The heartbreaking plea from beyond the grave seemed to penetrate where nothing else had. Olivia's body suddenly tensed, her fingers twitching in my hand.
Her eyes flew open, emerald green and filled with desperate longing. "Lily!" she cried, reaching toward the tablet as if to grasp her daughter's image.
I quickly took her hand. "She's with you, Olivia. She's always with you," I assured
her, squeezing
her fingers gently.
(Olivia's POV)
Darkness had been my refuge. In that peaceful void, there was no pain, no grief, no betrayal-
just blessed nothingness.
Then I heard her voice-my sweet Lily-cutting through the darkness like a beam of
light.
"Mommy, please don't be sad anymore. Lily loves you the most!"
The words pulled me back to consciousness against my will. My eyes opened to a world I had tried to leave behind, the pain rushing back with brutal force.
"Lily!" I cried out, reaching desperately toward her voice.
377
Lucas maintained his gentle hold on my hand, his thumb tracing soothing patterns across my skin.
"I should be honest with you, Olivia," he said after a moment of comfortable silence. "My claim about needing a fake girlfriend for business reasons was a lie." His admission drew my full attention.
"I've been drawn to you since I first saw you at the Crystal Design Competition. Your strength, your dignity despite everything you've endured..." He paused, seeming almost vulnerable despite his confident demeanor. "I care for you, Olivia Winters. More than I should, given our circumstances."
My eyes widened in shock. This powerful Alpha, leader of the Moonstone Pack, cared for me? After everything I'd been through, after my failed attempt to end my life, he still saw something in me worth caring about?
Seeing my reaction, Lucas quickly continued, "I'm not asking for anything in return. There's no pressure to reciprocate. I only want to stand beside you through your grief and your quest for justice for Lily."
His words, spoken with such quiet conviction, soothed something broken inside me. For the first time in months, I felt a tiny spark of hope.
Exhausted by emotion and the ordeal my body had endured, I finally allowed my eyes to close, falling into the first peaceful sleep I'd had since losing Lily.
(Ethan's POV)
The walls of my private office seemed to close in around me as I paced restlessly. I hadn't slept for a full day and night, my mind consumed with thoughts of Olivia.
The image of her car abandoned on Moonstone Bridge haunted me. If Lucas Blackwood
hadn't been there...
I ran a hand through my disheveled hair, my amber eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep. Though
our relationship was strained, the thought of losing Olivia forever had shaken me more deeply
than I cared to admit.
My phone rang, Maxwell Chen's name flashing on the screen.
"Any update?" I demanded without preamble.
"Sir," Maxwell's voice came through, uncharacteristically hesitant. "I've discovered
something
about Emma's spleen treatment that you need to know."
577
My attention sharpened immediately. "What is it?"
"I've been investigating the medical records as you requested," Maxwell continued. "There's
something concerning about the timing of Emma's kidney transplant."
"Get to the point, Maxwell," I growled, my patience wearing thin.
"Sir, the kidney that saved Emma Frost had originally been intended for Lily Winters."
The words hit me like a physical blow. I gripped the edge of my desk to steady myself.
"What did you say?" My voice was barely audible.
"The compatibility match was rare and perfect for Lily's condition," Maxwell explained, his
tone carefully neutral. "But through Victoria's manipulation, it was redirected to Emma
instead."
"How?" I demanded, my wolf stirring with growing rage. "How could this happen?"
"Victoria approached Nathan Blackwood," Maxwell replied. "She convinced him that Emma's
need was more urgent than Lily's. He used his influence to have the donor redirected."
The room seemed to spin around me. Nathan Blackwood-my trusted ally, my friend-had
helped Victoria steal my daughter's chance at life?
"And I..." I couldn't finish the sentence.
"You signed the authorization, sir," Maxwell confirmed quietly. "Victoria presented
it as routine
paperwork for Emma's treatment. The document was deliberately vague about the source of
the donor organ."
The realization that I had unknowingly played a role in my own daughter's death
by securing
preferential treatment for Victoria's daughter hit me with devastating force.
Blood rose in my throat, and I collapsed to my knees, coughing crimson onto the polished
floor as the full weight of my betrayal crashed down.
"Sir? Sir, are you alright?" Maxwell's voice called from the phone I'd dropped.
I couldn't answer. The truth was too horrific to bear. While I had been doting on
Emma,
attending her school events and celebrating her achievements, my own daughter had been dying, waiting for a kidney that Victoria had stolen for her child.
And I had signed the papers that sealed Lily's fate.
Blood continued to spill from my mouth as my wolf howled in anguish within me,
the physical
manifestation of my soul being torn apart by guilt and grief.
"Sir, I'm sending medical help," Maxwell's voice said distantly.
But no healer could fix what was broken inside me. No medicine could wash away
the blood
of my daughter from my hands.
Blood rose in my throat, and I collapsed to my knees, coughing crimson onto the
polished
floor as the full weight of my betrayal crashed down.