Chapter 2

"He postponed his own surgeries, and your mom's procedure was still being planned. He just bailed?" Ruby said.

"Get him on the phone and drag him back here!" she pressed.

I clutched my phone, the memories of my last life crashing over me. "Dr. Archer, please, find another way.

"Isn't there someone else who can do the surgery? There's gotta be, even if it's overseas.

"If Dad comes back… it might make things worse for Mom. You have to trust me."

I couldn't shake the memory of how Dad, a doctor who'd saved countless lives, turned on us for Jane—his adopted daughter, tied to his first love but not even his real kid.

Ruby paused, seeing the fire and pain in my eyes.

After a beat, she nodded. "Go be with your mom for now. She's awake, but it's dicey. I'll talk to the team and see what we can figure out."

Mom was awake.

Compared to my previous life, because I got there in time, her injuries weren't nearly as bad—just a few scrapes and bruises.

But after everything she'd been through, her heart condition had flared up badly. The surgery had to happen soon—waiting was no longer an option.

"Mom, you just rest, okay? Ms. Archer said they found a doctor who can do the surgery. You're gonna be fine," I said, forcing a smile despite the ache in my chest.

I held her hand tight, trying to keep my voice steady to comfort her.

But her eyes were still clouded with grief.

"Sweetie… you gotta be careful. Those punks won't let this go. They're after Jane." Her voice was weak, barely a whisper. "They can't find her, so they think we're hiding her. You can't get hurt again."

"It's all your dad's fault. He's the reason everything fell apart for us," she added, her voice trembling.

My nose stung, and I quickly wiped away a tear before she could see.

Even now, Mom was more worried about me than herself.

It only made me hate Dad even more.

When Jane first came to live with us, she was this reckless little delinquent, always stirring up trouble. She'd just had a big fight with her no-good boyfriend.

One day, her boyfriend saw her with Dad and assumed Jane had latched onto some rich guy. Without asking questions, he beat Dad so bad it broke his leg.

Dad was stuck in a wheelchair for months.

Mom and I were livid. We wanted that thug locked up.

But Jane threw a fit—crying, screaming, even threatening to hurt herself—until Dad signed a forgiveness agreement.

I couldn't believe it. When Mom and I pushed back, Dad had the nerve to call us petty.

"I'm a doctor, for God's sake! I save lives. Those kids just got carried away. For Jane's sake, let's give 'em a chance," he said. "Y'all are too hard-hearted.

"Live and let live, you know? Do some good for your soul."

Because of Dad's forgiveness, that thug walked free. And not even a year later, that same lowlife caused Mom's death.

After getting Mom settled to sleep, I was too wired to rest. I kept waiting for Ruby's call, my nerves shot.

Finally, she got back to me. "Chloe, besides your dad, there's only one other doctor who's done this surgery. He's teaching in Germania and doing a world tour of operations, so he's tough to book.

"But here's some good news—your fiancé was his student. Maybe he could pull some strings and get in touch with his teacher?"

My heart leapt. It was like a flicker of hope in the pitch-black.

I thanked Ruby and immediately called my fiancé, Miles Everett.

He'd graduated from a top medical school abroad and started working at the hospital when he came back.

Dad thought the world of him and introduced us.

We hit it off right away, clicked like nobody's business, and after a few dates, we were official. Last year, he even proposed.

But I called him a dozen times, and no one picked up.

I sighed, then just grabbed a cab and headed straight to his apartment.

It was barely six in the morning, the sky just starting to lighten.

I knocked for ages before Miles finally opened the door.

He looked pissed, his face all sour. "Chloe, it's the crack of dawn. You trying to raise the dead or what?" He didn't even invite me in.

My nerves were completely fried—I couldn't care less about his grumpy attitude, just blurted out why I was there.

"Please, Miles, you gotta help me contact your teacher. You're my only shot right now," I begged, tears streaming down my face.

But Miles just frowned. "I thought your dad was handling the surgery. Why the sudden switch to my teacher?"

I fell silent for a moment, struggling to find the right words.