Chapter 2

I shrugged off her hand and stared her down.

She grew uneasy under my gaze and rubbed her arm as she tried to talk me down. "Emily, it's getting dark. If Charlie doesn't see you tonight, he probably won't be able to sleep.

"Besides, the doctors only said it might happen, not that it was certain. What if a miracle happened?

"Right now, the priority is to stay with Charlie. Let's just go home."

For years, I was drowning in stress because of Charlie's illness, barely able to catch a break.

Lucy showed up as a fellow mother going through the same thing, and had given me a bit of room to breathe.

We kept each other company in the low times, cheered each other on, and became close friends.

Looking back now, our friendship felt oddly staged.

It seemed less like fate and more like a play that had been set in motion.

When I returned to the hospital, Charlie was indeed still awake.

He forced his swollen eyes open and asked in a weak voice, "Mom, did Dad not come back with you?"

The ache in my chest almost broke me. Tears fell onto his hospital gown.

Charlie seemed to sense it and gently wiped them away for me. "Mom, don't cry. I don't need Dad. I have you, and that's enough."

His thoughtfulness slowly eased my anger. At the same time, a new resolve grew quietly inside me.

I soothed him back to sleep and nearly lost it again when I thought how grown-up he was being.

I kissed his forehead over and over, unwilling to let go, and made myself a promise. "Don't worry, Charlie. When you open your eyes tomorrow morning, you will see Dad."

I took a cab back to the challenge site in the middle of the night.

But what I saw there was enough to make my eyes pop out of my head with rage.

Lucy was still there.

I overheard her persuading William, who was on the verge of falling apart, so I hurriedly ducked out of sight.

"Will, hang in there," she said. "Once you get the 300 thousand dollars, our daughter will be saved."

I was shocked and in that instant, all the doubts that had haunted me for years fell into place.

No wonder William was always too busy to spend time with his own son, yet somehow found the time to take Lucy's daughter, Sophie, for her checkups.

I had been such a fool, thinking it was all coincidences, even feeling lucky to have married such a kind-hearted man.

"William!" I yelled, my voice full of rage.

Both of them flinched.

Lucy was the first to recover. She quickly stepped between us, her face wearing that same fake gentleness as always. "Emily, please, listen to me. It's not what you think."

My heart felt like it was being ripped apart, but I brushed off Lucy's lies and looked straight at William inside the room.

"The doctors said Charlie only has a couple of days left," I said. "His only wish is to wake up tomorrow and see his dad by his side."

William froze. His breathing hitched as he turned stiffly toward Lucy, waiting for her to confirm the truth.

Lucy didn't even hesitate.

"She's lying," she said smoothly. "I talked to the doctors before coming here. Charlie's doing fine.

"She's saying this because she found out about us. She wants to trick you into quitting so you'll only get half the prize—enough to save Charlie, but not our daughter."

I'd never been good with words, and I couldn't wrap my head around how anyone could twist the truth so easily.

But for my son's sake, I had to grit my teeth and face it head-on.

Before I could even open my mouth, William raised his hand to stop me.