And now the man she'd loved like her own grandson had pushed her to the brink of death.
The cab screeched to a halt outside City Central Hospital.
I sprinted toward the emergency building.
The red light above the resuscitation room was still on. I pressed my back against the cold wall and prayed in silence, begging whatever force would listen to let her be okay.
More than ten minutes crawled by before a rush of footsteps echoed down the corridor.
I lifted my head slowly.
Phil and Clarissa were hurrying toward me.
Phil's chest heaved with each breath, his face flushed from running. He looked like he'd sprinted the whole way.
He stopped in front of me and pulled a bank card from his pocket, holding it out.
"Clarissa told me everything. She didn't do it on purpose. She just forgot to set the privacy filter when she posted."
"Grandma's always been in great health. She just got a little worked up, that's all. Stop blowing this out of proportion."
"There's three million dollars on this card. Consider it Clarissa's compensation, plus full repayment with interest for the five years you sponsored her."
"Don't hold your favors over her head anymore. She's sensitive. It'll destroy her self-esteem."
I stared at the bank card in disbelief.
My grandmother was fighting for her life behind those doors, and he'd come out here to buy off my kindness? To protect his mistress's self-esteem?
I knocked his hand away. The bank card flew across the hallway and clattered into a far corner.
Phil's face went ashen.
"Serena, don't push your luck!"
I stared at him, my voice trembling with a fury I could barely contain.
"Self-esteem?"
"She's a parasite who couldn't survive without my charity, and she has the nerve to talk about self-esteem?"
"Where was her self-esteem when she came crawling to me, begging me to pay for her education?"
"Where was her self-esteem when she was rolling around in bed with you in the Maldives?!"
Clarissa flinched as though I'd struck a nerve. Tears spilled down her cheeks again.
"Serena, how can you humiliate me like this?"
"I know I owe you. I'll pay you back, every last cent, I swear!"
Phil pulled her behind him, shielding her. The look he turned on me was pure disgust.
"Serena, you're out of your mind!"
"You think throwing money around gives you the right to own someone's life?"
"You've always been like this—overbearing, never once considering anyone else's feelings. I'm sick of it!"