Introduction

I poured my life, my health, into Vicky Sterling's startup.

Now she's a celebrated CEO, and I'm just a recovering patient, battling Crohn's.

Her "conceptual artist" lover, Julian, fills our home with his presence.

One evening, Julian, knowing my strict diet, offered me a rich, forbidden pasta.

Under his watchful smirk, I took a bite.

Within the hour, internal fire consumed me.

I crawled to Vicky, begging for the hospital, but she dismissed my agony.

She called me "dramatic," prioritized Julian's fake illness, and brutally kicked my surgical scars.

Her assistant Brenda then locked me in my room, where Julian's venomous brown recluse bit me.

When paramedics arrived, Vicky blocked the ambulance, chillingly stating, "If he dies, he dies!"

How could the woman I loved, the one I sacrificed everything for, actively ensure my agonizing death?

Was I just a burden to be eliminated, a mere inconvenience?

As darkness encroached, I used my last ounce of strength, not to call 911 again, but the one man who could truly help: Uncle Frank.

My story wasn't ending; it was just beginning.