knew it was my most cherished keepsake, and she rushed back into the flames without a second thought.

By the time the firefighters pulled her out, she was unrecognizable. Her skin was peeling and burnt, emitting a suffocating smell of scorched flesh.

Before she was pushed into the BICU, she couldn't even open her eyes, yet she clutched a smoke-blackened jade bracelet, trying with all her strength to press it into my hand.

Her dry, cracked lips moved for a long time, only managing a faint whisper:

“Olivia… it’s not broken… don’t cry…”

In that moment, my heart felt like it was being ripped apart.

But the one who should have been here, her own son, Ethan, was nowhere to be seen.

I trembled as I pulled out my phone and dialed the number I knew by heart.

The first call went unanswered.

The second was immediately hung up.

It wasn't until the fifteenth call that the phone finally connected.

Before I could speak, a woman's seductively sweet laughter floated from the other end.

“Ethan, help me put on this necklace. This pink diamond truly suits my complexion. I'll definitely be the center of attention on the film festival red carpet tonight.”

I froze, feeling like I'd been plunged into an ice bath.

Ethan's voice quickly dropped. “Olivia?”

I clutched the payment slip so hard my nails almost dug into my flesh, biting back my anger. “Where are you?”

He was silent for two seconds, his tone laced with impatience.

“I'm handling an urgent matter outside.”

“Your mother is in the BICU with 70% severe burns. The doctors need $500,000 for her life-saving treatment, and you're telling me you have an urgent matter?” I practically roared.

The other end of the line went silent for a moment, then Genevieve's cloyingly sweet and artificial voice broke through.

“Olivia, don't worry. Aren't the doctors at the hospital treating Eleanor? Ethan is with me on important business; tonight is incredibly important to me.”

I laughed, a bitter, shaking sound born of pure fury.

“What important business? More important than your own mother's life?!”

Ethan's voice immediately turned cold, a clear warning in his tone: “Olivia, don't be so harsh. Genevieve is walking the international film festival red carpet tonight. Her team invested so many resources. If she doesn't have a show-stopping piece of jewelry to make a statement tonight, her rivals will tear her apart. Who's going to cover those losses?”

I almost thought I was hallucinating.

“What about the $500,000 in our account that just matured?” I demanded, my voice sharp. “The bank manager just said the money was fully transferred by you at 1 PM this afternoon. Where did it go?!”

Ethan paused, then spoke with infuriating self-righteousness.

“I already used that money to pay the rental and deposit for Genevieve's pink diamond necklace. You figure something out for Mom for a couple of days. Just put some burn cream on it, she'll be fine. Don't make a big deal out of nothing.”

I stood in the empty, cold corridor, the constant beeping of monitoring equipment filling my ears. The cold seeped into my very bones.

“Ethan.” I asked him, enunciating each word. “Do you know where your mother is right now? Do you know what deep third-degree burns mean?”