Chapter 1

The pills were a bitter lump in my throat, a secret I swallowed down with trembling hands hours ago.

Now, a dull ache started low in my belly, a grim promise.

Sarah Miller. That' s me. Or what' s left of me.

My family used to have money, a name. Now, I had nothing but Ethan Hayes.

He owned this house, owned me.

He kept me alive for one reason: my kidney. For Chloe.

And this baby, his baby, growing inside me? He' d never get it.

Not my body, not my child.

Ethan' s footsteps echoed in the hall, heavy, deliberate. Each one a reminder.

"Sarah," his voice, smooth as a scalpel, cut through the quiet.

"You remember what your family owes me, don't you?"

I flinched, turning from the window where the city lights blurred.

He stood in the doorway, immaculate in his tailored suit, a successful surgeon. My captor.

"My parents..." I started, my voice a dry whisper.

"Destroyed my family," he finished, his eyes cold. "Took everything. Left me with nothing but the charity of your mother."

He believed her actions, some forgotten slight or business deal, had also rendered him sterile. A cruel joke, considering the life stirring inside me.

"And Chloe," he continued, his voice softening a fraction when he said her name. "She' s dying, Sarah. Because of the stress, the ruin your parents caused. Her kidneys are failing."

He stepped closer, his presence suffocating.

"You owe her a kidney. It' s the least you can do to repay the debt."

I nodded, a puppet on his strings. What else could I do?

The ache in my stomach intensified. Good. Let it work.

He wouldn' t get my kidney if I was too sick, or if...

The thought was a dark comfort.

He watched me, his gaze clinical. "You look pale. Are you feeling unwell?"

"Just tired," I lied.

My secret pulsed within me, a desperate, silent rebellion against his control.

He wanted a healthy kidney. He wanted me compliant.

He didn' t know about the pills. He didn' t know the full extent of my defiance.

He thought he had me broken. He was wrong.

I was broken, yes, but a shattered thing can still have sharp edges.