Chapter3

That day at the hospital, Miller didn't make an arrest on the spot.

"Not enough evidence," he told me bluntly. "Illegal blood draws, tampering with medical records—those warrant administrative penalties at most. If you want to put them in prison for real, you have to wait for them to make a move themselves. Once they're caught red-handed, they won't be able to turn the case around."

So, I wasn't sent to a safe house. I was discharged from the hospital as usual and returned to this shared apartment in Brooklyn like nothing ever happened.

The night before I went back, I had Maya make an excuse to stay at a friend's place. Before leaving, she pressed the palm-sized device under the table three times, confirming the signal light blinked on. "Tested it. It works," she had said. "This was originally meant to ward off homeless intruders, but it's going to be mighty useful now."

From the moment I stepped through the apartment door, this was no longer a flight for my life. It was setting bait.

The Brooklyn slums always carried a piercing chill after nightfall. I jammed a broken-legged wooden chair against the rusted security door and kept the curtains drawn tight.

In my previous life, it was on a late night exactly like this when I was dragged into an unlicensed car. Liam had wrapped his arm around my shoulders and said, "Baby, the family's new medical equipment just arrived. Let's do a deep screening, just for peace of mind." Then, in that underground operating room, they cut open my womb, took my child, and harvested my heart.

This time, I was waiting for this exact scene to replay itself.

The wall clock pointed to eleven p.m.

With a deafening crash, the door lock shattered, and the wooden chair splintered into pieces instantly. Three hulking men barged into the cramped living room.

The lead man pulled a thick syringe from a temperature-controlled metal case. "Miss Lin, the advanced medical center has scheduled you for a final pre-op review."

In my past life, this was the exact hand that had held me down. When he inserted the needle, watching me cry and struggle, he had sneered, "It's an honor for a broke bum like you to supply a spare part for the heiress."

I snatched the fruit knife from the coffee table. Holding the trembling blade up, my fingertips smoothly pressed the transmitter under the table—the signal instantly connecting to the surveillance van outside. Pressing my back flat against the wall, I yelled, "Don't come any closer! Where's Liam?"

"Baby, don't be afraid. I'm here."

Liam walked in wearing a black trench coat, his tone still maintaining its last shred of tenderness.

"Put the knife down. Haven't you made enough of a scene?" He took a step forward. "Just get this surgery over with, and everything will be over."

"And if I don't go?"

The tiny bit of patience on his face vanished completely.

He pulled a document from his coat and slapped it onto the coffee table. "Five million, plus two properties. You and your roomie can barely scrape together rent. Sign it, and you'll never have to count pennies for the rest of your life."

"I'm pregnant," I gritted through my teeth. "Forcibly harvesting my organs is murder."

"It's just a controllable procedure!" he practically roared, flipping to the last page of the document and slamming his knuckles viciously onto the signature line. "You already signed the medical proxy authorization. After you pass out, I call the shots—no matter what kind of fit you're throwing right now."

I stared at that signature. It was forged with chilling accuracy.

"Do it." He turned around, keeping his back to me. "Don't damage her face."

The men in black rushed forward and twisted my wrist viciously, sending the fruit knife clattering to the floor. The other man aimed the tip of his needle straight at my vein.

"Liam!"

He didn't look back.

At the exact split second the needle was about to pierce my skin, a faint sound came from outside the window, like the sole of a boot crushing gravel—so soft I almost thought it was an illusion.

The next second, glass shattered inward.