Chapter 10 - THE SURGERY
Finn Donnelly entered surgery at 6:14 a.m.
Maeve had not been allowed to leave the Marchetti estate without questions she could not answer.
So she sat on the floor of the master bathroom with her phone pressed to her ear.
A nurse called at 8:40.
Then 11:10.
Then 1:27.
The procedure was taking longer than expected.
Maeve stopped pretending she was fine.
When Elias found her, she was sitting beside the bathtub with tears running silently down her face.
She stood too quickly.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
He remained in the doorway.
Maeve wiped her face.
“I just needed a minute.”
Elias looked at the phone in her hand.
“Who is in surgery?”
Her entire body went still.
He already knew.
Of course he knew.
“Finn.”
Elias said the name gently.
Maeve stared at him.
“How do you know?”
He could have told her everything.
Instead he said, “You mentioned him in your sleep.”
It was a lie.
Maeve looked ashamed.
“My brother.”
Elias nodded.
“What kind of surgery?”
“Heart.”
“How old?”
“Eighteen.”
“Which hospital?”
Maeve hesitated.
“St. Vincent.”
Elias wheeled backward.
“Come with me.”
“Where?”
“To the hospital.”
She stared at him.
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
Because Sienna Ashford did not have a younger brother named Finn.
Maeve gripped the phone.
“I…”
Elias waited.
She broke.
Not completely.
But enough.
“He doesn’t know about you.”
“Most eighteen-year-olds don’t.”
Maeve almost laughed through her tears.
“No.”
She sat down again.
“He doesn’t know who I’m with.”
Elias looked at her for a long time.
Then he wheeled closer.
“Whatever you are afraid I will ask, I won’t ask today.”
Maeve looked up.
“Why?”
“Because your brother is in surgery.”
Her face crumpled.
Elias held out his hand.
Maeve stared at it.
Then she took it.
They left within ten minutes.
At St. Vincent, Gabriel cleared a private waiting room.
Maeve sat beside Elias for three hours.
No one asked why Mrs. Marchetti’s brother had the last name Donnelly.
Not in front of Elias.
At 4:06 p.m., the surgeon entered.
Maeve stood.
“The repair was successful.”
Her knees nearly gave out.
Elias caught her arm from the chair.
“The next twenty-four hours are important, but he is stable.”
Maeve covered her mouth.
She cried openly now.
The surgeon left.
Maeve turned toward Elias.
“You didn’t have to come.”
“I know.”
“You stayed all day.”
“I know.”
“You had meetings.”
“They moved.”
Maeve stared at him.
Something inside her collapsed.
She knelt beside his wheelchair.
Not because he was disabled.
Because she needed to be near him.
“Elias.”
He looked down.
“I’m not who you think I am.”
His chest tightened.
Maeve forced herself to continue.
“My name…”
Her phone rang.
Margaret.
Maeve looked at the screen.
Elias did too.
She declined the call.
Then another message appeared.
LEAVE THE HOSPITAL NOW.
FINN’S FINAL REHABILITATION PAYMENT HAS NOT BEEN RELEASED.
Maeve’s face changed.
Elias saw the message.
Every word.
Maeve realized it too late.
Silence.
Elias looked at the screen.
Then at her.
“Who controls his payments?”
Maeve could not breathe.
“Elias…”
“Who?”
“Margaret Ashford.”
He turned the onyx ring once.
Maeve started crying again.
This time not from relief.
“Please.”
Elias’s voice became frighteningly calm.
“What did Margaret Ashford buy from you?”
Maeve closed her eyes.
“My name.”
He waited.
Maeve whispered, “No.”
May you like
She looked at him.
“She bought yours.”
