by Melody Anne
“You mother’s new scans show that she has stage 4 carcinoma in her uterus. We need to operate immediately if she has any chance of survival, I’m sorry to say. At this point, her chances are slim, less than a 10 percent chance, and that’s with aggressive action.”
The doctor paused, letting his words sink in. Were they telling her she should have the operation done, or she shouldn’t? It sounded to her as though they were telling her that she was going to lose her mom after all. This was why she’d been so afraid to hope.
“We’ve called you in because your mother doesn’t have any health insurance benefits left, and this operation is a costly procedure. Because this isn’t an emergency surgery, we can’t schedule it until payment arrangements are made. We’re here to help you get this funded, apply for loans, grants, whatever it takes. We won’t leave you in the dark, but we must have funding before we operate.”
The bottom fell out for Ari. It all boiled down to money — which she didn’t have. The men continued speaking, but she didn’t hear anything else they had to say. She was spiraling down a long, dark hole. The only way for her to escape, it seemed, was to take the job as Rafe Palazzo’s mistress.