'Still the same. Kita looked dejected.

Charlotte took hold of her hand and squeezed it gently. Some things can't be rushed. Your father will wake up one day. Don't worry." Hita nodded

she believed the same thing.

"Shall we head back? She teached for Charlotte's wheelchair. "We've been out for almost an hour."

Austyn would flip out if he came back to an empty ward.

Austyn pushed open the door without knocking.

The private dining room in the steakhouse was big enough to host a party of twelve.

Gideon was the only occupant inside.

"You are late." Gideon looked up. 'I thought you'd chickened out."

He glanced behind Austyn

The waiter had closed the door discreetly on his way out.

'Do you seriously think I'd bring her to see you?" Austyn strode over and sat down opposite Gideon

He poured himselt a glass of Malbec and downed it in one big gulp. "This is between you and me.

Austyn set down the glass. 'Gideon Gamer, consider this your last warming. Stay away from Kira, or I'll make you sorry you were ever bom."

Gideon swirled the glass of wine in his hand, unruffled.

He wore a triumphant smile on his face. "I met her first. I was her first boyfriend, the first man she ever loved. If anyone should stay away from her, it's you. Austyn stared at him. "So you're not giving up." 'Well, you know me.' Gideon spread out both hands. "I'm nothing if not persistent. She's the love of my life, and I'd die before I let her go."

Austyn reached for the briefcase by his leg. 'I do know you. Maybe more so than you think."

He extracted a thin file from the case and flung it across the table. "Take a look"

Gideon made no move to reach for the file.

Austyn's upper lip was curled in disdain. 'You took a woman, forced her to go under the lite a dozen times, and made her into Kira's look-alike, all to satisfy your perverse desires. You call that love?' Austyn had not forgotten about the woman who looked astonishingly similar to Kita.

He only caught a brief look at her face when he went into the warehouse to confront Santoro After he was released from the hospital, he tasked Kai to find out more about the woman.

But she had left Stamford and was nowhere to be found.

Kal's search led him to Churhlana, Gideon's home base,

Members of the Garner family were tight-lipped at first, but money talks.

Austyn was filled with disgust when he learned Gideon had arranged for the woman, Gwendolyn Reyes, to undergo multiple rounds of plastic surgery. she would look like Kira. Rumour had it that Reyes was Gideon's mistress.

They slept together, but Gideon never acknowledged her as his girlfriend.

Austyn regarded the man with revulsion and contempt.

Gideon, however, seemed surprisingly unflustered.

so that

A Living Organ BankThis belongs to - ©.

sascasual as could be.

Gedeon finally reached for the file and flipped through the pages,.

"I gotta hand it to you, you are more resourceful than I gave you credit for.!

"How do you think Kara will react once she knows what a sicko you are? Austyn glared at him coldly

Kira had always seen Gideon as her gentle, caring big brother.

Even though she knew he had changed, she was having a hard time letting go of the past.

Their shared history was clouding her judgement.

For her sake, Austyn did not want to shatter that illusion, as long as Gideon stayed away from her in the future.

"You were so hungry for power, you'd do anything to get it, including sleeping with your stepmother.

Austyn stepped up the attack. 'She betrayed your father for you. Without her help, you'd never have been able to come out on top in that power struggle. But what

r out on is did you do to her after you won't guess you don't need me to remind you'

The smile on Gideon's face evaporated.

The air of nonchalance was gone, replaced by savage hostility.

"If you still want Kira to remember you fondly as the big brother, if you still want her to see you as a human being, as opposed to the beast that you truly are, disappear from her life."

Austyn issued his ultimatum. "Stay away from Stamford. And stay away from her. I could have you put down like a dog in a hundred different ways, but I'm allowing you to keep your life. Consider this repayment for that little favour you did me years ago. We're even. Do you understand?"

Austyn stood up.

"You can keep the file. I have plenty more copies.

He headed for the door. 'And don't you ever call her again."

Gideon finally spoke. "I've heard your piece. Don't you want to hear what I have to say?"

'Not interested.'

"Oh, but you will be," Gideon smiled with malicious glee. "You've done your due diligence. And I've done mine. Thear your mom's sick, huh?"

Austyn tumed back, glowering. "Don't you dare drag my mother into this!!

Gideon shrugged. "Hey, I did nothing. I've never even met her. While you were away, I just asked around and did a tirile digging. Guess what I found

He pointed to the chair Austyn just vacated. "You might want to sit down for this one. I promise it's going to be a doozy

Austynelenched his jaw. 'just say what the hell you want to say.'

Gideon leaned back in his chair and smiled. "You don't think I just invited you here for a nice steak, do you?"

He picked up a black leather briefcase from a chair nearby,

"You're not the only one who has a file.

He took his time extracting the thick manila envelope.

'Charlotte McCarthy, fifty-two years old, diagnosed with multiple organ dysfunction syndromes seven years ago, transferred to Sunway Medical Centre in South Rockwood two months later... Need I go on?" Austyn stood stock-still.

He felt as if someone had doused a bucket of ice water over him.

Gideon was satisfied with his reaction

'she's gut

less than a month to live without a tramplant, am I right?"

Gideon tapped a finger on the envelope

I've been racking my brain, trying to puzzle out why you married Kira. A year and a halt ago, she had nothing"

Back then, Kira was hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.

Her mother had shut the door in her face.

Her father was lying in a hospital, unconscious

She was on the verge of dropping out of school and months away

by from living on the street.

"I have to admit, there are many true philanthropists in the world, but you, Austyn McCarthy, are not one of them.

Gideon enjoyed the look on Austyn's face.

ww.gave h

The man was trying to put up a brave, nonchalant front, but his flared nostrils and crached jaw;

'I may not have the resources or connections you have, but money talks. Eventually, I found enough puzzle pieces, put them together and got the full picture."

Austyn gritted his teeth.

Hedidn't want to listen anymore, but he couldn't inove a step.

IIIIIA Living Organ Bank:

"They say fortune favours the bold, Gideon continued, relishing the feeling of having the upper hand. 'But I think fortune favours the rich. You bought your way into the national organ donors' database. When you didn't find what you were looking for, you paid off doctors from all over the country to get a peek at their patients' Ides. That was when you found Leland."

Cadron clicked his tongue. 'The car accident put him in a vegetative state, which worked

out well

for you, didn't it? You got him transferred to the best hospital in Stamford and paid for round-the-clock care. But you didn't do it out of the goodness of your heart. Nor did you do it for Kira. You did it for your mother.

Leland sustained multiple injuries to various parts of his body, which would take time to heal.

Gideon guessed that was why Austyn didn't make a move on him right away.

"You are keeping him in the hospital like a living organ bank, waiting to harvest his heart, his lungs and his kidneys when your mother needs them."

Gideon stood up and strolled over to Austyn

Their faces were inches apart.

"You called me a beast, a sicko. But what I did pales in comparison to what you're doing. Tell me, what will Kira think of you once she knows the truth?' Austyn swayed slightly on his feet.

He grabbed the doorknob behind him to steady himself.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"What do you want?"