Chapter 2

Just then, frantic footsteps echoed down the hallway, followed by gut-wrenching wails.

"Ryan! My boy! You can't be sick! If anything happens to you, I don't want to live!"

Two sobbing figures came barreling around the corner and threw themselves at Ryan, clinging to him desperately.

Ryan looked completely blindsided, frozen like a deer in headlights.

I saw my opening. Keeping my expression innocent and concerned, I pointed at Ryan's hand. "Mr. and Mrs. Cooper, don't panic. Ryan's holding the test results right there. Just take a look, and you'll know exactly what's going on."

Ryan freaked out, instinctively trying to hide the report behind his back, but Mark Cooper, his father, just snatched it straight out of his hands.

They unfolded the report and pored over every word.

Cecelia Cooper, his mother, went pale as a sheet. "It says Ryan has end-stage kidney failure..." she whispered, voice breaking.

Ryan lunged for the report, his expression cycling from shock to pure panic. Then his eyes rolled back, and he dropped like a stone, hitting the floor hard.

I stared at the results, genuinely stunned. The print on the page might as well have been shouting: [End-stage renal failure.]

The hallway erupted into chaos, his parents screaming and flailing.

"Someone get a doctor! Hurry!"

Inside the hospital room, Ryan's parents huddled around his bed, worry etched deep into every line of their faces.

"What are we going to do?" Cecelia wept. "Treatment like this costs a fortune."

Mark sagged, defeated. "This is all we have. We'll sell the house if we have to. We'll figure it out."

From the bed, Ryan scoffed, "Relax. You need that money for my wedding. Besides, we've still got Evelyn Walker. All I have to do is snap my fingers, and she'll come crawling with the cash like a trained mutt."

I stood just outside the door, nails digging crescents into my palm.

But the real show was just getting started.

A doctor knocked, holding a payment slip. "He needs treatment immediately. Please pay the admission fee."

Mark and Cecelia spotted me and rushed over, pulling me aside. Their faces flashed a mixture of desperation and embarrassment.

"Evie, we're tapped out. Could you cover this round? Just to get him started?"

I pulled out the faked diagnosis from that sketchy downtown clinic, my own tears welling up on cue.

"Actually," I sobbed, "I have kidney failure, too. I didn't tell Ryan because I didn't want him to worry. I've been trying to pay for my own treatments, but I've already sold everything. I'm drowning in debt.

"It's fine. I can deliver food and pass out flyers. If I work hard enough, maybe in ten years, I'll have enough for the treatments."

My performance was flawless. I played the very picture of tragic devotion. And just as I predicted, they panicked.

Of course they couldn't stand to keep their darling boy waiting a decade.

They put on their best sympathetic act, patting my shoulder with fake concern.

"Oh sweetie, we had no idea you were struggling this much. Don't you worry about the money. We'll handle the money. You just focus on getting better. But if you can contribute anything, every little bit helps."

I nodded, wiping my tears, and handed them the bank card Ryan had given me.

"This is Ryan's card," I said. "He told me to deposit the money here."

Without hesitation, they rushed straight to the bank and made the transfer.

A few days later, the doctor came by again, asking for fees that hadn't been paid.

Mark and Cecelia blinked at Ryan. "We put everything on your card. Didn't you pay the bill?"

Ryan's brow pinched. He pulled out his phone to check his messages.

The color left his face. Every dollar his parents transferred had already been spent by his beloved Olivia.