POV: Liora Hayes
I stared at the man named Xavier. He looked like he had stepped out of a luxury car commercial…perfectly groomed, eyes sharp, and wearing a suit that cost more than my father's life insurance payout.
"A drive?" I repeated, my voice hollow. I looked down at the red transfer notice in my hand. "My mother is being moved to a public ward in fifteen minutes. I don't have time for a drive. I don't have time for anything."
Xavier smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. It was a professional smile. A practiced one. "The transfer can be canceled with a single phone call, Miss Hayes. But we shouldn't talk here. The cafeteria is quiet this time of morning. Let's start there."
He didn't wait for me to agree. He turned and walked toward the back of the lobby. Left with no choice and a heart full of desperate hope, I followed him.
The hospital cafeteria was nearly empty. The air was thick with the smell of stale coffee and industrial cleaner. I sat across from him at a plastic table, my wet uniform clinging to my skin, making me shiver.
"Who sent you?" I asked.
"A man who values privacy," Xavier said, placing his leather briefcase on the table. "He heard about your situation."
"Heard about it? How? I'm just a waitress."
"Information is the most expensive currency in this city, Miss Hayes. And right now, you are very, very poor in everything else." He opened the briefcase. I caught a glimpse of thick, cream-colored documents. "Before we discuss the 'solution,' I believe you have a few more calls to make. I'll give you ten minutes. If you can find the fifty thousand dollars on your own, then we have nothing more to talk about."
He leaned back, checking an expensive watch.
I felt a surge of anger, but beneath it was a terrifying realization. He was right. I pulled out my cracked phone. I had to try one last time.
I called Maya. She had been my best friend since kindergarten. We had shared everythingsecrets, clothes, dreams.
"Liora? Hey," Maya answered. She sounded breathless. "I'm so sorry, I saw your texts. How's your mom?"
"She's bad, Maya. They're moving her to the public ward right now. I need fifty thousand dollars for the deposit. I know it's a lot, but if you could talk to your parents... or if you have anything saved..."
There was a long silence on the other end. "Liora... fifty thousand? That's... that's a house deposit. My parents are still paying off their own medical bills from my dad's surgery last year. And I just spent my savings on that marketing seminar in Vegas. I'm literally broke until next month."
"Maya, she'll die in there. Please."
"I'm so sorry, Liora. I really am. I have to go, my boss is looking at me. I'll pray for her, okay? Bye."
Click.
The word 'pray' felt like a slap. Prayers didn't pay for ventilators.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and called my Aunt Sarah. She was my mother's only sister.
"Aunt Sarah? It's Liora."
"I told you last week, Liora," her voice was sharp and defensive before I could even speak. "I don't have any more money to give you. My husband's business is struggling, and we have the kids' tuition."
"But Mom is being moved to the county hospital today. She won't survive the transition. She needs the surgery—"
"Then maybe it's time to let her go," Sarah snapped. "Keeping her alive on machines when you can't afford it is selfish, Liora. Don't call me again unless it's to tell me the funeral arrangements."
The line went dead.
I stared at the phone screen. The crack in the glass seemed to grow deeper. I felt a coldness in my chest that had nothing to do with the rain. These were the people who were supposed to love us.
I looked at the "Contacts" list. There were no more names to call. I had spent my entire life being the "good girl," the one who helped everyone else, but when the world collapsed, I was standing in the rubble alone.
I put the phone on the table. My hands were shaking.
"No luck?" Xavier asked quietly.
I shook my head, unable to speak.
"Then let's talk about the $500,000," he said.
My head snapped up. "$500,000? For what? I'm a waitress. I don't have anything worth that much."
"You have your health. You have your youth. And most importantly, you have a clean lineage," Xavier said, leaning forward. "My employer is a very powerful man. He requires an heir. A child that is legally and biologically his, but born from a woman who is... uncomplicated."
"A surrogate?" I whispered.
"A contract," he corrected. "A private, legally binding agreement. You give him nine months of your life and a healthy child. In exchange, your mother's bills are paid in full. Today. Not just the deposit, but the surgery, the recovery, and a private room for as long as she needs it."
I felt sick. The room felt like it was spinning. "You want me to sell my baby?"
"He wants to buy his legacy," Xavier said coldly. "The child will be a Volkov. They will want for nothing. You, on the other hand, will receive five hundred thousand dollars upon delivery of the child, plus all expenses paid for the duration of the term. You sign, and your mother stays in that bed. You walk away, and she is moved to the public ward in five minutes."
He pushed a small tablet across the table. It showed a bank balance. It was an account in my name.
Balance: $12.43.
Twelve dollars and forty-three cents. That was the value of Liora Hayes.
"You have twelve dollars," Xavier said, his voice echoing my thoughts. "And you have twelve hours before your mother's condition becomes critical without that surgery. The clock is ticking, Liora."
I looked out the window. The transport ambulance for the public ward was pulling up to the hospital entrance. I could see the orderlies getting out with a gurney.
In my mind, I saw my mother's pale face. I heard the whistle of the ventilator.
"Who is he?" I asked, my voice trembling.
"You'll meet him soon enough," Xavier said, standing up. "But first, sign the preliminary consent. Let's keep your mother in her room."
I looked at the pen in his hand. It was heavy, silver, and felt like a weapon. If I took it, I was no longer a person. I was a vessel. A luxury item.
But if I didn't take it, I was a murderer.
I reached out, my fingers brushing against the cold metal of the pen.
"I need to see the hospital receipt first," I said, my voice hardening. "I want to see the 'Paid in Full' status on her screen before I sign a single thing."
Xavier's eyes glinted with something like respect. "Smart girl. Follow me."