Chapter 3

3.

Derek rushed to the hospital. Olivia was propped against her pillows. Face pale as paper.

IV tubes ran into her arm. The heart monitor beeped its steady rhythm.

I sneered inside. If anyone deserved an Oscar, it was Olivia.

Where was all that arrogance she'd had while texting?

Derek didn't see it. The moment he saw her like this, his voice crumbled. He cupped her face, aching.

"Why do you look so terrible? Is the pain back?"

Olivia gave him a weak smile. She held his hand.

"I'm okay. Seeing you makes it better... Did you find Erin?"

Her eyes held his, expectant.

Derek's expression stiffened. He shook his head.

"Not yet... But she can't hide much longer."

Olivia dropped her gaze. A long, slow sigh.

"Forget it. Stop looking... Maybe this illness is just God's plan for me."

"No." Derek cut her off. His voice shot up. "I am not giving up. You can still be treated. We just need a compatible donor..."

"But Erin is still missing."

"So what?"

He was nearly shouting. His eyes glistened, like he was terrified she'd vanish any second.

"She's just hiding. Her sister is still in our hands. She wouldn't dare stay away."

Olivia didn't argue. Her expression flickered, unreadable.

She closed her eyes. Her fingers traced lightly over the back of his hand.

"It's okay, Derek. Having you with me all these years... I'm already content."

Derek's tears fell.

He bent over and held her. His voice cracked.

"Don't say things like that. I will save you."

I hovered in the corner of the room. Watching. A dull ache spread through my soul.

How long had it been?

How long since Derek had looked at me like that?

From the moment Olivia moved back from Paris, I vanished from his eyes.

Even when I agreed to give her part of my liver. Right before they wheeled me into surgery. He stayed planted at Olivia's bedside. Not a single tear for me.

Even now. The only one who could make his eyes go red was Olivia.

What a joke.

Derek cared for her with painstaking devotion. He didn't leave until she had fallen asleep. He slipped out of the room quietly.

He went straight to the doctor's office.

"Dr. Rodriguez. Olivia's condition... How much time does she have?"

The doctor pushed up his glasses. His face was grim.

"At this rate of deterioration... It's hard to say. Without a matching donor, she might not last a week."

"A week?" Derek's lips trembled. "And... if we find one?"

"Then surgery should happen as soon as possible." The doctor sighed. "But a suitable living donor is rare enough. A second transplant makes it even harder."

Derek didn't say anything else. He nodded. Turned and left.

The hallway lights stretched his shadow long and lonely.

He stood at the window. Dialed a number.

"Send more people. Tear the whole city apart looking for Erin Hayes. I want proof. Dead or alive."

"Also. Book me a flight to San Francisco. Soonest available."

San Francisco. Where Emily was supposed to be "at school."

My soul jolted.

He was going after Emily himself?