Chapter 4

Hanging up, a rare sense of peace finally washed over me.

To my surprise, Chloe announced the very next morning that her fever had broken and she was ready for surgery.

Pre-op assessments today, final blood panels tomorrow.

Neither my parents nor Julian showed a trace of concern, nor did they bother consulting me.

By the afternoon, orderlies and nurses swarmed into my room, unlocking the wheels of my bed to push me toward the surgical wing.

"I'm not going!" I gripped the bed rails with everything I had.

Julian offered a calm smile, but his hands held my shoulders down with brutal force:

"Natalie, Chloe took the prep shots just for you! Stop acting like a spoiled child!"

Chloe stood by the doorway, tears welling in her eyes:

"Natalie, I already took the mobilization injections... and now you're refusing?"

"I said no."

My father's face darkened. "You don't get a say in this!"

Several orderlies pinned me down. As I fought back, the metal IV pole crashed onto the floor with a loud clang.

Chloe darted behind Julian, tears cascading down her cheeks.

"Natalie, I'm sacrificing my body to save your life. Why do you have to step on my heart like this?"

"Even if you despise me, you can't throw your own life away!"

My mother wrapped Chloe in an embrace, glaring at me with raw venom:

"Natalie Ward, do you have any idea how much pain Chloe is enduring for you?! When is this childish tantrum going to end?!"

"Chloe, don't be afraid," my father said, his voice filled with a tenderness I had never received.

"Walk into that operating room with your head high. I'm transferring fifty percent of the company's shares to your name today."

"You are saving our daughter. You are our family's savior, and we will never shortchange you."

Chloe's eyes flashed with unmistakable greed, though her lips still formed a modest protest:

"Richard, I can't accept that... I'm doing this out of love, not for money."

My mother held her hand with tearful affection:

"You deserve every penny, sweet girl. You are our lucky star."

Listening to them made my stomach turn violently.

The orderlies pinned my arms and legs.

Julian uttered two cold words:

"Tie her down."

Restraint straps were wrapped tightly around my wrists and ankles, biting deep into my skin.

My phone slipped from under the sheets, and I managed to dial that number one last time amid the chaos.

A second later, Julian snatched it away.

"Natalie, you'd rather trust an outsider than your own family?"

He ended the call and smashed the phone into the trash can.

"You think anyone is coming to save you today?"

I glared straight into his eyes, spacing out every word:

"Do you have any idea that you've stalled me to the very end?"

"If she backs out on that table, I will die right there!"

"Did a single one of you think about that?!"

Chloe burst into theatrical wails, acting like the most victimized soul on earth:

"Why would I back out?! How could you accuse me of that?!"

"I took the medication! I'm standing right here! What else do I have to do to prove my heart?!"

My father slammed his fist onto the table, his finger pointing at my nose:

"Bastard! Son of a bitch! All you know how to do is spew poison at innocent people!"

"How did I raise a daughter like you?!"

Julian let go of my arm, his eyes as cold as a frozen lake:

"Natalie, sometimes I genuinely regret ever falling for a woman like you."

My mother turned her back, holding Chloe and comforting her softly.

I suddenly burst out laughing.

Laughter mixed with tears that poured down my cheeks.

In my past life, what they did to me was a hundred times crueler.

Back then, every knife they drove into my back was wrapped in honeyed words.

Now that the mask was gone, their true ugliness lay completely bare.

As they began rolling my bed toward the doors, I glanced at the clock on the wall and felt an eerie stillness settle inside me.

"See? If you had just behaved, we wouldn't have had to do this!" Julian snapped.

In my head, I counted down.

Three.

Two.

One.

A deep, commanding voice shattered the noise in the hallway:

"Who authorized an operation against the patient's explicit refusal?"