Chapter 4

The tenth day arrived, the grand Vanderbilt ballroom packed once more, the air thick with anticipation.

The elite of New York had gathered to witness the outcome of the sensational bet.

Chad Kensington stood confidently beside Bree' s wheelchair, soaking in the admiration.

Eleanor Vanderbilt watched nervously from the side.

Then, the main doors opened.

Ethan Miller walked in, and beside him, walking steadily, was Sarah Chen.

A wave of gasps and stunned silence swept through the ballroom.

Sarah, pale but radiant, smiled faintly at the astonished crowd.

Linda Chen rushed forward, tears of joy streaming down her face, embracing her daughter.

Chad' s smug expression faltered, replaced by disbelief, then fury.

"Impossible!" he stammered. "She was in a deep coma, incurable!"

Ethan stepped forward, his voice calm but carrying authority. "The terms of the bet were clear, Kensington, whose patient shows definitive recovery first, Sarah Chen is recovered, you have lost."

The crowd murmured, their gazes shifting to Chad, expecting him to concede.

Chad looked trapped, his face paling.

Just as he was about to speak, a triumphant cry came from the ornate balcony overlooking the ballroom.

"Not so fast, Ethan Miller!"

Bree Vanderbilt stood on the balcony, seemingly on her own two feet, a dazzling, victorious smile on her face.

The crowd gasped again, utterly bewildered.

"It seems my Chad' s Amazonian Sunpetal worked its miracle after all!" Bree declared, her voice ringing with triumph. She took a tentative, yet seemingly steady, step forward.

"You lose, Ethan! You and your little charity case!" she mocked, reveling in her apparent victory.

Chad' s face lit up with a mixture of relief and smugness. The crowd buzzed, unsure what to believe.

Ethan watched Bree calmly, his expression unreadable.

Then, he spoke, his voice cutting through the noise.

"Bree Vanderbilt," he said, his tone devoid of any emotion, "your legs were salvageable when you first came to me, even after the accident, but now, thanks to whatever Mr. Kensington has been giving you, they are truly, irreversibly beyond saving."

Bree froze, her smile faltering. "What nonsense are you spouting now, you jealous quack?"

She took another defiant step forward, intending to descend the grand staircase to rub her victory in Ethan' s face.

As her foot landed on the first step, she cried out, a sound of pure agony.

She stumbled, her legs buckling beneath her.

The crowd watched in horror as Bree collapsed onto the stairs.

Her expensive gown hitched up, revealing her lower legs.

They were not healed, they were grotesquely discolored, the skin appearing necrotic, decaying before their very eyes.

A collective shriek of horror rose from the attendees.

Eleanor Vanderbilt screamed, rushing towards the staircase.

"Bree! My baby!"

Chad stood frozen, his face a mask of terror.

Eleanor, her face a twisted mask of grief and fury, pointed a trembling finger at Chad. "You! What have you done to my daughter? Guards! Detain this monster!"

Security guards quickly surrounded a protesting Chad.

Ethan approached Eleanor, who was cradling a hysterical, pain-wracked Bree.

"Mrs. Vanderbilt," Ethan said, his voice grim, "Bree needs immediate medical attention, the decay is rapid, to save her life, both her legs will need to be amputated, from the knee down."

Bree, hearing this through her sobs, shrieked at Ethan. "No! It' s your fault! You cursed me! You did this to me!"

Eleanor looked at Ethan, her eyes hollow with despair, then at her daughter' s decaying limbs, and finally, she nodded, a broken woman.