Though Lily was gravely ill, Charles was a heart transplant specialist—that should have meant something.

But all these years, his heart was never in this family. Never with Lily.

The first time a suitable donor appeared, Lily was five.

I brought her to the hospital, hope burning in my chest.

The administrator told me Charles had given the heart to Mia Simmons's mother.

That night, Charles held me while I fell apart. He even shed tears.

"Althea, Lily can wait a little longer, but Mia's mother can't. She's the only family Mia has left in this world. Mia is devoted to her—if her mother dies, I'm afraid Mia won't survive it either. I can't watch my student die in front of me. You understand, don't you?"

I swallowed the bitterness. Watched Lily grow weaker by the day. Prayed we'd find another match soon.

By some miracle, the following year, another donor appeared.

This time, Charles didn't even tell me. He simply intercepted the heart and gave it to someone else.

I only found out afterward: the recipient was a child from Mia's village, a neighbor's kid.

I screamed. I fought. All I got in return was Charles growing colder.

I consulted relationship experts online. They told me I should try harder to please him. Maybe if I kept him happy, he wouldn't do this again.

So I did. Even in the bedroom, where his demands grew increasingly degrading, I gave him everything he wanted.

The humiliation. The heartache. But for Lily, I had no choice.

It worked. Charles smiled more at home.

But Lily's body deteriorated by the day.

Three months ago, the doctors delivered an ultimatum: if Lily didn't receive a transplant this year, she never would.

I told Charles countless times. Begged him.

And heaven answered—another donor matched.

But this time, he gave that chance at life to Mia Simmons's son.

"Hey, did you hear? That heart transplant Director Abbott performed today—that little boy didn't even need it!"

The nurses' chatter outside the morgue froze the blood in my veins.

I pressed myself against the door.

Fragments of conversation drifted through.

"I know, right? The car accident was nothing serious. The assistant even tried to intervene—said they should save the heart for Lily. But Director Abbott lost his temper on the spot. Insisted the boy needed the transplant, said recovery would be better this way, that the parents would feel more at ease."

"This is the third time, isn't it? You think there's something going on between him and that student, Mia? Why else would he be deranged enough to sacrifice his own daughter's life for her?"

"Shh! The girl's body is right there in the morgue—keep your voice down!"

The voices faded.

I stared at the recording I'd just captured on my phone.

My legs gave out. I slid down the wall and crumpled to the floor.

So Bryce never needed that heart.

So that heart was always meant for Lily.

Just hours ago, Lily had been prepping for surgery, every smile and gesture seared into my memory.

She'd stood there in her hospital gown, so small, holding my hand. Braver than I ever was.

"Mommy, don't worry. Daddy will bring me back safe and sound."

"Daddy's a hero. He's saved so many kids—he'll definitely save me too."

Over and over, I stroked her face—that face now mottled blue from suffocation.

I had told her:

"That's right, sweetheart. In just a few hours, you'll be running and jumping with all the other children..."

The anesthesia flowed into Lily's small body. Slowly, she drifted away.

I waited and waited, but Charles never came. When I finally called him, what I got instead was Lily's death sentence.

I wanted to rush out and confront Charles like a madwoman. The moment I burst through the door, I ran straight into his assistant, who fell to his knees at my feet, sobbing, telling me it was too late.

That beating heart had already been transplanted into Bryce's body.

They'd injected the pre-surgery drugs. The operation never happened. My Lily was gone forever.

Lily's smile, her laughter, her little voice—all of it tangled together with Charles's cold, clinical tone. Hatred crashed over me like a tidal wave.

I forced myself to stay calm. I turned around, went to Charles's office, and took the key to the medical records room.

A few minutes later, the surveillance footage of Charles performing Bryce's surgery was saved on my phone.

I curled up in the hospital corridor, watching the recording.

In the operating room, Charles issued his orders without a shred of hesitation:

"Transplant the donor heart into Bryce."

"But Dr. Abbott, this child doesn't need a transplant! This heart was meant for Lily—Lily can't wait any longer—"

"Shut up! A few meals from my wife and you forget whose side you're on?!"

"This heart goes to Bryce! Lily can wait for the next one!"

"If she can't handle a little hardship, she doesn't deserve to be my child!"

The hardship Bryce couldn't handle, Lily had to bear instead.

Charles. What a selfless, devoted Director Abbott.

I gripped my phone until my knuckles went white.

Charles. You killed Lily. And now your brilliant career is over.

After I made sure Lily was properly taken care of in the morgue, I dragged my exhausted body home.

The moment I opened the door, I saw Mia and Bryce sprawled across my sofa.

At the sound of the lock, Charles emerged from the kitchen wearing an apron.

"Althea, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and change your shoes—come help me in the kitchen!"

He gestured toward Mia and Bryce on the couch, a flicker of bashfulness crossing his face.

"Bryce's surgery was a success, so Mia brought him over to thank me. And you too, of course—his wonderful mentor's wife."

"Come on, don't just stand there. We have guests! Go make them feel welcome!"

"Oh, and I haven't seen Lily since I got home. Where did that girl run off to? Call her back—she should be here playing with Bryce!"

Mia looked up at me lazily from the sofa, wearing my slippers, her smile thin and reluctant.

Bryce's snack crumbs had fallen onto Lily's slippers, leaving a large greasy stain.

Lily had always been so careful about keeping things clean.

Humiliation upon humiliation pressed against my chest until I couldn't breathe.

I couldn't take it anymore.

I slammed the door with all my strength and pointed at Lily's empty room, screaming like a woman possessed:

"Charles! Lily is dead!"

In an instant, the lively room went deathly silent.

Charles froze.

He poked his head out from the kitchen and stared at me.

After a long moment, his voice turned ice-cold.

"Althea, this again? It's getting old. Bryce just got out of surgery, and you're going on about death? Who exactly are you putting on this show for?"

"Lily's been spoiled rotten by you. Guests come over and she's nowhere to be found—off running wild somewhere. If she doesn't want to come home that badly, then fine—don't come back at all! Mia and Bryce can sleep in her room tonight."

"And you, Althea—if you insist on ruining the mood, then you can leave too!"

He waved Bryce over from the sofa.

"Go on, Bryce. You've always wanted to sleep in your big sister Lily's room, haven't you? Tonight, it's all yours!"

The moment Bryce heard this, he scrambled off the couch and darted toward Lily's room.

Mia hurried after him.

As she passed me, a flash of triumph flickered in her eyes.

My heart lurched.

That look told me everything—she knew about Lily's death.

Something inside me shattered.

I didn't even take off my shoes. I charged toward Lily's room like a woman possessed, pointing at Mia and Bryce, my voice tearing out of my throat.

"Get out!"

"Get out of Lily's room!"

Bryce burst into tears.

In the blink of an eye, Mia's voice took on a tearful tremor. "Mrs. Pruitt, what are you doing? Bryce just had surgery—if you scream at him like this, something could happen to him..."

I fixed my gaze on her, teeth clenched. "You knew Lily was already—"

Slap!

Before I could finish, Charles's palm struck my face.

"Althea! Are you done with this nonsense?!"

"Charles, Lily is dead! If you don't believe me, go to the hospital morgue—she's lying there right now!"

"And your precious student Mia knew all along!"

"Do you even know how Lily died? You killed her! You took the donor heart and—"

"You're insane!!"

Charles's roar cut me off again.

He grabbed me by the collar and dragged me to the storage room, slamming the door and locking me inside.

Then he called the psychiatric hospital.

Half an hour later, two orderlies hauled me out of the house.

I glared at Charles, my voice raw. "Charles Abbott, you'll rot in hell! You killed Lily—I will never let this go!"

But all that awaited me were restraints.

And the sound of Charles and Mia's laughter drifting from the kitchen...

In the early hours of the morning, I woke on a metal cot in the psychiatric ward, the sedatives wearing off.

Almost without thinking, I pulled out my phone and opened the home security feed.

In the bedroom Charles and I once shared, two bodies moved together.

Mia's coy voice floated through the speaker. "Charles... thank you for saving Bryce. If you had to do it all over again, would you still...?"

Charles's breath came heavy. "Not just once—I'd do it ten thousand times. I love you. Of course I love Bryce too..."

The sounds that followed made my stomach turn.

I ground my teeth until they ached, then found a number I hadn't dialed in over a decade.

"Help me. I want to destroy Charles Abbott completely."

A week later, Charles came to collect me from the psychiatric hospital.

He glanced at my hollow, haggard face and tossed a box containing a dress at my feet.