air into her lungs. In. Out. A ragged,

er fingernails digging into her own arms. T

eason. It was a primal thing, a b

Hope died as her fingers met the familiar cold metal of the locks. They had been instal

d echoed in the

se than the disciplinary center. A memor

isease. A transplant was her only hope. And by a cruel twist of fa

They didn't ask. They informed her. It was her duty, they said. H

e logic, who had cornered her in the study and laid out the family's expectations as if reading the terms of a contract. "It's a simp

ssuring smile. He had held her hand, his touch warm and steady. He'd called her his "silly girl" for being so scar

ed him. She ha

d health. In her final days, too weak to even speak, she had overheard Adrian outside her hospital room.

h longer. Soon, there will be no one l

the phantom ache in her side, the icy ch

ay jolted her back to

of a key

of light into her dark prison. Two fi

as Is

as him. Adr

catching the light. That same gentle, disarming smile was fixed on hi

Adrian? I told you she was probably just

eyes were on the dark room. "Gavin has gone

a dim, sterile glow over the room. His eyes found Calista, huddled in the corner, her face ashen, her body

moved towards her, his hand out

f he were a hot iron. She scrambled away, pressing herself into the corner o

in mid-air. His smil

a picture of worry. "Sister, what's wr

A violent wave of nausea churned in her stomach. The ghost of a surgeon's scalpel slicing into

surgery. The hands that wore a Patek Philippe watch, glinting in th

t it was a physical force, rose up inside her.

. He had always seen himself as the one brother who could manage this

fear. It was the look you give to s

ing sound escaping her throat. She was afraid if she didn't, she