Chapter 2

02

The surgical nurse kept rushing out of the operating room, frantically asking when Chief Hayes would arrive.

He was the patient’s only hope.

A crushing weight settled on my chest, suffocating every breath I took.

I wanted to bring him here more than anyone, but I had no clue where he and Brielle were hiding.

All I could do was plead with the charge nurse, promising I was still contacting him and begging them to buy more time.

Clinging to my phone like a lifeline, I redialed his number over and over again.

Even if he hated me, he had to save a human life.

After being rejected repeatedly, the call finally went through.

Declan’s voice was as cold as ice. “Danielle, you better have a real damn emergency this time.”

I choked back a sob as I pleaded, “Declan, Mom really collapsed! She’s on the table right now waiting for you to save her!”

“I am begging you, please come to the hospital and do the surgery!”

Silence fell over the other end, followed by the faint rustle of clothes.

It sounded like he was finally getting dressed to come.

But before hope could bloom, Brielle’s fake, sugary voice drifted in. “Declan, you can’t seriously believe her! Your mom was perfectly healthy this morning―she’s definitely faking it.”

“It’s your mother’s birthday today. Isn’t it awful of Danielle to put such a curse on her?”

“She probably just made up this sick lie to drag you home.”

Brielle’s manipulative poison made my blood boil.

“Mom passed out right in the middle of the banquet hall!” I yelled desperately. “Just call literally anyone who was there and you’ll know I’m telling the truth!”

But Declan’s response was dripping with disgust. “Danielle, if Brielle hadn’t just shown me pictures of my mom looking perfectly fine at the party, I might have actually fallen for your scam!”

“Have you no shame at all? My mom treats you like gold, and you curse her on her birthday just for attention?”

“I’ll settle this with you when I get home! Turns out my mom was completely fooled by your two-faced act!”

The line went dead. When I redialed in a frenzy, an automated voice informed me his phone was turned off.

That robotic tone dragged me down into pitch-black despair.

Just as I was about to call his closest friends to track down his location, the red light above the OR clicked off.

The surgeons and nurses walked out with heavy steps and lowered heads.

The lead doctor saw my tear-streaked face, let out a deep, helpless sigh, and shook his head. “I’m so sorry, Mrs. Hayes. We did everything we could.”

“Because Chief Hayes never arrived, we missed the golden window for resuscitation. She only has a few moments left... go say your goodbyes.”

I stumbled into the room and collapsed onto my knees beside the bed, clutching Evelyn’s pale, lifeless hand.

“Mom, I’m so sorry! I’m useless! I couldn’t get Declan here in time!”

Evelyn struggled to open her eyes and saw me weeping. She tried to raise her frail hand to comfort me, but she had no strength left.

Her tired gaze searched desperately past my shoulder, hoping to catch a glimpse of her son. But there was only empty space.

A wave of bitter agony washed over me.

“Mom, I’m sorry... Declan, he...”

Evelyn offered a faint, sorrowful smile and slowly shook her head, telling me not to say another word.

“My sweet girl, don’t cry...” she whispered with her dying breath. “It’s my fault for raising such a monster. I’m so sorry for everything you suffered because of him.”

Her lips parted as if to say more, but her eyes widened suddenly, and her breath cut off.

At that exact moment, the heart monitor flatlined into a continuous, piercing beep.

Evelyn was gone.

I threw myself over her body, sobbing hysterically until my throat tore.

Evelyn had always treated me like her own daughter, shielding me whenever Declan and I fought, and I loved her like my own mother.

Darkness eventually swallowed my vision, and I passed out cold.

When I woke up in a hospital bed, the doctor told me I had collapsed from extreme grief and exhaustion.

But I had no time to rest because Evelyn’s funeral arrangements still needed to be made.

In a hoarse, broken voice, I coordinated with the mortuary services.

During those days, I called Declan dozens of times, but his phone remained powered off.

I stood alone by the crematorium furnace, watching Evelyn’s body turn into a small urn of white ashes.

With those ashes, the very last shred of hope I had for Declan burned away forever.

What did a wonderful mother like Evelyn do to deserve such a heartless, ungrateful son?

He left his own mother to die on an operating table while he rolled around in bed with his mistress.

And her birthday had officially become her memorial day.

After finishing the service, I walked back into the empty, cold house.

Looking at Evelyn’s memorial portrait sitting on the console table, fresh tears spilled down my cheeks.

I hated Declan with every fiber of my being; his cold indifference had killed her.

Yet from the moment she took her last breath until her burial, he had not shown his face once.