Chapter 1

It was a complicated labor, and only Dad, an expert obstetrician, could save her.

In my past life, I didn't even think twice and called Dad immediately.

After a lot of pleading, Dad canceled his honeymoon and rushed back to perform surgery on my sister.

She was saved, but then came the tragic news about my stepmom.

She had a breakdown and committed suicide by jumping into the ocean.

Before she died, she left behind a letter, accusing my sister and me of bullying her for ten years.

Her honeymoon had been the last reason she had to keep going, and we had ruined it.

Dad read the letter, and while he said he didn't blame us, his actions spoke otherwise.

On my nephew's first birthday, he poisoned everyone's food.

"If it weren't for you two, Elsie wouldn't be dead."

"How could I have such cruel daughters like you?"

"After all the terrible things you've done, you deserve to die a hundred times."

He shoved my sister's and my heads into a toilet and drowned us.

When I woke up, I was back to the day my sister was giving birth.

The first thing I did when I woke up was rush to my sister's house.

But again, I was too late.

As soon as I opened the door, the smell of blood hit me hard.

My sister was lying on the floor, a large pool of blood around her, and my nephew was lying there too, still attached to the umbilical cord.

Shaking, I called 911, grabbed a blanket to keep my nephew warm.

The ambulance arrived quickly, and not long after, we were at the hospital.

My sister and nephew had just been taken into the ER when my brother-in-law showed up.

"Daisy, how is she?" he asked, pale and shivering in just a shirt, having rushed here right after getting the call.

Before I could speak, a doctor came out of the ER.

He told us that my sister's condition was critical and she needed surgery, but there were only two doctors who could perform it: Dr. Jeb Parker at the City Center Hospital or Dr. Amos Grant at the state hospital.

Before my brother-in-law could respond, I spoke up.

"Let's go to the state hospital. Doctor, please arrange things there."

"Hold on, why go to the state hospital?" my brother-in-law interrupted.

"Jeb Parker at City Center is our dad, right?"

"He's been treating my sister all this time, and he knows her condition inside and out."

'It's best to transfer her there."

I explained, "Dad is on his honeymoon with Aunt Phoebe."

"We shouldn't disturb them."

In my past life, I didn't think twice before calling Dad back.

My sister was saved, but my stepmom had killed herself.

Her suicide note was full of accusations about how we'd mistreated her, and she even blamed me calling Dad for being the straw that broke the camel's back.

The smell of toilet water had been foul and disgusting. I didn't want to die like that.

"Are you serious right now? The honeymoon is more important than your sister's life?"

My brother-in-law snapped.

Before I could respond, he pulled out his phone and dialed Dad.

It rang for what felt like forever until Dad's annoyed voice came through.

"What's up?"

In just a few sentences, my brother-in-law explained my sister's condition and begged Dad to come back immediately.

"Dad, Violet's codndition is very serious. Transferring her to another hospital would be such a hassle."

'Please just come here and do the surgery. I'll have them get things ready."

Dad has always doted on my sister, especially after she became pregnant.

Even any slight discomfort would have him rushing to the hospital.

My brother-in-law was sure Dad would come back.

However, this time, he was greatly surprised.

"Jackson, who taught you to talk like that, Daisy?"

"I didn't think you'd team up with them to bully Elsie."

"I already had Violet checked out this morning. Her pregnancy is stable."

"There's no sign she's going into premature labor."

"Are you really going to put on this act and try to fool me, make me go back?"

"Don't you have any conscience?"

Dad yelled at my brother-in-law and hung up the phone.

Jackson stood there for a few seconds, then called back several times, but Dad's phone was off, and even my stepmom's phone wasn't picking up.

The ER doctor came out and asked if we had decided on a hospital.

They had stabilized my sister's vitals, and she was ready to be transferred.

If we couldn't reach Dad, we'd have to take her to a hospital in a different state.

Jackson had planned to go with my sister, but just then, my nephew had a complication and needed to be transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit.

He had to have a parent with him.

With his wife and child both in crisis, Jackson was left standing there like a headless chicken, unable to make up his mind.

I stepped in to calm him down.

"Jackson, I'll take her to the hospital. You stay here and take care of the baby."

Jackson's eyes welled up, and he grabbed my hand.

"Please, Daisy, make sure she survives."

I nodded firmly.

My sister's five years older than me.

When I was born, Mom passed away.

We've never had a mom.

Dad was always busy with work, so my sister and I leaned on each other.

We've been each other's everything for as long as I can remember.

I could've prepared myself, but seeing my sister, pale and unconscious, it broke me.

I kept talking to her the whole way, praying she'd pull through.

I had already called ahead, so we had a police escort.

What would've been an hour-long trip was cut down to forty minutes.

When we got to the hospital, my uncle Amos told me he hadn't started the surgery yet, but I should go to the ward and get the head nurse to admit my sister.

Once he was done, she could go straight into surgery.

But when we got to the ward, the nurse turned us away.

"There's no bed available," she said.

I was desperate.

"We called ahead. Amos said we could admit her."

The nurse rolled her eyes.

"Amos doesn't usually do rounds, he doesn't know what's going on with the beds."

"We're completely full right now."

"Doesn't matter if you're his niece, or if the hospital director's your uncle. No beds."

I was on the verge of tears when I saw an empty bed in the hallway.

"Can we use that one? It's fine, just let us use that bed."

"Please, nurse, my sister's bleeding out. Only Amos can perform the surgery."

The nurse glanced at my sister lying on the stretcher and shrugged.

"I'm just a nurse, I can't approve extra beds. Go find the head nurse."

Chapter 2

She pointed towards the head nurse's office, making it clear where to go.

I didn't waste any time. I rushed over to the head nurse.

When I saw her, I called out, "Aunt Lila!"

It was Aunt Lila—Mom's old colleague.

She had visited us many times after Mom passed away.

Before she could say anything, I grabbed her arm, nearly pleading.

"Aunt Lila, please, you've got to admit my sister. She's hemorrhaging from childbirth."

"She needs surgery now!"

But Aunt Lila, usually so gentle, suddenly looked different. She pulled her arm out of my grip.

"Daisy, you actually came to our hospital? Look, just take your sister and go."

"Don't make a scene here. Your dad used to work at this hospital, a lot of people here are his colleagues."

"If you keep making trouble, your dad won't ever show his face again."

Her words hit me like a slap in the face.

It felt like everything went silent.

I could barely hear my own thoughts.

"Aunt Lila, what are you talking about? My sister is really in labor."

"If you just come outside, you'll see."

I grabbed her hand and started walking toward the door.

If she just looked at my sister for a second, she'd know I was telling the truth.

"Daisy, I've got a lot to do, I don't have time to play around with you here."

"Your dad just called me, said he's taking your aunt on a belated honeymoon."

"You and your sister didn't want them to go, so you're pulling this prank?"

Aunt Lila's voice grew stricter, her tone serious, "Daisy, I know you don't like your stepmom, but she raised both of you, and it hasn't been easy for her."

"I heard she's got depression. You can't treat her like this."

"The hospital's not the place for you two to be pulling stunts. Get your sister and go home."

I was close to breaking down listening to this.

If Dad were here, I'd be cursing him out.

I never thought he would be this ruthless.

Knowing that my sister was being transferred for surgery and needed to be admitted, he used his connections to keep us locked out.

But now wasn't the time to argue about that.

I took a deep breath and said to Aunt Lila, "Aunt Lila, you're misunderstanding."

"My sister's really in trouble. She's bleeding heavily."

"I even contacted Uncle Amos. If you don't believe me, you can call him."

Aunt Lila gave me a disappointed look, her face softening with frustration.

"Daisy, this is getting out of hand. Why did you have to involve Amos in this?"

"Do you know what's happening in the OR right now?"

"Amos is performing a very important surgery."

"If you cause him to be distracted by your call, there's a real chance he might mess up."

"You could be the reason a young woman might never have children."

"You can't waste medical resources like this. Call Amos and apologize, now."

I thought about how young both that patient and my sister were.

And besides, the ER doctor had already warned us—if my sister didn't get surgery within two hours, she might not make it.

Without hesitation, I dropped to my knees.

"Aunt Lila, please, I'm not lying. My sister really is in danger. Just let her be admitted."

I bowed my head several times as if I were begging for her to understand.

Aunt Lila paused for a moment, her expression softening slightly.

Just then, the office door opened.

A nurse poked her head in.

"Nurse Lila, we have a situation out here. The family of the patient is arguing with another family in the hallway."

Aunt Lila immediately stood up and we left the office.

In the hallway, two of the hospital staff were arguing with a patient's family.

Apparently, one of the patients had bumped into the other's arm, and it escalated into a shouting match.

Aunt Lila quickly intervened, separating them and calming everyone down before sending them back to their rooms.

Once that was settled, she walked straight towards me.

I rushed forward.

"Aunt Lila, can you admit my sister now?"

Aunt Lila raised her hand and slapped me across the face.

My cheek burned with pain, and I stared at her in disbelief.

"How could you hit me?"

"What's wrong with that?" Aunt Lila snapped.

"I'm your elder. Don't you feel ashamed, causing such a scene here?"

"Maybe that's what happens when you don't have a mother to teach you right from wrong."

"You don't have a mom to raise you…"

I'd heard that phrase so many times growing up.

But never had it stung so much.

Chapter 3

Did it really mean I wasn't worth believing because I didn't have a mom?

Did that mean I wasn't entitled to care and help?

I wiped my tears, trying to keep it together.

"Fine, Aunt Lila. You don't want to admit my sister? No problem."

"This hospital has to have someone who will. I'm going to find the director and see if he'll take care of this."

Just as I was about to head for the director's office, Aunt Lila panicked.

She signaled two nurses to block me.

She turned to the security office and called them.

"Security, there's a disturbance here. Get these girls out of here now!"

The security guard was there in three minutes.

Aunt Lila waved her hand, and they dragged us—and my sister's stretcher—toward the exit.

I clung to the stretcher, sobbing uncontrollably.

"How dare you throw us out? This is a hospital! Aren't hospitals supposed to save lives?"

"My sister is critically ill, and you won't even look at her?"

"What happened to the ‘angels in white' you all talk about?"

My outburst drew the attention of several other patients and their families.

Two of the nurses looked at me, clearly moved, and spoke to Aunt Lila.

"Nurse Lila, I don't think they're acting. Look at the woman lying there—she hasn't moved at all."

"It seems like she really is unconscious."

"Yeah, her condition really doesn't seem right."

"Maybe we should take another look before jumping to conclusions."

Aunt Lila seemed to waver at their words.

She hesitated, looking at us before slowly moving toward my sister's stretcher.

Just then, her phone rang.

She picked up the phone, "Director Jeb Parker, where are you right now?"

"Your two daughters are causing a scene at our hospital."

My heart sank.

It was Dad calling.

The room went quiet, and Dad's voice carried to everyone's ears.

"They already caused a scene at another hospital."

"Now all my colleagues are calling me to get back. Elsie's blood pressure shot up because of this."

"I need to be with her, so take care of them and get them out of here before Elsie sees them and gets upset."

At hearing those words, I couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Jeb Parker, are you crazy?"

"My sister is in critical condition! If you're not going to help her, why stop anyone else from doing it? What if she dies here?"

Dad sneered.

"Then let her die. I don't need daughters like you."

The line went dead.

I heard someone gasp in shock.

It was rare to hear a father speak like that.

Aunt Lila walked over with a stern face.

"Daisy, did you hear that? Don't be mad at your dad and aunt. They've had their struggles too."

But before she could finish, someone screamed.

"Oh my God, so much blood!"

I turned with Aunt Lila to see what was happening.

The spot where my sister was lying was soaked with blood.

The blood had pooled up, dripping from the stretcher.

It was a horrific sight that hit me like a ton of bricks, and I went numb for a second.

Then, without thinking, I rushed over.

"Sis, are you okay? Sis, you can't die."

I screamed at Aunt Lila, "What are you doing standing there? Get a doctor for my sister, now!"

One of the nurses by Lila quickly snapped out of it and turned to walk away, but Aunt Lila stopped her.

She turned to me.

"Daisy, enough of this drama. This blood is enough to cover a whole person."

"Did you get this blood from a chicken or a pig?"

"Do you even know what real blood loss looks like before you started this whole act?"

I was on the edge of breaking down.

I couldn't believe she still didn't believe me after everything that was happening.

"Lila, if you don't believe me, then lift the blanket and look for yourself!"

"You're making snide comments, but you're not being human."

"If my sister dies here, I won't let you get away with it."

Aunt Lila's face darkened.

"How dare you speak to me like that?"

Our argument drew more attention, and just then, Amos came out of the OR, frowning.

"What's going on here? Don't you know this is a hospital?"

Lila quickly stepped in front of me, "Director, these two are just throwing a tantrum."

"I'll handle it soon. You just finished surgery, let me get you some tea."

Amos noticed the blood on the floor.

"What's going on here? Why is there so much blood?"

Lila gave a small smile.

"Oh, it's fake blood."

"No, it's real." I realized who Amos was, and I immediately dropped to my knees.

"Uncle Amos, it's me, Daisy. My sister is bleeding heavily again, please, you have to help her."

Lila instinctively grabbed my arm.

"Stop disturbing the director!"

Amos ignored her and rushed to my sister's stretcher, shouting at the two nurses who were frozen in place.

"Didn't I tell you to admit her? Why is she just lying here? What are you doing?"

"Go call the OR, get her ready for surgery, now!"

The loud command stunned Lila.

A few seconds later, she tried to stop him.

"Director, don't rush. Is she just pretending?"

"Pretending? Do you think she can fake this?"

Amos looked at her like he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Her medical records came through an hour ago."

"The director of the second hospital personally called me."

"Lila, Lila... you're the head nurse, and you let this go on this long?"

"If anything happens to her, you'll be facing a lawsuit."

Hearing that, Lila stumbled back, her face turning pale.

Time was ticking.

My sister was quickly wheeled into surgery, and with the help of a nurse, I took care of the hospital paperwork.

When everything was finally sorted, I sat down outside the OR.

My mind was blank.

There was still blood on my hands as I looked down at the red stains, feeling an overwhelming sense of regret.

Had I made a mistake?

Maybe I should've gone to Dad from the start.

But even if I had, would he have helped my sister?

In the end, more lives would've been lost.

At that thought, tears couldn't stop streaming down my face.

A white handkerchief appeared in front of me, but my face was already smeared with blood.

Lila crouched down, trying to wipe my face clean, but I turned my head away.

She awkwardly pulled her hand back.

"Daisy, I'm sorry. It's my fault Violet's treatment was delayed."