The Kidney He Took for Her, The Life I Reclaimed

Synopsis

"Get her in there," James Carter ordered. The surgical lights blazed ice-white and blinding. Vivian Sterling was forced onto the operating table, her limbs strapped down, her veins already going cold with anesthesia. Yet her abdomen twisted with a different, sharper pain. "James..." She craned her neck, her voice breaking. "I'm pregnant. The child is yours... You can't make me give my kidney to Charlotte Sterling..." Beyond the sterile glow, James stood rigid in his black suit. His eyes were colder than the scalpels glinting nearby. "Charlotte can't wait." "What about me?" Vivian begged, tears spilling over. "What about our child?" Without the slightest flicker of hesitation, his thin lips parted. "A child can be replaced. Charlotte only has one life." In that instant, Vivian felt her heart being carved out while she still breathed. Vivian had loved James for seven years. In their two years of marriage, she'd downed shots of hard liquor for him, stood by him through the Carter Group's darkest days, outmaneuvered boardroom sharks on his behalf, endured humiliation at the hands of her own family, and let her adopted sister Charlotte frame her time and again. Yet in the end, the life in her womb—one that would never see the world—was worth less than a single tear from Charlotte. As anesthesia began to overwhelm Vivian, Charlotte stepped close, her heels clicking sharply. Her whisper was soft but venomous. "Poor Vivian. James never loved you. The Sterling family is mine. His wife's position was always mine. That bastard in your belly never should have existed in the first place. "Grandfather's poisoning? I did it. You pushing me down the stairs? I jumped. But so what? One cry from me, and James sends you to hell himself." Vivian's eyes burned red. She thrashed like a wild thing. "Charlotte, you'll die screaming—" The drug surged through her. Her vision blurred. A violent cramp ripped through her womb. Warm blood pooled between her legs, staining the white sheets crimson. The last thing she heard before darkness swallowed her was the doctor's panicked voice. "Mr. Carter, massive hemorrhage. We can't save the child!" James answered without a pause. "Save Charlotte first." Three simple words. They severed every last thread of love and delusion in her life. ***** A sharp slap rang out. Fire exploded across her cheek. Vivian's eyes flew open. She was not under surgical lights. She was in the Carter family chapel. The overhead bulbs blazed harshly. She was crouched on the cold marble, her temple throbbing. James loomed above her, disgust dark in his gaze. "Vivian, why the hell did you push Charlotte down the stairs?" The words echoed, razor-sharp and horribly familiar. Vivian froze. Her breath caught in her throat. The family chapel. Charlotte's "fall." James demanding an apology. This was three months ago. She had traveled back in time. The tragedy had not yet begun.