Part 3Don’t Cross the Rose

I glared at the imperious little girl. She seemed utterly oblivious to my identity. “Who are you? And why are you with this little beggar in my room?”

“Your room?” I scoffed, a cold sneer twisting my lips. This room had been custom-designed for Lily’s use even before I left the country. For this hospital, I had personally donated millions in cutting-edge equipment.

“I don’t care who you are. Get out!” Tiffany Greene demanded, puffing out her chest. “And that little pest in your arms? If I see her here again, I swear I’ll choke her to death.”

Her words ignited a furious blaze within me. But before I could react, Mark burst into the room. He quickly scooped up Tiffany, attempting to soothe her.

“I’m so sorry, Sarah, honey. This is Chelsea Greene’s daughter, Tiffany. She has a… a slight mental issue and is receiving treatment here. Don’t listen to her nonsense.”

“What are you talking about, Dad…?”

Mark clapped a hand over Tiffany’s mouth, retreating from the room with a fawning smile directed at me. Only after they left did I realize Lily was trembling uncontrollably in my arms. She seemed terrified of Tiffany’s presence.

“Lily?”

Before Lily could answer, a nurse’s aide entered. “It’s time for Lily’s meal.”

These people had been abusing my daughter. Why would they bother hiring an aide for her? When the aide presented the meal, Lily’s fear intensified. She clung to me, whimpering.

“Don’t make me eat that, Mommy. I don’t want to eat that.”

“Please, Mommy, anything but that. I’ll do anything you ask…”

My daughter sobbed, tears streaming down her face, leaving me utterly bewildered. Lily had never cried during mealtime before. My gaze fixed on the food in the aide’s hand, and I suddenly understood.

“Just leave the meal here. I’ll feed her myself in a bit.”

“But, Mrs. Hayes…”

“I said, leave it.”

Though the aide was clearly reluctant, she complied. After she left, I gave the meal to Marcus, instructing him to get it tested. At the same time, I told him to pull the hospital’s security footage. I needed to know exactly what my daughter had endured here, why she was so weak and terrified.

Marcus’s efficiency was commendable. But the contents of the hospital’s surveillance footage filled me with a regret that would haunt me forever.

The screen showed horrific scenes:

“This experimental drug should have gone to Miss Tiffany Greene! Why does the director’s memo have your name on it? It’s clearly a printing error!”

“And that prestigious Global Innovation Medal you’re wearing? Did you steal it from Miss Tiffany Greene? Give it back! Your mother is just a student; how could she possibly own something like this?!”

“Three years, not a single medical bill paid! What right do you have to even be in this hospital?!”

I watched, horrified, as someone yanked my daughter’s hair, dragging her from her hospital bed. Then, they kicked her. My daughter struggled, crawling agonizingly across the floor. If she paused for even a moment, they would hit and kick her again.

Amidst Lily’s cries of pain, Tiffany Greene appeared, a lit cigarette in her small hand.

“So young, and already so rotten! No doubt your mom corrupted you.”

I saw her press the burning tip of the cigarette onto my daughter’s back. Smoke rose. Lily’s raw scream of agony pierced through the screen, searing into my ears.

Moments later, Marcus’s analysis of the meal came back.

“Dr. Hayes, the lab results are in. These liquids contain growth-inhibiting agents. If injected into a person, they would become emaciated, their body growing progressively weaker…”

My fingers dug into my palms, but I felt no pain.

They dared to treat my daughter like this…

Every single one of them. Every single person involved. I wouldn’t let a single one of them escape justice.

Including Tiffany Greene, barely ten years old.