Chapter 1

My wife secretly took me for a "routine checkup" to see if I was a kidney match for her first love, who had just been in a car crash.

When the results came back positive, she was ecstatic and tried to coax me into signing the consent forms.

"Logan, it's just one kidney! You won't die without it. Stop acting like such a dramatic baby!"

"I promise, as long as you help Ryan survive this, I'll give you a baby!"

I laughed bitterly. "A baby? You're delusional. Only my wife gets to carry my child. Who the hell are you?"

"Why the sudden family wellness checkup?"

I stared out the car window, my voice flat. Maya gave an awkward laugh and squeezed my hand.

"I'm just worried about your parents' health. And yours! You've been working late nights for years, wrecking your body. A full screening will give me peace of mind."

"You're the backbone of this family. What happens to us if you collapse?"

My parents, sitting in the backseat, nodded in agreement.

"Logan, Maya loves you. Just listen to your wife."

I turned and looked straight into her eyes. Maya flinched, looking away, her grip on my hand tightening nervously.

"Babe, do you really think I'd ever hurt you?"

I didn't say a word. I just watched her. No matter how calm she pretended to be, her body language betrayed her lies.

Just a moment ago, when I looked out the window, I noticed three black SUVs tailing us.

No legitimate hospital would ever perform an organ harvest against someone's will.

Judging by the situation, Maya had found an underground clinic—the kind where cash bought whatever surgery you wanted.

Taking a deep breath to steady my racing heart, I said quietly, "Maya, I know everything."

"This isn't a health checkup. You brought us here to see if my kidney matches Ryan's, didn't you?"

The name Ryan hit her like a thunderbolt.

Her palm instantly broke out into a cold sweat.

"Babe, what are you talking about? Ever since we got married, there hasn't been another man in my life."

"Really?" I challenged. "A week ago, Ryan totaled his car in an accident. Don't tell me you don't know."

"I heard his kidneys are failing. If he doesn't find a matching donor immediately, necrosis will set in and he'll die."

As soon as the words left my mouth, Maya slowly pulled her hand away, guilt written all over her face. She didn't deny it. My heart plummeted into an icy abyss.

"Babe, I would never hurt you. Don't overthink this."

"The crash was an accident. Ryan was just an innocent victim. I won't let anything happen to him—and I won't let anything happen to you either."

Seeing the raw heartbreak in her eyes for another man felt like a vice crushing my chest. I could barely breathe.

"Ryan is an illegal street racer. How many families has he ruined over the years by blowing through red lights?"

"Even this crash was entirely his fault! If his family didn't have heavy political clout, he'd already be in prison—"

"Logan!" Maya snapped, cutting me off. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she glared at me. "That's not true!"

"He's a racer! He loves the adrenaline, that's all. You have no right to judge him!"

"Besides, I'm only asking you to get tested! Even if you're a match, donating one kidney won't ruin your life."

"Just do this for me, please? Save his life! As long as he pulls through, I promise I'll give you a baby!"

She looked at me pleadingly. I was sick to my stomach. This was the same woman who had refused to have children for five years, terrified of ruining her figure.

Now, she was offering up a child as a bargaining chip—all for Ryan.

"Maya, you never used to be this shameless."