rchitect, and Ethan Knight, CEO of a private equity firm. It sounded like a power couple, a success story. I planne

uspended Amidst Malpractice Scandal." Falsified documents, leaked with surgical precision, painted my father as a monster, responsible for

e. The nurse suddenly, inexplicably, became unavailable. Ethan, ever so helpful, had been at their house earlier. He' d "accidentally" l

ue face, his true intent. "This is for my father, for my mother' s suicide. Five years, Ava. Five years I' ve waited to give you this." The words were hammer bl

eance. His father' s botched surgery, his mother' s subsequent suicide from grief. He believed Dr. Miller was the architect of

transplant. I was a match. An anonymous donation. My heart beat in his chest. I lived with an advanced artificial heart, a m

is savior. She' d "miraculously" found the anonymous donor. He kept her close, a confidant

ay, Ava," he' d sneered. Ninety-nine times I tried to escape, to end it. Ninety-nine times his guards

. And with him, three women. My cousin, Sarah, whose college tuition I' d paid when her family was struggling. My childhood best friend, Emily, whom I' d supported through a

"Whoever makes Ava cry first gets an exclusive contract with Knig

es. I remembered her tearful gratitude, the desperate hugs when I' d handed her the

added hot sauce, the fumes burning my eyes, the liquid scalding my skin. "Remember all those nights I cried on your should

parents' mementos. My father' s vintage watch, its ticking a faint echo of his life. My mother' s favorite silk scarf, still holding her faint, familiar scent. A sma

the silk scarf. My mother' s scarf. She ripped it, the sound tearing

yone associated with Ava Miller disgusts me." He watche

there, radiant, triumphant. "Ava, meet my fiancée, Chloe," Ethan said, his voice dripping with malice.

inst me. My artificial heart, failing, counting down my last days. I was shattered, but