I huddled beneath the hospital bed, the metallic tang of old floor cleaner stinging my nose. I bit my lip so hard I tasted copper, desperate to stifle the hitch in my breath. Then, it happened. That cold, synthetic voice—the one that sounded like my father’s but lacked every ounce of his warmth—echoed in the hollows of my mind. [System: Affection levels of target confirmed as irrecoverable. Application for "Death-Escape" protocol approved. Countdown to departure: Forty-eight hours.] I knew exactly who the "target" was. Today was supposed to be a celebration. My father, Adrian, was finally getting the heavy cast removed from his leg. He had shattered it a year ago, throwing himself in front of a runaway SUV to save my mother, Debby. He’d traded his mobility for her life. But as we were leaving the clinic, Felix—my mother’s personal assistant, a man who trailed after her like a perfumed shadow—let out a staged, sharp gasp of terror. Debby didn’t even look back. She reflexively shoved Adrian’s reaching hand away, her entire body pivoting to shield Felix instead. Adrian, still unsteady on his crutches, stood no chance. The shove sent him spiraling. He tumbled down the marble staircase, the sickening thud of his body against stone echoing through the lobby. Beside me, my seven-year-old twin brother, Noah, didn’t cry. He clapped. “Yes! Now Felix can be my new dad!” Adrian lay in a blooming pool of red, his face the color of ash. He didn’t scream. He didn’t beg her to come back or ask why. He just stared at the blood spreading across the floor—his spleen had ruptured, though we didn't know it yet—with eyes that had gone utterly vacant. I saw the flicker of panic in my mother’s eyes, but it was quickly buried under the weight of her habitual arrogance. “Felix’s PTSD can’t handle these scenes, Adrian,” she snapped, her voice ice-cold. “How long are you going to keep up this pathetic act? If you hadn't lied about being my 'savior' all those years ago just to marry into the family, Felix wouldn't be this broken. You even had the nerve to slow-poison his supplements.” She adjusted her coat, looking down at her dying husband. “Consider this a lesson. Don’t you dare call the police. Call your own damn ambulance.” Adrian just closed his eyes, a ragged, exhausted "Okay" fluttering from his lips. Now, it’s the second day. Felix is in the VIP suite next door, wearing the custom-made watch Adrian had gifted my mother for their anniversary, boasting to the nurses. My mother is there too, cooing over that manipulative snake, asking if he needs more water, more pillows. I watch from the shadows, my heart a block of dry ice. I know something she doesn't. Soon, she won’t even have the right to beg for his forgiveness on her knees. ... Debby cast a bored, disparaging look at the hospital bed. “Adrian, drop the 'dead fish' act. Who are you trying to impress?” “Felix was kind enough to come visit you, even after you ruined his health with those toxins. And you just lie there like you’re waiting for a funeral?” My father didn't answer. He just slowly drifted his eyes shut. The white sheets beneath his cast were already beginning to bloom with a dark, rusted crimson. “Mom, let’s go. It smells like a locker room in here.” Noah, my own flesh and blood, ran in holding his nose. He punctuated his entrance by kicking the frame of Adrian's bed. The dull clang made my father flinch in visible agony. “Felix is the cool dad! This guy is just a liar!” Noah yelled, pointing a finger at the man who had spent every night of Noah's life tucking him in. Debby smoothed Noah’s hair with a doting smile. “Be a good boy, Noah. Go pull the cord on that call button. We don't want him ringing the nurses and bothering Felix while he’s trying to nap.” Noah cheered, scrambled onto the nightstand, and ripped the emergency cord from the wall with a triumphant jerk. My father’s eyes snapped open then. He looked at the son he had nearly died to protect in that car wreck. The love that usually lived in his gaze had been replaced by a flat, terrifying stillness. “What are you looking at? Stare at me again and I’ll have Mom kick you out!” Noah made a hideous face. Debby let out a sharp, mocking laugh, ushering Felix toward the door. “Tell the nursing station no one enters this room. When he’s ready to apologize for his behavior, then—and only then—can he have his pain meds.” Felix leaned his weight onto Debby’s shoulder, his voice a soft, melodic whine. “Debby, isn’t this a bit much? He did just fall down the stairs.” “Fall? The doctors said he probably tripped on purpose to guilt-trip me,” Debby scoffed. The heavy door clicked shut. The room fell into a suffocating darkness. I crawled out from under the bed, scrambling to the bedside. “Dad...” I whispered his name, my entire body shaking with a sob I couldn't release. Adrian reached out a trembling hand, stroking my hair with fingers that felt like ice. “Don’t cry, Grace. Daddy’s okay.” But he wasn't. The mattress was soaked. Blood was beginning to drip, rhythmic and heavy, onto the linoleum floor. “Dad, I’ll get the doctor. I’ll beg Mom, I’ll tell her—” I turned to run, but his grip, surprisingly strong, caught my wrist. “Don’t go to her.” He stared at the closed door, his voice raspy. “They don’t deserve you.” [Warning: Host’s vital signs are dropping rapidly. System suggests immediate intervention to stop the bleeding.] Refuse intervention. Continue countdown, my father replied in the silence of his mind. Outside, I heard Felix’s theatrical cough. “Debby, do you think he’s okay in there? That blood looked... intense.” “He’s fine. He’s a grown man; he can handle a little scratch without playing dead.” Debby’s voice drifted away, full of disdain. “Come on, let’s take Noah for steak. You need the protein.” “Yay! Lobster mac and cheese!” Noah’s voice faded down the hall. I picked up my father’s blood-stained phone, my thumbs trembling as I dialed three digits. When the operator picked up, I fought through the knot in my throat. “911? I need to report an attempted murder. Central Hospital, VIP Wing, top floor.” I hung up and climbed into the bed, wrapping my arms around my father’s cooling body, trying to hold the life inside him. Minutes felt like hours. Finally, the sound of frantic footsteps echoed in the hallway. I heard a nurse’s panicked protest. “Officer, this is a private suite! You can’t just—” “Move aside! We received a report of a violent crime in progress.” A stern male voice cut through the air. The door handle rattled violently. “Police! Open up!” Two officers burst in. When they saw the sheer volume of blood on the floor and my father’s waxen face, their expressions shifted to pure shock. “Get a crash cart in here! Patient is in hypovolemic shock!” the lead officer barked into his radio. I lunged forward, grabbing the officer’s tactical trousers. “My mom pushed him. She told the doctors to stay away. She broke the call button so he couldn't ask for help!” The officer knelt, his eyes wide as he took in my blood-covered hands. Just then, Debby arrived, her security detail flanking her like a small army. Felix hovered behind her, looking like a startled deer. “Who gave you permission to invade my husband’s room?” Debby demanded, pointing a manicured finger at the cops. The officer stood up, his hand resting on his belt. “We’re investigating an attempted murder, Ms. Saxon. We need you to step back.” Debby looked at the dying man on the bed and let out a sharp, hysterical laugh. “Murder? He’s clearly still breathing. Officer, this is a domestic dispute. My husband has severe bipolar disorder; he self-mutilates to manipulate me.” I screamed, throwing myself at her legs, pounding my fists against her expensive slacks. “Liar! You pushed him because of that bad man!” Debby shoved me away with a sneer. “Grace, one more word and I’m sending you to a boarding school in the middle of nowhere.” The officer began to protest, but Debby’s phone chimed. She listened for a few seconds, then handed the device to the officer. “It’s your Commissioner.” The officer’s face went tight as he listened. Within minutes, a swarm of Saxon Group lawyers and private medical consultants flooded the room, physically cordoning off the police. A lawyer handed over a thick folder. “Officer, these are Mr. Saxon’s psychiatric evaluations. He suffers from paranoid delusions and persecutory mania. This is a private family matter. We decline any police intervention.” The officer looked at me, then at my father, and sighed with a look of defeated pity. “Ms. Saxon, domestic abuse is still a crime. Watch yourself.” They left. The room went silent again, colder than before. Debby walked to the bed, grabbed my father’s collar, and hauled him upward. “Adrian, you’ve grown some teeth, haven't you? Teaching your daughter to call the cops?” “Let him go!” I bit her wrist. She cried out and backhanded me. The force sent me spinning to the floor, my ears ringing with a deafening buzz. “Grace...” My father finally reacted, struggling to move his shattered leg. Debby laughed, pulling a legal document from her clutch and slapping it against his chest. “Since you want to play games, let’s finish this. Sign the divorce papers. You leave with nothing. I keep Grace. And you sign this confession.” Adrian’s hands shook as he picked up the second paper. I, Adrian Saxon, admit to poisoning Felix Vance out of jealousy and faking my injuries to extort my wife. “In your dreams,” my father wheezed, tearing the paper in half. Debby’s eyes darkened. She ground her heel directly into the fracture site of his broken leg. “You think you’re in a position to negotiate?” Felix stepped forward, showing his phone screen. “Adrian, look at the news.” The top headline read: Gold-Digging Husband Traps Tech Mogul: The Truth Behind the Saxon Marriage. A leaked, edited video showed Adrian "tripping" himself down the stairs. The comments were a vitriolic swarm of hate. “Everyone hates you, Adrian,” Felix whispered. “If you don't sign and record an apology, Saxon Group stock will tank. And Debby gets very angry when she loses money.” Debby pressed harder on his leg. Adrian’s body convulsed in silent agony. “Sign it. Or I send Grace to a facility tomorrow, and you will never see her again.” My father froze. He looked at Debby, and I watched the last ember of hope in his eyes turn to gray ash. “Fine,” he whispered. “I’ll sign.” He scrawled his name. Debby snatched the papers, looking satisfied. “See? That wasn't so hard.” She turned to her guards. “Lock the door. No food. No water. No one enters until I say so.” The lock turned. I crawled to him, sobbing into his chest. “Dad, I’m sorry. I’m so useless...” He stroked my face, his eyes suddenly piercingly clear. “Grace, remember their faces today. One day, you’ll take it all back. With interest.” [Countdown: Twenty-four hours.] Time bled away. No water, no food. My father’s fever climbed, then plummeted. His breath became a stuttering rhythm of gasps. I held him, trying to pour my own warmth into his skin. [Countdown: Six hours.] The door burst open again. Debby stormed in, her face flushed red, followed by a team of surgeons. “Get him up!” she barked. The doctors grabbed him, dragging him from the bed. “What are you doing? Leave him alone!” I tried to push them, but Debby grabbed my collar and threw me into a chair. “Adrian, stop faking. Felix just had a massive internal hemorrhage. He needs a transfusion. He’s O-negative, you’re O-negative. We’re taking it now.” My father opened his eyes. “My leg is shattered... I’m bleeding internally... and you want to drain my blood for him?” “A little blood won’t kill you!” Debby snapped. “If you hadn't poisoned him, he wouldn't be in this state!” One of the doctors hesitated. “Ms. Saxon, the patient is already in shock. A large draw could be fatal.” “I said draw it!” Debby smashed a glass IV stand against the wall. “I’ll take the responsibility! If anything happens to Felix, I’ll ruin all of you!” They didn't hesitate again. They strapped him down and shoved a thick needle into his bruised vein. “No! Please stop!” I lunged forward and bit Debby’s arm again. “Get off me, you little brat!” She kicked me in the stomach. I flew backward, hitting a metal cabinet. The impact knocked the wind out of me, and I spat out a mouthful of blood. “Grace!” my father screamed, throwing the doctors off for a split second. Debby grabbed his hair, pinning his head against the bed frame. “Move again, Adrian, and I’ll kill her right now. I swear to God.” He went still. He looked at the blood on my lips, then slowly turned his arm back to the doctor. “Take it. Take it all.” One bag. Two. Three. My father’s skin turned the color of a tombstone. His body began to twitch. His pupils dilated until his eyes were almost entirely black. “Ms. Saxon, we have to stop. He’s going into cardiac arrest!” Debby looked at the four full bags of blood and shrugged. “He’s tougher than he looks.” She grabbed the bags and walked out without a backward glance. I crawled to him, checking his breath. It was a ghost of a sensation. Noah stood in the doorway, clutching a toy robot. He looked at the blood on the floor and clapped his hands. “Good! Take more! Felix needs it to be healthy! The bad man deserves to be empty!” I stared at my brother's face. I burned it into my memory, alongside Debby and Felix. [Warning! Host’s vitals have reached the limit. Death-Escape protocol initiating.] [Countdown: One hour.] Adrian lay his head in my lap, a tragic, broken smile on his lips. “Grace... survive...” The door opened one last time. This time, Debby looked even more frantic. Felix was behind her in a wheelchair, looking remarkably healthy for someone who just had a "hemorrhage." “Debby, I’m scared. The doctor said my kidneys are failing now,” Felix sobbed into her hip. “Don’t worry, baby. I’m here.” She looked up at my father on the floor. “Adrian, Felix needs a kidney. You’re a match. You’re giving him yours.” My father couldn't even lift his head. A wet, rattling sound came from his throat. “Debby... you’re insane. You’ve drained me dry... now you want my organs?” “You ruined his! It’s only fair you replace them!” she yelled. “You have two! You won’t die from losing one. Stop being so dramatic.” The surgeon wiped sweat from his brow. “Ms. Saxon, in his current state... he will 100% die on the table.” Debby hesitated for a second. Then, Noah pointed a finger at me. “Mom! Grace has two kidneys! Use hers! She’s young, she’s healthy! If she gives one to Felix, he can play with me forever!” I looked at my twin brother. He was seven. How could a seven-year-old be this monstrous? Felix’s eyes lit up, then he feigned hesitation. “Oh, I couldn't... she’s just a child.” “It’s fine!” Debby grabbed my arm, hauling me up. “Doctor, prep her for a match. Now!” “Let me go! You monster!” I fought, biting her hand until it bled. She didn't let go. “Guards, take her to the OR!” As the men moved toward me, my father—the man who supposedly couldn't move—lunged. He grabbed a tray of surgical tools, a scalpel clutched in his fist. “LEAVE HER ALONE!” he roared, a sound from the depths of hell. He held the blade to his own throat. The skin parted, a thin line of red appearing. “Adrian! Stop this!” Debby flinched back, releasing me. I scrambled into the corner. My father stood up, swaying, forcing them back with the sheer madness in his eyes. “You want a kidney, Debby? You want blood?” He started to laugh—a desperate, jagged sound. He backed away toward the massive floor-to-ceiling window at the end of the suite. Behind him was a fourteen-story drop. “Adrian, be reasonable! Drop the knife!” Debby’s voice finally held a tremor of real fear. “I won’t touch Grace, I promise.” He reached the glass. He looked at the woman he had loved for a decade. “I don’t believe you anymore, Debby.” He swung the heavy IV stand, smashing it into the glass. It shattered into a thousand diamonds. The wind roared in, whipping his blood-soaked hair. [Countdown finished. System destruction sequence engaged.] He looked at me one last time. It was a look of infinite sorrow and finality. “Debby, I give you my life. But my daughter’s life... stays hers.” He stepped backward into the abyss.
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "446524", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel