Chapter 4 Mia's Warning

Mia slammed the apartment door shut hard enough to rattle the framed photo of her and Alice at Coney Island-two sunburned faces. Now, Alice sat hunched at her laptop, the blue glow etching shadows under her eyes, surrounded by a fortress of empty Red Bull cans and court summons.

"You're still digging?" Mia snapped, kicking a stray case file. "The Department of Justice dropped the Sterling investigation. It's over."

Alice didn't look up. Her fingers continued their relentless dance across the keyboard.

"They dropped it because Jude paid them off. Again."

"Or maybe because you're the only one dumb enough to think a few spreadsheets can take down a billionaire." Mia yanked the laptop closed. "You're just a girl with Wi-Fi and a death wish."

Alice snatched it back, fingers trembling. "He's hiding something bigger. Offshore accounts, shell companies-I just need time-"

"You don't have time!" Mia's voice cracked. "Donovan's lawyers subpoenaed your medical records. You know what happens when they find out about the..." She trailed off, jaw clenched.

Alice stiffened. The diagnosis. The secret they'd kept buried for months. "They won't. The judge denied discovery."

She spoke with the artificial confidence of someone trying to convince herself as much as her listener, eyes darting to the stack of legal documents on the table

"Because your doctor lied! For you, Alice! She risked her license, her career-everything-because I begged her to! If they depose her-"

Mia's hands gestured wildly in the air, her whole body vibrating with the tension of unsaid things.

"They won't." Alice stood too fast, the room tilting. She gripped the edge of the desk to steady herself, knuckles turning white, a momentary dizziness washing over her that she tried to hide, swallowing hard against the sensation.

"I'm close, Mia. One more leak, one witness-" Her eyes lit up with fevered determination, that familiar spark that had once been inspiring but now terrified Mia more than anything.

Mia grabbed her shoulders, nails digging in. "Stop. Please. You're killing yourself."

Her voice dropped to a whisper, tears threatening to spill over. The words felt inadequate, incapable of carrying the weight of her fear.

"Then let me die right!" Alice shoved her off, knocking over a tower of depositions. Papers fluttered to the floor like ashes. "You think I want to spend my last months in bed? Letting men like Jude win?"

Her eyes blazed with a fire that seemed to consume her from within, burning through what little reserves she had left.

Mia laughed, sharp and brittle. "You think he even notices you? You're just an insect. Meanwhile, you're coughing blood into your coffee and calling it 'allergies.'"

She gestured toward the table where a rinsed mug sat, still bearing faint red-colored stains around its rim that no amount of scrubbing could fully remove.

Alice's hand flew to her mouth. The movement was instinctive, defensive, her eyes widening in childlike surprise at being discovered. She'd hidden the napkins, scrubbed the mug-flushed the evidence down the toilet at 3 AM while Mia slept, or so she thought. The realization that her secret wasn't secret at all made her stomach drop.

"I'm a nurse, you idiot. You think I don't recognize septic shock when I see it?" Mia's eyes glistened. "You're dying. Faster. And I'm supposed to just... watch?"

The words hung between them, raw and jagged. Alice turned away, throat burning. She couldn't bear the weight of Mia's gaze, the love

"I need you to stop." Mia's voice softened. The anger drained from her tone, leaving only exhaustion and pleading. "For me. Let's go to the beach. Eat overpriced tacos. Please."

Alice stared at the photo on the wall-Mia mid-laugh, strawberry syrup dripping down her wrist. A lifetime ago. "I can't."

"Why?!"

"Because if I stop..." Alice's voice broke. "...it means she wins."

"Who?" Mia's brow furrowed in confusion.

"My mom." The confession slipped out, sharp as glass. "She spent her whole life looking away. Letting men like my dad-like Jude-walk all over her. I won't end up like that. I won't die quiet."

Her voice gained strength with each word, hands balling into fists at her sides, jaw set in the stubborn determination Mia had once admired but now feared.

Mia flinched. "This isn't about your mom. This is about you being too scared to admit you're losing." She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth, but couldn't take them back, couldn't soften the blow they delivered.

Alice's fist clenched. "Get out." The words were low, dangerous, pushed through clenched teeth.

"No." Mia planted her feet firmly on the hardwood floor, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Get out!" She hurled a coffee mug at the wall.

Mia didn't move. She stood her ground.

"You're not the only one who's scared, Alice. I'm terrified I'll wake up and find you-"

A sudden warmth trickled over Alice's lip. She swiped her hand-bright red smeared her fingers.

"Oh God." Mia lunged forward. "Sit down. Now." All anger vanished in an instant.

Alice stumbled back, blood dripping onto her shirt. "It's just a nosebleed."The words came out muffled, unconvincing even to her own ears.

"Bullshit." Mia pressed a wad of napkins to her face. "We're going to the ER."

"No hospitals. Jude's got spies everywhere-"

"Fuck Jude!" Mia's tears fell freely now. "You're bleeding out on your stupid rug, and you're still talking about him?" Her voice broke on the last word, frustration and heartbreak colliding in her throat.

The room spun. Alice gripped the desk, her reflection warped in the cracked laptop screen-pale, bloody, small.

"I'm fine," she muttered, pushing Mia away.

The napkin slipped, splattering blood across a subpoena. Sterling V. Hart.

Mia froze. "Alice... look at me."

"I said I'm fine-" Alice's words were barely audible now, her lips moving with so much effort.

A drop of blood hit the floor. Then another.

Then Alice collapsed.