Chapter 3

Days of stress and humiliation finally broke my body.

My acute gastritis flared up while I was in the kitchen preparing honey water for Cameron.

A sharp pain hit me, and everything went black.

When I woke up, I was on a gurney in a hospital hallway.

People rushed past. The noise was deafening, like a marketplace.

A nurse walked over with a cold expression and slapped a payment notice onto my blanket.

"Summer Lincoln, right? Pay up now, or we're cutting off your IV."

I pulled out my phone to transfer money, but it showed insufficient funds.

Adrian had transferred all my money out of my account!

With trembling hands, I dialed Adrian's number.

No answer.

I called again. He hung up.

My stomach throbbed with pain. I pulled the IV needle from the back of my hand and shuffled toward the payment desk, clutching my abdomen.

As I passed the VIP ward section, I heard a familiar voice.

"Does it hurt? Let me blow on it. There, all better."

It was Adrian's voice.

So gentle it could melt sugar.

I turned stiffly and looked through the half-open door at a scene that made my chest tighten.

In the spacious, luxurious single room, Ruby sat on the bed wearing a pink hospital gown.

Adrian sat beside her, peeling an apple.

"Babe, I'm so clumsy. I burned myself making soup."

"No more kitchen for you. Just tell me what you want—I'll make it."

Adrian sliced a piece of apple and fed it to her.

"I already had the head of the hospital call in the best surgeon for a consultation. I promise you won't have a scar."

I shoved the door open, clutching my cramping stomach, my face deathly pale.

"Adrian, what gives you the right to freeze my account?"

Adrian's hand jerked. The apple slice fell to the floor.

He turned around. The moment he saw me, the warmth in his eyes turned to ice.

"Are you following me?"

"Summer, have you no shame? Faking illness and chasing me to the hospital to make a scene?"

Ruby shrank behind Adrian with a little gasp.

"Oh my God! Your face is so scary, like a ghost..."

Adrian patted her hand soothingly, then turned to glare at me.

"Look what you did! You scared Ruby!"

"She's already timid—she can't handle this kind of shock!"

The cramping in my stomach intensified. Cold sweat dripped down my forehead.

I was doubled over in pain, gripping the doorframe just to stay upright.

"Adrian, what right do you have to take my money? That was for Cameron's legal fees!"

Adrian sneered.

"You've been a little too defiant lately. Consider this a lesson."

He shoved me aside.

Already weak, I crashed hard onto the floor.

My stomach hit the ground. The pain made me curl up like a shrimp.

I couldn't even scream. My vision blurred.

Adrian stepped over my body and scooped Ruby into his arms.

"Did you hurt your wound just now? Let's switch rooms and have the doctor check you again."

I lay alone on the cold floor, surrounded by a crowd of onlookers.

"That guy's brutal."

"His wife's in so much pain..."

A family member from a nearby bed finally called for help.

When I woke up again, I was in the emergency room.

My phone held a message from Adrian.

An invoice.

[Ruby suffered psychological trauma from the scare. Her wound tore open again and she's experiencing mental distress.]

[VIP room fees plus emotional damages: $50,000 total.]

[Deducting it from your brother's legal fees.]

Then Marcus called.

He was Cameron's gallery owner—and the only friend who knew what I was going through.

"Summer, we have a problem."

Marcus's voice was urgent.

"Cameron's forensic report came back, but... Adrian's withholding it unilaterally."

"He says it needs re-examination and can't be submitted to the court yet."

"If we don't get the original by tomorrow morning, Cameron's going to be taken into custody."

My phone slipped from my hand.