Emma's POV

The digital clock on my bedside table glowed 4:30 AM, a harsh, unforgiving red in the pre-dawn darkness of the penthouse suite. Sleep was a cruel joke, a concept for those whose hearts weren’t hammered by a relentless drumbeat of fear. Today was Jake’s surgery. The final, desperate gamble. The one million dollars from Adrian’s contract, now a tangible shield against a future I couldn’t bear to imagine. Yet, the money couldn’t quiet the frantic bird trapped in my chest, beating its wings against my ribs, desperate to escape.