Chapter 2

My finger froze above the screen.

The glow from my phone felt like needles stabbing into my eyes.

"What did you say?" My voice came out hoarse.

"I've been secretly paying your father's medical bills through connections." Emmy looked at me as though I were some pathetic clown performing for her amusement.

"Holloway Industries went bankrupt three years ago. What you make every month isn't enough to cover even a single day of his ventilator costs.

"Go ahead and make the call. The moment the police arrive, your father's medication stops."

A chill spread through my entire body.

Three years ago, my father, Victor Holloway, suffered a massive cerebral hemorrhage, and Holloway Industries collapsed soon after.

To pay for his surgery, I sold our marital home. Then I sold everything else I owned.

I'd always believed a hospital charity foundation had saved my father.

Now I knew the truth. She had used the thing I was most grateful for as the knife pressed against my throat.

"He's my biological father," I said through clenched teeth. "When you had nothing, he gave you the money to start your company. You promised you'd love me for the rest of your life."

Something flickered in Emmy's eyes. For a brief moment, they darkened. Then the coldness returned.

"That's why I kept him alive these past few years. Consider it repayment for what he did for me back then."

She walked toward me. "Grayson Holloway, I don't owe your family anything anymore."

At that moment, Corbin let out a pained groan. "Emmy, my chest hurts."

The panic on Emmy's face was immediate. She rushed to support him.

"Is your heart acting up again? I'll take you to the hospital."

She didn't spare me another glance.

As she passed, she left me with one final command, "There's a gala tomorrow night. You'll attend. In front of everyone, you'll admit that after my death, you suffered a mental breakdown and convinced yourself that I was your wife.

"Tomorrow, I want everyone to know that Corbin is the only husband I've ever had.

"Do as you're told, and your father lives. Refuse, and you can collect his body."

The door closed behind them.

I stood alone in the empty hallway. There was absolute silence.

Slowly, I crouched down and covered my face, but no tears came. I'd cried them all away over the past five years.

At her funeral, Corbin had cried even harder than I had.

Over and over, he'd told me, "Grayson, you still have me. I'll stay by your side for her sake."

Back then, I'd been overwhelmed with gratitude.

Later, he left for overseas studies and occasionally mailed me postcards.

I thought he was building a future abroad. In reality, he was building a life with her.

The next morning, I went to the hospital.

The director at the billing office informed me that my father's account had been frozen. If I couldn't come up with a deposit of $100,000 by the end of the day, they would have no choice but to remove life support.

I stood outside the room, staring through the glass. My father lay motionless beneath a tangle of tubes. He was so thin he barely looked human anymore.

I took out my phone and sent Emmy a message.

"I'm coming."

That afternoon, a suit was delivered to the basement apartment I rented. It was at least one size too large.

I recognized it immediately.

Just last month, I'd seen Corbin wearing the same suit in a magazine spread covering an international gala.

As I unfolded it, a card slipped from the pocket. The handwriting belonged to Emmy.

"Corbin thinks this one suits you. Wear it. Don't embarrass yourself."

I stared at my reflection in the mirror. Then I found a needle and thread and altered the suit myself.

Years ago, when Emmy's first business failed, she couldn't even afford a decent dress.

I used to sit in our tiny apartment under the glow of a streetlamp, carefully tailoring her old dresses by hand.

Back then, she'd wrapped her arms around me, her eyes red with emotion. "Grayson, when I make it someday, I'll buy you the most expensive suit in the world. I'll never let you suffer again."

Now she could afford it, and she bought it for the sole purpose of humiliating me.