Chapter 3

The smell of bleach and old coffee filled the breakroom of the corporate building.

Ethan nursed a cup of lukewarm coffee, his body aching from the janitorial shift.

The guitar was gone. The loan payments loomed. But Noah' s transplant was scheduled.

That' s all that mattered.

A shuffling sound made him look up.

It was Marcus, an older janitor who mostly kept to himself.

Marcus held out a small, black USB drive.

"This is yours, I think. Or, well, he said to give it to 'the janitor who looks like he' s seen a ghost' ."

Ethan frowned. "Who?"

"Mr. Thorne. Julian Thorne. The art guy. He' s on the top floor. Dropped it near the executive elevator last night. Saw you clocking out, looking rough. He seemed... amused."

Julian. Chloe' s wealthy companion from the gala.

Ethan' s hand trembled as he took the drive. Why would Julian give him anything?

He plugged it into the ancient computer in the breakroom.

A single video file.

He clicked play.

The screen filled with Chloe' s face. She was laughing, that same bright, carefree laugh he' d heard at the gala.

She was with Julian, lounging on a plush sofa in a room that screamed money.

"He' s so gullible, isn' t he?" Chloe said, swirling a drink. "Five years. Five years of this... this little test. And he still hasn' t figured it out."

Julian chuckled, his arm around her. "Your father had peculiar ideas about proving loyalty, my dear. But Ethan' s certainly been... dedicated."

Ethan' s blood ran cold. A test?

Chloe leaned into Julian, her voice dripping with a casual cruelty that stole Ethan' s breath.

"And Noah... well, if his treatment becomes too inconvenient, we can always manage expectations. It' s not like he' s the only one."

She paused, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Actually, Julian, your nephew, Alex... didn' t you say he might need a similar bone marrow type soon? It would be rather fortuitous if a compatible match just... became available."

The video ended.

Ethan stared at the blank screen, the sound of his own ragged breathing loud in the silence of the breakroom.

The room tilted. He felt sick.

His sacrifices. His father' s guitar. The predatory loan. His endless, grinding work.

All for a game. A test.

And Noah... Noah was just an inconvenience. A potential resource for Julian' s nephew.

The coffee cup slipped from his numb fingers, shattering on the linoleum floor.