Chapter 2 SURVIVAL GAME

(Evelyn POV)

The hospital comes into view(a tired building with peeling paint and too many people crowded around the entrance). The car barely stops before I'm throwing open the door and running.

I hear Leonardo behind me, his footsteps confident even in chaos.

Inside, the hospital smells like antiseptic and desperation. I push through the crowd at the reception desk.

"My mother(Mama Grace Adesua)they brought her in-"

"Wait your turn!" the nurse snaps.

"Please, she collapsed, I need to-"

A presence materializes beside me. Leonardo Sterling, looking completely out of place in this government hospital, fixes the nurse with a look that could freeze fire.

"The woman wants information about her mother," he says quietly. "Provide it. Now."

The nurse's attitude evaporates. "Let me check, sir-one moment-"

I'm shaking again. Leonardo's hand touches my back-just a light pressure, steadying.

"Grace Adesua," the nurse says, typing rapidly. "Emergency ward. Ward C. Through those doors, down the hall, third left."

I'm running again before she finishes.

The emergency ward is a nightmare of moans and smells and people lying on gurneys in hallways because there aren't enough rooms. I scan frantically until I see Salie standing outside a curtained area, her face streaked with tears.

"Sister!" She runs to me.

"Where is she? What happened?"

"Inside. The doctor is inside with her now."

I push past the curtain.

Mama lies on a narrow bed, her wrapper askew, her eyes closed. She looks smaller than I remember. Older. Fragile.

A young doctor with tired eyes looks up from checking her pulse. "Family?"

"Her daughter." I can barely speak. "What's wrong with her?"

"Her blood pressure is dangerously high. We're stabilizing her now, but she needs tests. Full bloodwork, CT scan-"

"How much?" I interrupt.

He hesitates. "We can discuss payment after-"

"How much?"

"Approximately eighty thousand naira for the immediate tests. More if we need to admit her."

The world tilts. Eighty thousand. I have maybe fifteen thousand in my account. Mama has less.

"I'll pay it."

Leonardo Sterling stands at the curtain entrance, his presence commanding even in this place of suffering.

The doctor blinks. "Sir?"

"Whatever tests she needs. Whatever treatment. I'll cover it." He pulls out his phone. "Give me the hospital's account details."

"Sir, you don't have to-" I start.

"We'll discuss it later." His tone brooks no argument. He turns to the doctor. "Is she in immediate danger?"

"We've stabilized her for now, but we need those tests to determine the cause."

"Then run them. All of them." Leonardo hands his phone to the doctor. "Transfer the funds you need. Whatever it takes."

The doctor nods, stunned, and disappears with the phone.

I stand frozen, my mind unable to process what just happened.

Salie tugs my sleeve. "Sister, who is this man?"

I don't have an answer.

Leonardo approaches Mama's bed, looking down at her unconscious form with an expression I can't read. Then he turns to me.

"Stay with her. I'll handle the paperwork."

"Mr. Sterling-"

"Leo," he says.

"What?"

"Call me Leo." He meets my eyes. "And before you start with the pride and the refusal and all of that-your mother is unconscious. You're exhausted. Let me help. We'll figure out the rest later."

I should refuse. I should be suspicious. I should demand to know why a billionaire I met twenty minutes ago is paying my mother's hospital bills.

But Mama's hand is cold in mine, and pride doesn't keep people alive.

"Thank you," I whisper.

He nods once and leaves.

Salie sits beside me, her eyes wide. "Sister, what is happening? Who is that man?"

"He's... my boss. Sort of." I squeeze Mama's hand. "I don't really know."

The doctor returns with Leonardo's phone and a tablet. "The payment has been confirmed. We'll begin the tests immediately."

Nurses appear, efficient and suddenly respectful. They wheel Mama away, and I'm left standing in the empty space where her bed was.

Leonardo returns, his suit jacket gone, his sleeves rolled up. He looks almost human like this.

"They'll update us in an hour," he says. "There's a waiting area-"

"I'm fine standing."

"You're shaking."

I look down at my hands. He's right.

"Come." He gestures toward the exit. "There's a canteen. You need to eat."

"I'm not hungry."

"That wasn't a request."

And because I'm too tired to argue, I follow him.

The hospital canteen is depressing(fluorescent lights, plastic chairs, and food that looks like it was cooked last week). Leonardo buys me rice and stew anyway, plus a bottle of water.

We sat at a corner table. I stare at the food.

"Eat," he says.

"I told you I'm not-"

"Your hands are shaking because your blood sugar is low. Eat."

I pick up the spoon, mostly to stop him from staring at me. The food tastes like nothing, but I force it down.

"Why are you doing this?" I finally ask.

He's quiet for a moment. "I don't know."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one I have." He leans back in his chair. "I saw you in my office, and I... wanted to know more. Then your mother collapsed, and not helping would have been..." He trails off.

"What would have been?"

"Wrong." He says it simply, like it's obvious.

I set down my spoon. "Mr. Sterling-"

"Leo."

"Leo," I correct, testing his name in my mouth. "Rich people don't just pay strangers' hospital bills without expecting something in return. So what do you want?"

His lips curve,not quite a smile, but close. "Direct. I like that."

"Answer the question."

"I don't want anything from you, Evelyn." He leans forward, elbows on the table. "Maybe I'm curious. Maybe I'm bored. Maybe I saw someone who actually works hard instead of pretending to, and it impressed me. Does there have to be a reason?"

"In my experience? Yes. Always."

"Then maybe I'm not like your experience."

I want to believe him. God, I want to believe that someone can just be kind without wanting something. But I've lived too long in the real world for fairy tales.

My phone rings. The hospital.

I answer with trembling fingers. "Hello?"

"Miss Adesua? This is Dr. Okoro. Your mother is awake."

Relief floods through me so intensely that tears spring to my eyes. "Can I see her?"

"Yes. She's in Ward C, Room 7. We'll have the test results in a few hours, but her vitals are stable for now."

I hang up and stand so fast the chair scrapes. "She's awake."

Leonardo stands too. "Let's go."

We walk back to the ward in silence. Outside Room 7, I pause.

"Thank you," I say again, meaning it with everything in me. "For the money, for the ride, for... everything. I'll pay you back. I don't know how, but I will."

"We'll talk about it later." He nods toward the door. "Go see your mother."

I push open the door.

Mama lies propped up on pillows, her eyes open but glazed with exhaustion. Salie sits beside her, holding her hand.

"Mama!" I rush to her other side, gripping her hand.

"Evelyn, my daughter." Her voice is weak but warm. "I'm sorry for scaring you."

"Don't apologize." I kiss her knuckles. "Just rest."

Her eyes drift past me to the doorway where Leonardo stands. "Who is that man?"

"He's... a friend," I say, the word feeling strange. "He helped us."

Mama studies him with the sharp eyes of a mother who reads people for a living. Then she nods slightly, satisfied with whatever she saw.

Leonardo steps into the room. "Ma'am. I'm glad you're feeling better."

"Thank you for helping my daughter," Mama says softly. "God will bless you."

Something flickers across his face. Like he's not used to blessings.

"Rest well, ma'am." He turns to me. "I should go. You have my number if you need anything."

"I don't, actually."

He pulls out his phone. "What's your number?"

I tell him, feeling surreal. Leonardo Sterling is asking for my phone number.

His phone buzzes in my pocket seconds later. "Now you have mine. Call if you need anything. Anything at all."

He leaves before I can respond.

Salie waits exactly three seconds before exploding. "Sister! Who be that fine man? How you meet am? Why he dey pay for Mama hospital bill? Wetin dey happen?"

"I don't know," I admit, staring at the text on my phone(just a simple): "This is Leo."

I really don't know.

But as I sit beside Mama, watching her sleep, feeling the weight of the day pressing down on me, I can't shake the image of intense eyes and a steady hand covering mine.

Leonardo Sterling saw me when I was invisible.

And I have no idea what that means.