Chapter 4

I needed to get him out of the house.

I needed time.

The next morning, I feigned a severe coughing fit, worse than usual.

I clutched my chest, making sure he saw the blood on my handkerchief.

"Julian, I... I think I need to go to the clinic," I gasped. "But I don't want to bother you. Could you... could you ask Marcus to take me?"

Julian looked concerned, then relieved.

"Of course, Ava. I have back-to-back surgeries today. Marcus can take you. I'll call him."

Perfect. Marcus was his confidante, but also a doctor. It was plausible.

Once Julian left for the hospital, I didn't call Marcus.

I called Lena Hanson.

Lena was my best friend from college. A brilliant surgeon, fierce, loyal.

She'd just returned from a long mission with Doctors Without Borders.

"Lena," I said, my voice urgent. "I need your help. It's... it's bad."

I told her everything. The stolen heart, Julian's deception, Chloe, my failing health.

There was silence on the other end for a long moment.

Then, Lena's voice, cold with fury. "That bastard. Ava, I'm on my way."

While I waited for Lena, I went into Julian's study.

His sanctuary.

I knew he kept a private laptop, separate from his hospital work.

I found it in a locked drawer. I'd seen him idly type the password a hundred times. Chloe's birthday.

It opened.

His emails.

Hundreds of them. To Chloe.

Declarations of undying love. Obsessive, possessive.

"My dearest Chloe, my heart beats only for you. The one I gave you, and the one still in my chest."

"You are my life, my reason for everything. Ava is a shadow, a means to keep you safe and happy."

Photos. Lavish gifts. A diamond bracelet. A sports car.

A private retreat he'd bought for her in the Caribbean.

Entries in a private journal file.

Disturbing thoughts about me.

"Ava's health is a constant worry... not for her sake, but for the stability of your heart, my love. If she dies too soon, questions might be asked."

"Sometimes I look at her, and all I see is a vessel, a placeholder."

My stomach churned. He saw me as an incubator for Chloe's continued well-being.

He didn't just steal my heart. He stole my life, my identity, and felt nothing.

Lena arrived. She took one look at me, at the blood I'd coughed up again, and her face hardened.

"We're getting you out of here, Ava," she said. "And we're getting you a new heart. A real one."

She told me about a contact, a transplant program she'd worked with. Legitimate, ethical.

"It will be risky," she warned. "But this thing Julian put in you? It's a ticking time bomb."

I knew. I felt it every day.

"What about the evidence?" Lena asked.

"I have the recording. And this," I said, gesturing to the laptop.

Lena nodded. "Good. We'll use it all."