*Maya's POV*
I slammed on the brakes so hard our old car skidded sideways into the hospital parking lot.
"Maya, slow down!" Papa yelled, grabbing the door handle as we bounced over the speed bumps.
But I couldn't slow down. Every second mattered now. Carlos was dying while I sat in traffic lights and waited for parking spots.
I jumped out of the car before it fully stopped and ran toward the hospital entrance. My legs felt like they were moving through thick mud. The automatic doors seemed to take forever to open.
"Where's Carlos Rodriguez?" I shouted at the front desk nurse.
"Room 314, but miss, you can't just—"
I was already running toward the elevator, Papa huffing behind me. The elevator took a million years to reach the third floor. When the doors finally opened, I sprinted down the hallway, reading room numbers as I went.
312... 313... 314.
I burst through the door and stopped dead.
Carlos was lying in bed with tubes coming out of his nose and arms. Machines surrounded him, beeping and flashing like some kind of robot army. His skin looked gray and waxy, like he was already half-dead.
"Carlos?" I whispered.
His eyes opened slowly. When he saw me, he tried to smile, but it came out crooked and weak.
"Hey, sis," he said in a voice that sounded like sandpaper. "Fancy meeting you here."
I started crying before I could stop myself. This was my baby brother who used to steal my Halloween candy and put frogs in my backpack. The same boy who sang terrible songs in the shower and made me laugh until my stomach hurt.
Now he looked like a skeleton wrapped in hospital blankets.
"Don't cry, Maya," Carlos said. "You know I hate it when you cry."
A doctor walked in carrying a clipboard. His face was serious and tired. "Are you Carlos's family?"
"I'm his sister," I said, wiping my eyes. "What's wrong with him?"
The doctor pulled Papa and me into the hallway. "Carlos's heart is failing faster than we expected. The medicine we've been giving him isn't working anymore."
"But he seemed fine yesterday," Papa said.
"Sometimes the heart compensates for a while, then suddenly gives out," the doctor explained. "Right now, Carlos's heart is only working at about twenty percent. A normal heart should work at fifty to seventy percent."
My knees went weak. "What does that mean?"
"It means without surgery in the next forty-eight hours, Carlos will die."
The words hit me like a punch to the stomach. Forty-eight hours. Two days to save my brother's life.
"How much?" I asked, even though I already knew we couldn't afford it.
"The surgery costs two hundred thousand dollars. The hospital requires fifty thousand upfront before we can schedule the operation."
Papa made a choking sound. "Doctor, we don't have that kind of money. Isn't there some kind of payment plan? Government help?"
The doctor shook his head sadly. "I've already checked. Carlos doesn't qualify for emergency funding because his condition developed gradually, not in a sudden accident. Insurance won't cover experimental procedures."
"Experimental?" I grabbed the doctor's arm. "You didn't say it was experimental!"
"It's the only option we have left. Carlos's case is complicated. We need to replace two heart valves and repair damage from his childhood illness. Only three surgeons in the country can do this operation."
I felt like I was drowning in quicksand. Every answer made things worse.
"What if we don't do the surgery?" Papa asked quietly.
The doctor's face got even more serious. "Carlos has maybe a week. His heart will just stop working."
I had to hold onto the wall to keep from falling down. A week. My brother had one week to live unless I could somehow find fifty thousand dollars.
We went back into Carlos's room. He was sleeping now, but his breathing sounded wet and rattly. The machines kept beeping faster and faster, like his heart was running a race it couldn't win.
I sat down next to his bed and held his hand. It felt cold and thin, like bird bones.
"I'm going to fix this," I whispered to him. "I promise."
Papa sat on the other side of the bed. "Mija, how? We've tried everything."
I pulled out Mr. Harrison's business card. My hands were shaking so hard I could barely read the numbers.
"There might be a way," I said.
"Maya, no." Papa's voice was sharp. "That Kane man is dangerous. You can't—"
"I can't let Carlos die!" I stood up so fast my chair fell over. "Look at him, Papa! Look at our baby boy! He's dying while we sit here arguing about money!"
Papa started crying again. "But what if Kane hurts you? What if this whole thing is some kind of trap?"
"Then at least Carlos will be alive to remember me," I said.
I walked out into the hallway and dialed Mr. Harrison's number. He answered on the first ring, like he was waiting for my call.
"Miss Rodriguez. I was expecting to hear from you."
"How did you know Carlos would get worse tonight?" I asked.
Mr. Harrison was quiet for a moment. "Mr. Kane has been monitoring your situation closely. He understands desperate times call for desperate measures."
A chill ran down my spine. Alexander Kane had been watching us? For how long?
"I'll do it," I said quickly, before I could change my mind. "I'll marry him."
"Excellent. The paperwork has already been prepared. Carlos's surgery will be scheduled for tomorrow afternoon."
"That fast?"
"Mr. Kane is very efficient. However, there are conditions you need to understand."
My stomach twisted into knots. "What conditions?"
"The marriage contract is legally binding for two years minimum. You will live in Mr. Kane's residence. You will attend social functions as his wife. And you will not embarrass him in any way."
"What does that mean?"
"It means you represent him now. Your behavior reflects on his reputation. Any scandal, any public outburst, any attempt to damage his image will void the contract immediately."
"And if the contract is voided?"
"The medical payments stop. The restaurant funding disappears. Your brother's surgery gets canceled."
I closed my eyes. Even after saving Carlos, I'd still be trapped. One wrong move and everything would fall apart again.
"There's something else," Mr. Harrison continued. "Mr. Kane wants to meet you before finalizing the agreement."
"When?"
"Tomorrow morning at nine AM sharp. You'll come to his office, sign the papers, and then proceed directly to the courthouse for the wedding ceremony."
"Wedding ceremony? Tomorrow?" My voice came out as a squeak.
"Mr. Kane doesn't believe in wasting time. The marriage must be official before Carlos's surgery begins."
I felt dizzy. In less than twelve hours, I'd be married to a complete stranger. A cold, heartless billionaire who treated people like chess pieces.
"Miss Rodriguez? Are you still there?"
"Yes," I whispered.
"One final warning. If you're not in Mr. Kane's office by nine AM, the deal expires forever. He doesn't give second chances."
The line went dead.
I stood in the hospital hallway, holding my silent phone, trying to process what just happened. Tomorrow morning, I'd walk into a billionaire's office and sign away two years of my life to a man who might be a monster.
But Carlos would live. That's all that mattered.
I walked back into Carlos's room to find him awake and staring at the ceiling.
"Maya?" he said softly. "I heard you talking in the hallway. What's going on?"
I forced a smile. "Nothing for you to worry about. Just get some rest."
"Are you in some kind of trouble?"
Before I could answer, Carlos's heart monitor started beeping frantically. The numbers on the screen were flashing red.
"Get the doctor!" Papa yelled.
Nurses rushed into the room as Carlos started gasping for air. His eyes rolled back and his body went rigid.
"He's crashing!" one nurse shouted.
They pushed me and Papa out of the room. Through the closing door, I watched them work on my brother, pressing on his chest and shouting medical terms I didn't understand.
A few minutes later, the doctor came out looking exhausted.
"Is he...?" I couldn't finish the question.
"He's stable for now. But his heart stopped for almost a minute. We can't wait forty-eight hours for surgery. Carlos needs to be in the operating room first thing tomorrow morning, or he won't survive another episode like this."
Tomorrow morning. The same time I was supposed to meet Alexander Kane.
I looked at the clock on the wall. It was already past midnight.
In eight hours, I had to choose between saving my brother's life and meeting the man who could make it happen.
But what if I was late to Alexander Kane's office? What if the deal fell through because I chose to stay with Carlos?
My phone buzzed with a text message from an unknown number: "Miss Rodriguez, Mr. Kane has moved your meeting to 6 AM. Don't be late. Carlos's surgery depends on it."