Chapter 2 · They Blamed Me for Her Death, So I Let Them Drown

The ambulance ran its sirens the whole way to Westside Presbyterian Hospital.

The ER doctors rushed Edward straight into the trauma bay.

The nurse at the desk found me with a stack of forms and sounded anxious. "Ms. Vincent, Mr. Edward Morgan is in critical condition.

"He needs intubation and emergency surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain. Please sign this financial responsibility form and put down the deposit."

I looked at the forms and did not move.

The family trust and every main account password sat with his mother, Victoria Morgan.

She was the only one who could pay.

I dialed Victoria's private number.

The phone rang for ages before she finally picked up.

The second I got out that Edward was hurt and needed money for treatment, Victoria cut me off with a sigh of pure impatience.

"Stella, you have no shame at all. You're a nobody who waited tables in some filthy restaurant and used an engagement to trap Edward into marrying you. Now you're inventing stories to get at my money.

"So let me be clear with you. You will never see a dollar of Morgan money. I am going to wait for the two of you to divorce, and then I am going to spend that money on a wedding for Daisy and Edward."

I laughed at that, and my voice stayed even when I spoke into the phone. "All right, Victoria. I hope you don't regret this in an hour."

The nurse grabbed the phone out of my hand and shouted into it. "Mrs. Morgan, your son almost drowned.

"He has a brain bleed and broken bones everywhere, and he could die any minute. The hospital needs your authorization for the payment and the surgery."

Victoria still didn't believe a word. She just sneered, "Stop scheming with Stella to scam me!"

With that, she hung up.

When I tried calling back, her phone was already off.

The nurse glared at me, furious. "So who's paying? That's your husband in there! He's about to die!"

I calmly sat down on the bench and pulled out my phone. "Just let him be. Let fate decide."

The nurse stared at me, stunned. "Are you out of your mind? That's your husband in the OR! How can you just sit here on your phone? Do you really not care if he lives or dies?"

The other patients and their families, who had no idea what was going on, began to berate me.

"What a heartless woman!"

"She's probably just waiting for her husband to kick the bucket so she can snatch up all his money."

"What a heartless witch. Marrying a woman like that is the worst luck a man can have!"

"Why hasn't the hospital thrown her out yet?"

I sat there, scrolling through business headlines about global hotel mergers, and let it all go past me.

Thirty minutes later, fast footsteps came down the hallway.

Victoria had gotten the official notice from the police, and she showed up with her lawyer and her bodyguards.

When she saw me lounging in the chair, she stormed over, yelling, "You bitch! Edward's fighting for his life, and you're just sitting here playing on your phone?!"

I watched her come, perfectly calm, and the moment her hand came down, I caught her wrist and twisted it up hard.

"Agh!" Victoria yelped in pain, her fury instantly replaced by shock.

"You you actually dared to lay a hand on me?!"

"Who do you think you are? Why shouldn't I fight back?" I sneered, tossing her hand aside.

"You'd better watch yourself, or next time, it'll hurt a lot more than just your hand," I threatened.

Victoria could not hold her balance in those heels and stumbled back several steps, and her bodyguards caught her before she went down.

"You've got some nerve. Who the hell do you think you are, you bitch?" Victoria screamed, her voice trembling with rage.

She was about to go off on me again when the ER doors suddenly burst open.

The doctor shouted into the hallway. "Which one of you is Mrs. Victoria Morgan? We need payment and a signature right now, or it will be too late!"

Victoria's face went ghostly pale. She shot me a death glare, then rushed after the doctor in a panic.

After six hours of surgery, Edward made it through.

But he was left with multiple fractures, his lungs badly damaged, and irreversible brain injuries. He was still out cold.

Chapter 2

The ambulance ran its sirens the whole way to Westside Presbyterian Hospital.

The ER doctors rushed Edward straight into the trauma bay.

The nurse at the desk found me with a stack of forms and sounded anxious. "Ms. Vincent, Mr. Edward Morgan is in critical condition.

"He needs intubation and emergency surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain. Please sign this financial responsibility form and put down the deposit."

I looked at the forms and did not move.

The family trust and every main account password sat with his mother, Victoria Morgan.

She was the only one who could pay.

I dialed Victoria's private number.

The phone rang for ages before she finally picked up.

The second I got out that Edward was hurt and needed money for treatment, Victoria cut me off with a sigh of pure impatience.

I laughed at that, and my voice stayed even when I spoke into the phone. "All right, Victoria. I hope you don't regret this in an hour."

The nurse grabbed the phone out of my hand and shouted into it. "Mrs. Morgan, your son almost drowned.

"He has a brain bleed and broken bones everywhere, and he could die any minute. The hospital needs your authorization for the payment and the surgery."

Victoria still didn't believe a word. She just sneered, "Stop scheming with Stella to scam me!"

With that, she hung up.

When I tried calling back, her phone was already off.

The nurse glared at me, furious. "So who's paying? That's your husband in there! He's about to die!"

I calmly sat down on the bench and pulled out my phone. "Just let him be. Let fate decide."

The nurse stared at me, stunned. "Are you out of your mind? That's your husband in the OR! How can you just sit here on your phone? Do you really not care if he lives or dies?"

The other patients and their families, who had no idea what was going on, began to berate me.

"What a heartless woman!"

"She's probably just waiting for her husband to kick the bucket so she can snatch up all his money."

"What a heartless witch. Marrying a woman like that is the worst luck a man can have!"

"Why hasn't the hospital thrown her out yet?"

I sat there, scrolling through business headlines about global hotel mergers, and let it all go past me.

Thirty minutes later, fast footsteps came down the hallway.

Victoria had gotten the official notice from the police, and she showed up with her lawyer and her bodyguards.

When she saw me lounging in the chair, she stormed over, yelling, "You bitch! Edward's fighting for his life, and you're just sitting here playing on your phone?!"

I watched her come, perfectly calm, and the moment her hand came down, I caught her wrist and twisted it up hard.

"Agh!" Victoria yelped in pain, her fury instantly replaced by shock.

"You you actually dared to lay a hand on me?!"

"Who do you think you are? Why shouldn't I fight back?" I sneered, tossing her hand aside.

"You'd better watch yourself, or next time, it'll hurt a lot more than just your hand," I threatened.

Victoria could not hold her balance in those heels and stumbled back several steps, and her bodyguards caught her before she went down.

"You've got some nerve. Who the hell do you think you are, you bitch?" Victoria screamed, her voice trembling with rage.

She was about to go off on me again when the ER doors suddenly burst open.

The doctor shouted into the hallway. "Which one of you is Mrs. Victoria Morgan? We need payment and a signature right now, or it will be too late!"

Victoria's face went ghostly pale. She shot me a death glare, then rushed after the doctor in a panic.

After six hours of surgery, Edward made it through.

But he was left with multiple fractures, his lungs badly damaged, and irreversible brain injuries. He was still out cold.