He worked in marketing, made decent money—but none of it ever stayed. It always disappeared into the chaos that was his younger sister, Lily. She was twenty-six and constantly in trouble—debts, reckless decisions, failed schemes. And Ethan? He treated rescuing her like a sacred duty, no matter the cost to us.
Today was the day before my surgery.
I sat on the nursery floor with my laptop open, ready to transfer the money to the hospital.
I logged into the secure account I had created for the surgery funds.
The page loaded.
I froze.
BALANCE: $0.00
I blinked, refreshed the screen.
Still zero.
Then I saw it.
$23,000.00 – Wire Transfer. Two hours ago.
My entire body went numb.
“Ethan!” I screamed, my voice cracking.
He appeared in the doorway, adjusting his coat like he was about to leave. He didn’t rush. He didn’t look concerned.
“What did you do?” I whispered, pointing at the screen. “Where is the money?”
He sighed, annoyed.
“Lily was in serious trouble, Ava,” he said calmly. “She owed dangerous people. They were threatening her. She needed that money.”
“I need that money!” I cried. “The surgery is tomorrow! I could die without it!”
He rolled his eyes.