"Maureen, I'm only asking you once more. The night of March seventeenth, five years ago—where were you?"
That date. The exact night I'd saved him.
Maureen froze for a split second before scrambling to her feet and clutching at his trouser leg. "Denys, I was with you. Don't you remember?"
Doubt flickered behind his eyes—I saw it. But one sentence from Maureen, and it vanished. It always did. This time was no different.
Their twisted little dance wasn't something I wanted any part of.
But they had no intention of letting me walk away.
Maureen lifted her tear-glazed eyes to Denys, the picture of wounded innocence. Her voice trembled just enough to be convincing. The words that came out, though, were pure venom.
"I heard Denise's surgery was paid for by Queenie Fox." Her lips curved with false sympathy. "Money earned that way... does it sit easy when you spend it?"
She slid a glance toward Denys as she spoke. She knew exactly which buttons to push—how to make him snap.
"Our money is clean." I kept my voice steady. "But I understand. To someone with a filthy mind, everything looks dirty."
My words meant nothing to him.
Maureen's little performance had already darkened his expression, but she wasn't finished. She tugged at the hem of his jacket, her delicate face crumpling with theatrical concern.
"Denys... Denise's daughter just had surgery, but she'll need the specialty drug too." She bit her lip. "Maybe I should let her have mine first..."
What a joke.
Denys treated Maureen like spun glass. He'd spent years chasing treatments for her condition. Besides forcing me to donate blood on schedule, he'd been searching everywhere for this drug—the one her weak heart desperately needed.
Now that he'd finally secured a dose, did anyone honestly believe she'd give it up?
Denys shut her down without hesitation. "Absolutely not. You come first."
"Mr. Simmons, you can't do this." My voice cracked. "Denise can't wait—"
"And Maureen can?" His laugh was cold, cruel. "Don't make me laugh. The daughter of some escort doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as her."
The disgust on his face hit me like a slap. His words drove into my chest like poisoned needles—each one finding its mark.
I swallowed the pain. "A man with your connections can find another dose whenever he wants. Maureen won't have to wait long. I don't have that luxury. No money. No connections. Nothing."