It turned out his so-called friend was actually the woman he planned to marry.
Nicole had spent six years with Brenton, from the age of nineteen to twenty-four. She'd risked everything on their relationship.
Their families were worlds apart, and it had always been clear to her. That was why she'd never brought up marriage and had chosen to wait.
Her dream was to make something of her couture studio. Then perhaps she could stand beside him without feeling beneath him.
But now, she realized Brenton wasn't against marriage after all. He simply had no intention of marrying her.
Nicole's lips curved into a bitter smile at her own expense.
Once love ended, there was nothing left to save. She had gambled everything and lost.
She was about to leave when Brenton spoke.
"She has no idea. Even if she found out, what could she do? That little studio of hers would have shut down without Blake Group's support. As for her mother, two compatible kidney donors have already come up, but I stopped both operations. No surgeon in Cresville would dare operate on her without my approval."
Cruel laughter burst from the room.
"You've got your little songbird locked up tight in that golden cage. Nicely done!" someone teased.
"That's seriously twisted, and she still thinks you're helping her," another man chimed in.
Nicole stood rooted to the spot, frozen.
Her mother had been diagnosed with kidney failure a year earlier. She had volunteered to give her mother a kidney, but the tests showed they weren't compatible.
She had broken down outside the hospital room, and Brenton had held her while trying to calm her. "Don't worry, Nicole. We can afford the treatment. I'll find someone who's a match, and your mother will be okay."
For an entire painful year, she'd believed he was actually helping them. Now she knew he had been holding back her mother's operation.
He was using her mother's life to keep her under his control. Fury tore through her at the thought.
She had wasted six years being a fool.
Her phone suddenly rang and cut through the silence.
"I'm calling from Cresville General Hospital," the urgent voice on the line said. "Your mother, Maggie Dawson, developed a blood clot during dialysis. Her condition is critical."
Every thought vanished from Nicole's mind. Confronting Brenton would have to wait. She turned and ran for the elevator.
By the time she reached the hospital, the staff were rushing her mother into the interventional suite. A nurse approached with a form. "You need to sign the consent paperwork. Every senior attending is already in surgery, so no one is free to take her case."
"How can no one be available?" Nicole asked, her voice trembling.
"Her kidney failure is severe, which makes the procedure extremely difficult. None of the junior doctors can manage a case like this..."
The nurse hadn't finished when the elevator doors opened and a tall man walked out.
He removed his leather gloves as he approached, revealing his long fingers.
Several doctors in lab coats followed him and quickly explained the situation.
"Dr. Carter?" Surprise crossed the nurse's face. "Didn't your international flight just land? Dr. Jones said you needed to get some rest."
He wasted no time. "Show me the scans."
A resident immediately passed them to him.
Still dazed, Nicole raised her head and met his deep, piercing gaze.
She knew that face.
His name was Ethan Carter. He was the heir to the Carter family and Gillian's uncle.
Something pulled tight in Nicole's chest when their eyes met. An odd sense of familiarity came over her, though she couldn't explain it.
Ethan studied her face for several seconds. His stare was keen and measured, but something she couldn't read briefly appeared in his eyes. A moment later, he lowered his gaze to the scans again.
It took him only seconds to examine the images. He pointed to a section of the film. "Call anesthesiology. We'll perform an interventional thrombectomy. Have the operating room prepared within five minutes."
The nurse paused. "But she hasn't paid the surgery deposit..."
"Forget the usual process. I'll take personal responsibility for the bill," Ethan said, cutting her off.
Nicole couldn't express how grateful she was. All she said was a simple, "Thank you."
Antiseptic hung thick in the hospital corridor.
Nicole's thoughts raced as she tried to work out when the remaining payments from her studio orders would arrive. She needed to get two hundred thousand dollars as soon as possible and repay Ethan.
Clenching her teeth, she called Brenton. The phone rang for a long while before he finally picked up. But the voice that came through was Gillian's.
"Brenton, someone's calling from an unsaved number."
"Don't answer it," Brenton replied coldly.
Whatever hope Nicole had left disappeared. She ended the call.
After closing her eyes and drawing a deep breath, she called her father, Aaron Dawson.
"Mom needs an urgent operation, and it costs two hundred thousand. Can you give me the money now? I'll repay you on Monday."
"Two hundred thousand?" Aaron let out an impatient scoff. "You've spent years with Brenton, but you can't get that much money from him? I asked you to put in a good word for me so my company could work with Blake Group, and you refused because you wanted to act so righteous. Now you're out of money, and suddenly I'm your father again? Well, you're too late!"
He hung up with a hard click.
A dull pain spread behind Nicole's eyes as she rubbed her temples.
Two hours passed before the surgery ended.
Ethan came out of the operating room and removed his surgical cap. "We cleared the clot, and she's no longer in immediate danger. However, she needs a matching kidney donor as soon as possible. Stop by my office later so we can register her and complete the forms."
"I will. Thank you, Dr. Carter."
...
Nicole stood outside the ICU and watched her mother through the glass while Brenton's words repeated in her head.
Escaping Brenton and saving her mother would take someone with even more power.
Ethan was the future head of the Carter family, and he was also the doctor treating her mother.
His support could save her mother. It would also force Brenton to think twice before taking any actions against her for the sake of his engagement.
Using a man who had just helped her would be shameless, reckless, and dangerous. Still, the idea took hold and wouldn't release her.
She needed something strong enough to pull her from this mess. If she was lucky, it might also help her bring down the Blake family.
Nicole went into the restroom and faced the mirror. After wiping away the marks left by her tears, she touched up her makeup and headed for Ethan's office.
He was seated behind his desk, reading through a medical chart.
"Sorry to disturb you, Dr. Carter. I need your help registering my mother for a kidney donor," Nicole muttered, making her voice deliberately gentle.
Ethan looked up, his gaze landing on the lingering redness at the corners of her eyes. A brief silence passed before he responded, "Okay."
"There's also the cost of the operation. Could you give me your contact details? I'll send the money the moment I have it."
"That won't be necessary." Ethan opened a drawer, removed a bank card, and pushed it toward her. "Put the money into this account. My birthday is the PIN."
A flicker of disappointment passed through Nicole. Her attempt to get his contact information without raising suspicion had failed.
She took the card and spoke quietly. "In that case... when's your birthday?"
Ethan stared at her as his expression gradually hardened. He gave the date slowly and clearly. "July 28th, 1999. And the PIN is 990728."
"I won't forget it, Dr. Carter."
"You won't?" Ethan's voice chilled. "I'm not convinced, Ms. Dawson. Remembering things doesn't seem to be your strength."
Bitterness edged his words, along with something that almost sounded like pain.
Nicole couldn't make sense of it, but she didn't have the nerve to question him. She pulled off a sticky note and wrote down her number before placing it in his hand. Her fingertips brushed ever so lightly against his palm.
His fingers closed without thought.
"This is my number, Dr. Carter. Call me whenever you need to."
Once the door shut behind her, Ethan lifted the note.
He had memorized those digits long ago.
His gaze grew colder. Then he opened his hand and let the small note fall into the trash.
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