Chapter 2

The hospital was sterile and white, the smell of antiseptic burning my nostrils. Ethan didn't let go of my arm until he had me sitting in a chair in a private room. Mia was in the bed next to me, looking pale and frail, but her eyes held a triumphant glint when she looked at me.

A nurse came in with the equipment.

Ethan stood over her, his voice sharp. "Take 400cc."

The nurse paused, her eyes widening slightly. She looked from Ethan to me, noting my pale face and trembling hands.

"Sir, 400cc is the maximum for a healthy adult male," she said hesitantly. "For a woman of her size, 200cc is the standard safe amount. Anything more could be dangerous."

Ethan's gaze was like ice. "I am paying for this room. I am paying for your time. You will do as I say. Take 400cc."

The nurse looked at me with pity in her eyes, but she didn't dare argue with him again. She prepped my arm, her touch gentle, as if to apologize for what she was about to do.

The needle went in, and I watched my blood, dark and red, begin to flow through the clear tube. It snaked across the floor, a lifeline connecting me to the girl who had stolen my life.

I felt dizzy almost immediately. The room started to spin. My vision blurred at the edges.

"Ethan," I whispered, my voice weak. "I don't feel good. Please, stop."

He didn't even look at me. His eyes were fixed on Mia, his expression soft and concerned. He was holding her hand, stroking it gently.

"It's almost over, Mia," he murmured to her. "You'll feel better soon."

I was the one giving my blood, my life force, and he was comforting her. The absurdity of it was a fresh wave of pain.

"Please," I begged, my voice cracking. "I think I'm going to pass out."

He finally turned his head, his face annoyed. "Be quiet, Ava. It's just a little blood. Don't be so dramatic."

Those were his last words to me before the world went black.

I came to, slowly, the sound of voices pulling me from the darkness. My head was pounding, and my body felt heavy and weak.

It was Ethan's voice, soft and coddling.

"Does your arm still hurt, Mia? Let me see. Does it feel better now that you have some new blood? That's good. You were so brave."

Then Mia's voice, whiny and petulant. "Uncle Ethan, why did you even bring her? She's so weak. She fainted just from giving a little blood. It's embarrassing. I don't like her."

"I know, I know," Ethan soothed. "She's just a tool. We needed her blood, that's all. Once you're better, we won't have to see her again if you don't want to."

A tool.

That's all I was.

The words echoed in the empty space where my heart used to be. I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing the darkness would take me again.

But it didn't. I was forced to lie there, listening to the man I loved degrade me to the girl he was obsessed with.

Then I felt a presence beside my bed. I opened my eyes.

Mia was standing over me, a cruel smirk on her face. Ethan was gone, probably to get her a drink or a snack.

"You heard that, didn't you?" she sneered, her voice low and venomous. "You're nothing. You're just a walking blood bag he keeps around because you're convenient."

I didn't have the energy to respond. I just stared at her.

Her smirk widened. "He's mine, you know. He always has been. He only tolerates you because I let him."

She reached down, her eyes glinting with malice. Before I could react, she grabbed the IV needle still taped to my arm.

With a sharp, vicious tug, she ripped it out.

Pain exploded in my arm. Blood welled up from the wound, staining the white sheets a dark, sickening red.

"Oops," she said, her voice dripping with fake innocence. "My hand slipped."

She leaned in close, her breath hot on my cheek. "You should just die," she whispered. "Then Uncle Ethan would only have me."

The pain, the shock, the sheer venom of her words were too much for my weakened body to handle. The room spun violently, and the darkness rushed back in, swallowing me whole.