Chapter 2

The hospital waiting room was cold, sterile.

Chloe was there, her arm around me. "They'll be okay, Ethan. They have to be."

Liam arrived, his face a mask of sorrow. He was always a good actor.

He' d been the bully in high school, not me. He' d gotten himself expelled.

He' d put Chloe and Olivia' s parents in danger with his gambling debts, forcing me to secretly intervene, to save them, to give them new lives in Italy while their daughters believed them dead, killed in a hit-and-run I supposedly caused.

The doctor finally came out. "Critical condition. Multiple surgeries needed. We'll do our best."

Chloe' s family foundation was a major donor to this hospital. She had influence.

The day of their first critical surgery, Liam had an art gallery opening.

Chloe approached me, her face etched with worry. "Ethan, darling, I know this sounds awful, but Liam is so fragile. If your parents' surgery goes badly today... it might cast a shadow, bring bad luck to his opening."

I stared at her, speechless.

"I spoke to the chief of staff," she continued, her voice soft. "He understands. They're going to postpone the surgery. Just a slight delay. Unavoidable, really, with some scheduling conflicts that came up."

A slight delay.

Their care subtly changed. Nurses seemed flustered, less attentive. Medications were sometimes late.

My parents' condition worsened.

While they fought for their lives, Chloe married Liam.

A lavish wedding, streamed online.

The media portrayed it as Chloe finding solace, a beacon of hope after the "tragedy" surrounding my family.

Weeks turned into months. My parents lingered, shadows of their former selves.

Then Chloe, the grieving widow of Liam (or so the narrative she was crafting would imply once she discarded him), "rescued" me.

She managed the (false) financial fallout from the smear campaign.

She took over my parents' care arrangements, moving them to a private facility run by her foundation.

Then, one evening, she made a grand, public proposal. Streamed online, of course.

"Ethan," she said, tears in her eyes, a dazzling ring in her hand. "You've been my rock. I want to build a life with you. I'll help you care for your parents. We'll face this together."

Numb, broken, I said yes.

We married quietly.

It was the beginning of a different kind of hell.