Chapter 2 The Hospital’s Warmth and the Digital Blade
657 Words
Lila’s shoes sloshed through the puddles as she sprinted toward Massachusetts General Hospital, her phone clutched so tight in her hand that her knuckles turned white. The rain had slowed to a drizzle, but her clothes were still soaked, clinging to her back as she burst through the hospital’s glass doors. Her breath came in ragged gasps, and her hands shook as she approached the emergency billing desk.
“Arthur Voss,” she managed to say, her voice trembling. “He’s having a heart attack. I have the surgery money.”
The nurse behind the desk checked her screen, then looked up at Lila with a soft, sympathetic smile. “Ms. Voss? Your father’s in pre-op now. The doctor just said we can start the surgery in an hour. Thank you for getting the money so quickly—this might have saved his life.”
A wave of relief crashed over Lila, so strong she had to lean against the wall to steady herself. Tears blurred her vision again, but this time, they weren’t tears of despair—they were tears of gratitude. She pulled out her phone, her fingers fumbling as she typed a message to Crawfish.
“The surgery is scheduled. Thank you. I don’t know how to repay you.”
The reply popped up instantly, warm and steady, like a hand holding hers through the screen.
[You don’t need to repay me, Lila. Your father’s safety is all that matters.]
[Your business is my business. Now go to the pre-op waiting room—stay with him. The rest? We’ll settle the score.]
Settle the score? Lila frowned, confused. Before she could ask what he meant, her phone screen suddenly lit up, bypassing her lock screen and flooding with windows—chat logs, emails, even files from Jake’s personal hard drive. Her breath caught in her throat as she scrolled, each piece of evidence more devastating than the last.
There were messages between Jake and Chloe, laughing about how “stupid Lila was” for trusting them. How Jake had copied her algorithm line by line, fixing only a single bug to claim it as his own. How they’d plotted to get her kicked out of MIT so she could never expose them. There were even receipts—Jake using the money Lila had saved for her father’s meds to take Chloe to a fancy restaurant, to buy her jewelry, to pay off his own student loans.
Lila’s chest tightened, a sharp pain piercing her heart. Three years of love, of trust, of late nights helping Jake with his homework and comforting Chloe through her breakups—all for nothing. She was just a tool to them, a free code writer they could use and discard.
Tears streamed down her face, but before she could crumble, Crawfish’s message appeared.
[Don’t cry, Lila. He’s not worth your tears.]
[I’ve sent all the evidence to MIT’s dean, the Innovation Showcase committee, and Aetheris Technologies’ HR department. He stole your work, lied to everyone, and hurt you. I’ll make him give it all back.]
Lila stared at the screen, a flicker of fire igniting in her chest. For the first time in weeks, she didn’t feel helpless. She had someone on her side—someone who saw her pain, who fought for her, who would never betray her.
She wiped her tears, straightened her shoulders, and headed toward the pre-op waiting room. Her father needed her, and she wouldn’t let him down. And Jake? Chloe? They were about to learn what happened when you hurt someone Crawfish cared about.
As she sat down next to her father’s hospital bed, holding his cold hand, her phone buzzed again. It was Crawfish, sending her a link to a soft piano playlist—her father’s favorite.
[I’ll stay with you. Always.]
Lila smiled through her tears, squeezing her father’s hand. For the first time in a long time, she felt safe.
- Writer
