Chapter Five "I was born gorgeous, obviously I'm going to live to a hundred," my kid sister shot back, sharp-tongued as a feral little cat. "But you two old fossils," she sneered at my in-laws, "your daughter just died and instead of holding a funeral at home, you show up at our door with funeral wreaths and condolence envelopes. You're even eyeing my parents' estate? Shameless. Why don't you both just drop dead?" She rolled her eyes and kept right on with the barbs. "No. No-that's impossible. Ethan clearly said it was your sister who crashed," my mother-in-law stammered, face drained and trembling. ""I pulled him aside and asked if he could...make the surgery fail. Don't tell me the one in the accident wasn't your sister?" A bolt of cold shot through my skull. Of course. Even if Ethan liked Ivy Summers, how could he possibly let an intern run wild on a life-and-death case? He hadn't. He'd wanted my sister dead-to get at my family's money-and ended up killing his own. My hands knotted into fists. "It wasn't my sister," I said, voice like ice. "It was Ethan's sister." "I only said 'my sister' was in a crash. Who could have guessed he'd assume I meant my side of the family?" My mother-in-law bared her teeth. "Serena Stone, you little tramp, stop spouting garbage. My daughter works in New York City-how could she possibly be back? You just want to divorce my son, so you cooked up this absurd story, didn't you?" I shook my head lightly. "Did you forget? Yesterday was your birthday. Mia came back to surprise you. And you had her killed with your own hands." Of everyone in the Lane family, only Ethan's sister, Mia, was decent. We got along well as sisters-in-law. That's exactly why I'd been frantic when the crash notice came in. Before she returned, Mia had called me, asked me to keep the secret so she could surprise her mom. She never made it. The wreck was bad, yes-but nowhere near fatal. If Ethan hadn't let his intern butcher her on the table, Mia would still be alive. "I don't believe you. I don't-You're lying!" My father-in-law collapsed to the floor, petrified. My mother-in-law's hands shook so hard she could barely hold her phone. It took a full minute for her to dial. The call connected. "Mia, are you okay?" she burst out, eyes brightening, "I knew it -Serena, that vile girl, was lying! What kind of sister-in-law curses her own husband's sister- "Hello, this is City General Hospital. Are you the decedent's next of kin?" a cool voice came over the line. "Please come to Medical Affairs to collect the decedent's personal effects." "No. What kind of crap hospital is this? My daughter works in New York-there's no way she's in a hospital, Did Serena put you up to this? Are you an actor she hired?" My mother-in-law screamed, unhinged. Chapter Five "Ma'am, please remain calm," the voice said, patient. But my mother-in-law had already buckled, on her knees, sobbing so hard she could barely breathe. My father-in-law slowly came to, tried calling Ethan. The call was cut off. Trembling, he dialed again. This time it rang a long while before someone picked up. "Dad, I'm in the middle of something. What is it?" Ethan said, slightly breathless. In the background, Ivy Summers' pout came through, annoyed. "Doc, hurry up. I still want more. Your poor little patient is waiting for her shot."