She grabbed a fistful of my hair and dragged me all the way back to the room, hurling me onto the bed.
"Since you're so desperate to run, we'll do the surgery today."
She called in the bodyguards. They strapped me to a gurney.
The surgical light blazed overhead, so bright I couldn't keep my eyes open.
I thrashed against the restraints until the straps carved bloody lines into my wrists.
"Sarah Delgado, you'll rot in hell for this!"
"Let me go!"
Sarah stood beside the operating table, her expression blank.
"Roland. This is what you owe Simon."
She had just turned to leave when a violent pain tore through my abdomen.
"It hurts..."
"God, it hurts..."
The doctor rushed over to examine me. The color drained from his face.
"Ms. Delgado—his chronic condition has flared up!"
"His body is in critical condition. If we proceed with the kidney extraction now, he will die on this table!"
Sarah stopped mid-step.
She turned slowly and fixed her eyes on me.
"What did you just say?"
The doctor's voice trembled.
"He... his condition is extremely dangerous."
The pain was blinding. I was barely conscious, but my fingers still clung to the sheets with everything I had.
"Sarah..."
"Please... save me..."
Sarah's expression shifted, unreadable, wavering between something cold and something I couldn't name.
Then a nurse wheeled Simon in.
His face was ashen, his voice a pitiful whine.
"Sarah, I feel so awful..."
"The doctor said my kidneys are already shutting down. If I don't get the surgery soon, I won't make it through the night..."
In my last life, she hadn't spared me a glance when I was on the brink of death. Now, with my life hanging by a thread once more—
She walked toward Simon.
Sarah's voice was ice.
"He's just a stray we picked up. If he dies, he dies."
"Prep the kidney transplant immediately. Save Simon first."
My whole body shook. She wouldn't even spare my life.
"Sarah Delgado! You'll pay for this!"
The words ripped from my throat, tears and cold sweat streaming down my face.
BOOM—
