Adeline Harvey POV:
Kandace's coughs grew more violent, a wet, rattling sound that echoed in the sudden silence. Her face, already pale from her lie being exposed, took on a bluish tint. She was genuinely struggling for breath.
Junior, his suspicion forgotten, scooped her into his arms. "Kandace! What's wrong?"
He carried her back to the manor, shouting for the family doctor. I followed at a distance, my wet clothes clinging to me, my expression unreadable.
They laid her on a velvet sofa in the main drawing room. By the time Dr. Miller arrived, she was gasping, her chest heaving.
He took one look at her, checked her pulse, and listened to her lungs. His face grew grim. "It's her condition," he announced to the anxious family gathered around. "Acute Hemolytic Rejection Syndrome. The shock must have triggered it. She needs a blood transfusion. Immediately."
My mother, Jerry, shrieked. "Use the stored blood! Hurry!"
Dr. Miller shook his head, his expression grave. "We don't have time to prep it from the pack's blood bank. And besides, her blood type is incredibly rare. There's only one person in the entire territory who is a perfect match."
Every head in the room turned. Every pair of eyes-my mother's, my father's, my brother's-landed on me. I had changed into dry clothes and was standing quietly by the door, an unwelcome specter at their family crisis.
It was just like my first life. In their eyes, I wasn't a daughter or a sister. I was a resource. A living, breathing bag of compatible blood.
Jerry rushed toward me, her face, which had been twisted in disgust moments before, was now a mask of desperate pleading. She grabbed my hands. "Adeline, please. You have to save your sister."
I pulled my hands from her grasp, my touch gentle but firm. My voice was quiet, devoid of emotion. "Why would I save someone who just tried to drown me?"
A flicker of shame crossed Junior's face, but it was quickly replaced by urgency. "This isn't the time for that, Adeline!"
Then, my father, Franco Wiley, spoke. His voice was low and heavy with the weight of command. "Adeline. It is your duty as a member of this family."
A bitter laugh almost escaped my lips. Duty? Where was their duty when they stood by and watched me die?
I let my shoulders slump, my eyes wide with feigned fear. "I... I'm scared," I whispered, looking down at my hands. "I don't like needles."
My apparent weakness was like a balm to their frayed nerves. They relaxed. This, they understood. A petty, childish fear. Something they could manage.
"If you save Kandace," Jerry offered instantly, her voice syrupy sweet, "I'll buy you that new dress from the city designer you were looking at."
My other brother, Rylan, who had been silent until now, scoffed from across the room. "Just do it. It's an honor for an Omega to be useful to the family."
I looked at each of them, their faces a gallery of hypocrisy. They had no idea. My blood, a perfect match for Kandace, carried a secret. A quirk of my unique lineage. For her, it was a temporary cure, but a long-term poison. It would save her now, but over time, it would slowly, irrevocably damage her from the inside out.
It was the perfect weapon.
I took a deep breath, as if steeling myself. I nodded slowly. "Okay," I said, my voice small. "I'll save her."
I looked directly at Franco. "But you have to promise me. All of you. You will never, ever accuse me of something I didn't do again."
Franco waved a dismissive hand, his patience wearing thin. "Yes, yes, of course. Just get on with it."
Dr. Miller, relieved, quickly set up the transfusion equipment. I sat on a chair beside the sofa where Kandace lay, now barely conscious. I extended my arm.
I watched as the needle slid into my vein. I didn't flinch.
Dark red blood, filled with the hatred of a past life and the cold promise of this one, began to flow into the collection bag.
The entire Wiley clan was huddled around Kandace, their backs to me. They watched with bated breath as the bag of my blood was hung and the tube connected to her arm. No one offered me a word of thanks. No one asked if I was okay.
A wave of dizziness washed over me, but it wasn't from the blood loss. It was the heady, thrilling vertigo of vengeance finally beginning.
A few minutes later, the color began to return to Kandace's cheeks. Her breathing evened out, becoming deep and regular.
Jerry burst into tears of relief, cradling Kandace's head and kissing her forehead. Franco and Junior shared a look of profound relief.
A nurse removed the needle from my arm, pressing a piece of cotton against the puncture. "You're done," she said curtly, before turning her attention back to the family's precious jewel.
I watched them, a happy family reunited, their crisis averted.
And a slow, cold smile spread across my face.
