Chapter 3 - The Price of Breath
Emily dropped the kitchen knife and sprinted frantically into the dark living room.
Her mother was thrashing violently on the sofa, clutching her chest as her lips turned a terrifying shade of blue.
The old oxygen machine was flashing a critical failure warning across its cracked digital screen.
Leo stepped into the apartment behind her, completely unfazed by the sudden medical chaos.
He pulled a sleek, expensive smartphone from his tailored pocket and casually dialed a private number.
Within three agonizing minutes, an elite private medical team burst through Emily's front door carrying advanced, life-saving equipment.
They quickly stabilized Ruth, immediately replacing the faulty machine with a state-of-the-art medical oxygen tank.
The lead paramedic pulled Emily aside and told her that her mother’s lungs were collapsing entirely.
Without an experimental, highly advanced transplant surgery by the end of the week, Ruth would inevitably die.
The complex surgery required a staggering quarter of a million dollars paid entirely upfront.
Emily sank to her knees on the stained carpet, the brutal reality of her poverty suffocating her all over again.
Leo walked over gracefully and handed her a small, elegant black velvet box.
Inside the box was a microscopic audio transmitter meticulously designed to look like a simple pearl earring.
Leo told her that Vincent always returned to investigate the rare people who actually defied him.
He promised that if she wore the earring and got close to his father, the quarter of a million dollars would be wired to her account by midnight.
Emily looked at her mother’s fragile, sleeping face and knew she had absolutely no other choice.
She took the velvet box from Leo's outstretched hand and closed it tightly in her fist.
She looked him directly in the eyes and told him to make sure the money was ready to transfer.
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Leo smiled coldly, clearly pleased with his new acquisition.
But his arrogant smile instantly vanished when the front door of the apartment was suddenly kicked entirely off its hinges.
