SHADOWS BEHIND THE LIE / Chapter 5 / 20

Chapter 5 - CURSE IN THE BLOODI slammed my foot on the gas pedal, tearing back toward Chicago Children's Medical Center. The fury inside me felt like a volcano on the verge of eruption. Amelia—my fiancée—why was she at the hospital? How did she even know about Chloe?

When I burst into the ICU, the tension was suffocating. Amelia stood there, impeccably dressed in a designer outfit, standing in stark contrast to Grace's worn-out coat. The two women stood face-to-face, with Dr. Vance and two security guards standing between them.

"Ryan!" Amelia turned around as I stormed in. Her face showed no sign of embarrassment or guilt, only a chilling composure. "There you are. I'm just trying to help you clean up this mess."

"What are you doing here, Amelia?" I stepped in front of Grace, my eyes locking onto my fiancée.

"I looked for you all night," Amelia smiled gently, though her eyes flicked toward Grace with utter contempt. "And I found out why you walked out on the proposal. Ryan, I know you're in shock about these three children. But you have to be realistic. This hospital doesn't have the best facilities. I've arranged to transfer the girl to my family's private hospital in Boston."

"Never!" Grace screamed, wrapping her arms tightly around her delirious daughter on the hospital bed. "I'm not going anywhere! You're trying to steal my child!"

"I am not stealing your child, Ms. Miller," Amelia replied calmly, stepping closer to wrap her arm around mine. "I am protecting Ryan. He is the Chairman of the Brooks Group. Having illegitimate children with a former waitress would be a PR disaster. If we move the child to Boston under a charitable foundation owned by my family, we can treat her quietly without damaging Ryan's reputation or our upcoming marriage."

I looked down at Amelia's hand on my arm. A surge of revulsion rose from the depths of my chest.

"Our upcoming marriage?" I slowly brushed her hand off. "Amelia, you knew about these three children before tonight, didn't you?"

Amelia's gentle smile faltered slightly.

"Answer me!" I demanded.

"Yes, I knew!" Amelia admitted cold-bloodedly, dropping her sweet facade. "Your mother told me three years ago! Both your mother and I agreed that this woman didn't deserve a place in your life. I stayed silent because I thought she had vanished forever! But now she's back, using a dying child to extort you!"

SLAP!

A sharp sound echoed through the room. It wasn't me—it was Grace. She had swung her hand, slapping Amelia squarely across the face.

"Don't you ever use the words 'dying child' when talking about my daughter!" Grace shook with rage, her eyes bloodshot.

Amelia clutched her reddened cheek, her eyes wide with shock. She spun toward me: "Ryan! Do you see? She's a savage! Are you really going to protect this kind of person?"

"Get out," I whispered, my voice laced with lethal intent.

"What did you say?" Amelia couldn't believe her ears.

"I said GET OUT!" I pointed toward the door. "And the marriage between us... IS OVER."

Amelia gritted her teeth, trembling with rage. "You will regret this, Ryan Brooks! My family will pull all investments from the Westside Development Project! You will lose everything!"

She turned on her heels and stormed out, her high heels clicking loudly down the corridor.

An uncomfortable silence settled over the room. Dr. Vance sighed, stepping closer to Grace and me.

"Mr. Brooks, Mrs. Miller," Dr. Vance said solemnly. "We don't have time for these arguments. Chloe's condition is far more critical than we thought. Her platelet count is dropping dangerously low. We need to perform a marrow compatibility test today."

"Use my marrow!" I said instantly. "I'm her biological father!"

Dr. Vance looked at me with a complicated expression. "Mr. Brooks, Chloe's condition is a hereditary linked disorder. Parent-child compatibility usually reaches only 50%. For a successful transplant, we need a 100% full match."

"Then where do we find one?" I asked anxiously.

"The other two children," Dr. Vance turned to look at Leo and Maya standing in the corner. "Full siblings born from the same pregnancy have the highest chance of a match. We need to test Leo and Maya."

Grace immediately stepped in front of the two children, her face turning pale with fear. "No! They are only three years old! A marrow harvest is painful and dangerous! I can't let all three of my children suffer this risk!"

"Grace, this is the only way to save Chloe!" I stepped toward her.

"What do you know?" Grace cried out, her tears breaking through. "You only showed up a few hours ago! You have no idea what Chloe has suffered through! Doctor, what about the national marrow registry?"

"The national registry has a match probability of 1 in 100,000," Dr. Vance shook his head sadly. "And it takes months. Chloe doesn't have that kind of time. She has two weeks at most."

Two weeks.

A suffocating silence fell over the room. Just then, the door to the ICU burst open. Two men in dark suits wearing Child Protective Services (CPS) badges entered, accompanied by two police officers.

"Who is Grace Miller?" the lead officer asked coldly.

"I am..." Grace stammered, bewildered.

"We have received an urgent report regarding your financial inability and unsafe living environment to care for a critically ill child," the CPS representative presented an official court document. "By order of the Chicago Family Court, we are temporarily revoking your custody rights and placing all three children under state protective care immediately."

Grace collapsed to the floor. I caught her before she hit the ground, my eyes burning with fury as I glared at the officers: "Who filed this report?"