"Mr. Gilbert, of course Ms. Harding's ankle takes priority. Everything else can wait."
My pupils contracted.
That doctor was the same one who had extracted Lily's bone marrow.
They were all in it together.
My face went blank. The pain in my chest had numbed itself into nothing.
"No need. My mother is already gone."
Thomas laughed.
"Trying to lie your way into getting a doctor? You can't fool me."
He closed the distance, step by step.
"If something really did happen to her, it's your fault, Vivienne. You're the one who refused to back down."
My throat locked. I couldn't hold it back anymore. I rushed forward and raised my arm.
My palm was inches from Thomas's face.
But Tracey, the woman with the supposedly injured ankle, shot to her feet and threw herself between us.
She shoved me. Hard.
I wasn't braced for it. The back of my skull cracked against the doorframe and my body flew backward.
Before I blacked out, I heard Thomas's panicked shout.
"Vivienne!"
When I opened my eyes again, every inch of me screamed with pain, except my abdomen. My abdomen felt nothing at all.
The doctor and Thomas were both standing at my bedside.
Memory flooded back. I closed my eyes. I didn't want to look at either of them.