The Mark He Bit Into Me novel Chapter 4

I turned right into the alley and pushed open the basement door. Damp concrete and moldy air rushed

toward me.

“Elio? Mommy’s home. Look what I brought you…”

Silence filled the room.

My father sat trapped in his wheelchair, the only finger he could move pointing weakly toward the floor.

My stomach twisted.

Elio lay face–down on the ground, blood pooling around his small body.

“Elio!”

The groceries spilled everywhere as I rushed forward and scooped him into my arms. His body was limp, his face pale, his breathing shallow.

I fumbled for my phone with shaking hands and called an ambulance.

After a series of tests, Elio was rushed into the ICU. Through the glass window, he lay unconscious on the hospital bed, tubes running across his small body.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

I sat on the cold tile floor of the emergency hallway, staring at the diagnosis report and the staggering medical bills beneath it.

That night, I called every number I could find.

Old clients. Acquaintances. Even former classmates.

“Twenty thousand… ten thousand… I’ll do anything. I can come right now…”

Before I could finish, a hand snatched the phone from my fingers.

It smashed against the floor and shattered.

Luca.

He stood over me, face dark, rage blazing in his eyes.

“You can’t live without men for even a second, can you?” he roared. “Ten thousand dollars and you’re already selling yourself again? What the hell are you thinking, Summer?”

“Your father ruined Bianca. She has therapy twice a week because of him. And you?” His voice dripped with contempt. “You’re out there happily prostituting yourself like it’s your career.”

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