“My Adoptive Brothers Called Me a Greedy Thief and Replaced Me, Unaware the ‘Miracle Cure’ That Saved Their Careers Was Extracted from My Own Bleeding Body”
Part 1
The white clinical light overhead hummed with a low, oppressive vibration. The air in the research laboratory smelled of antiseptic, cold metal, and the sharp tang of unspoken danger.
Dr. Vance adjusted his thick glasses, holding the clipboard with a slight tremor in his fingers. He looked at the young woman sitting on the edge of the examination table.
“Anna, you are only twenty,” Dr. Vance said, his voice laced with grave concern. “Are you truly sure about this? This is a newly developed experimental compound. It is the first human trial. If it fails… the neurological and physical damage will be permanent. You may never recover.”
Anna looked down at her hands. Her skin was smooth, her palms bearing the faint calluses of someone who spent hours carrying equipment, filling water bottles, and taping joints in a locker room. She thought of her life before—the cold, silent house after her parents died in a catastrophic car crash when she was just twelve years old. She thought of the cold state orphanages that threatened to swallow her whole.
And then she thought of Mrs. Kane.
Mrs. Kane had opened her doors, wrapped a warm blanket around Anna’s shivering shoulders, and welcomed her into a home filled with life, laughter, and the thunderous footsteps of her twin sons, Gordy and Jonathan.
“I have thought it through,” Anna said, her voice steady despite the hammer of her heart against her ribs. “I will accept the drug trial.”
“Anna, the side effects—”
“Mrs. Kane took me in when I had nothing,” Anna interrupted softly, looking directly into the doctor’s eyes. “She raised me as her own daughter. Gordy and Jonathan became my brothers, my protectors… my whole world. I owe them everything.”
Memory flashed vivid and painful behind her eyelids. Just six months ago, the Kane twins had been the undisputed stars of Eastern State University’s football team. Gordy, with his explosive speed and relentless drive, and Jonathan, with his tactical brilliance and unwavering strength on the field. They were destined for the professional leagues, pursued by scouts across the nation.
Until the night of the regional semi-finals.
An illegal, brutal hit from an opposing lineman had shattered Gordy’s wrist, tearing the ligaments beyond repair. Minutes later, trying to compensate for his brother’s absence, Jonathan took a brutal blindside tackle that snapped his knee.
The diagnosis from the university’s head orthopedic surgeon had been brutal and final: Permanent nerve and joint damage. They will never play high-level football again. Their dreams are over.
Anna had sat in the hospital corridor that night, listening to the muffled, agonizing sobs of two young men whose entire future had been ripped away in a single evening. Mrs. Kane had wept silently in the corner, her heart breaking for her boys.
That was the night Anna sought out Dr. Vance and his experimental nerve-and-tissue regeneration research. The trial paid a massive stipend, but more importantly, it produced two initial doses of a miracle cellular repair serum—a drug strictly forbidden from public release until human testing was complete.
“Sign here,” Dr. Vance whispered regretfully. “If you survive the reaction, the two synthesized doses will be yours to give to them.”
Anna took the pen and signed her name without hesitating.
Two weeks later, the needle plunged into her vein. The liquid felt like liquid fire spreading through her bloodstream. Anna gripped the edges of the metal table, her teeth grinding together as fever racked her body, her vision going completely white with agony. She endured days of agonizing physical rejection, silent tears burning her cheeks as her body absorbed the trial compound, slowly creating the antibodies and synthetic enzymes needed to refine the twin vials of cure.
She did it all in secret. She told no one.
When the trial concluded, her body felt perpetually exhausted, a subtle, cold ache lodged deep within her bones. But in her bag, wrapped in padded velvet, sat the two clear glass vials.
She gave them to the university team physician under the guise of an anonymous sports medical grant. Within three weeks of receiving the injections, Gordy’s wrist healed with impossible perfection; Jonathan’s knee regenerated beyond the doctors’ wildest expectations. The medical staff called it a miraculous natural recovery.
The boys were back on the field. They led Eastern State University to the regional championship.
Anna stood near the sidelines in her manager’s polo shirt, holding a clipboard, her heart soaring as the final whistle blew. The crowd roared. Banners waved.
Gordy and Jonathan hoisted the massive championship trophy high into the air.
“Great news!” Gordy shouted into the stadium microphone, his voice echoing across the field. “We made the finals! But we must thank one special person! She means so much to us—without her, we’d have nothing! This trophy should go to her!”
Anna felt tears prick her eyes. A soft, breathless laugh escaped her lips. They did not forget me, she thought, pressing a hand to her chest. My sacrifice was worth it. Every drop of pain was worth it.
She stepped forward toward the podium, wiping a tear from her cheek. “Gordy, Jonathan… thank you,” she whispered softly to herself. “I love this surprise. You matter to me, too.”
She took another step toward her boys, reaching out toward the trophy—only to freeze dead in her tracks.
Gordy hadn’t looked at her. Jonathan hadn’t turned her way.
Instead, the twins walked straight past Anna, their eyes locked onto a blonde girl wearing a bright cheerleading uniform who stood a few feet behind her.
It was Katie.
Katie, the newly transferred cheer captain who had arrived at the university just a month ago.
“Katie!” Jonathan grinned broadly, wrapping his arm around the blonde girl’s shoulders and placing the heavy championship trophy directly into her hands. “This is for you! Thank you for always believing in us!”
Katie squealed with delight, holding the trophy high as the cameras flashed. “Oh, you guys! You’re amazing!”
Anna stood frozen in the middle of the field, her extended hand hovering uselessly in the cold air. The noise of the stadium suddenly felt muffled, as if she were underwater.
Later that evening, in the team’s private locker room, the air was thick with the scent of champagne and loud music.
Anna walked in, carrying a stack of clean towels and the team’s post-game health logs.
She stopped dead. Katie was sitting on top of the central equipment table, drinking from a gold cup, wearing Gordy’s varsity jacket. Gordy and Jonathan were sitting beside her, laughing casually.
Gordy looked up, his smile instantly vanishing the moment his eyes landed on Anna.
“Gordy… Jonathan…” Anna said, her voice barely audible over the music. “What is this? Why are you…?”
Katie blinked innocently. “Oh! Anna! Sorry, I didn’t know you would come…”
“I didn’t mean to leave you out,” Jonathan said coldly, leaning back. “Katie’s the team manager now.”
Anna stared at him, feeling as though she had been slapped. “What? I’m the team manager. This is my locker room—”
“Enough!” Gordy snapped, slamming his drink down onto the bench. “This room is not yours alone! Katie is my guest. If you’re unhappy, take it out on me! Why are you yelling at her?”
“I’m not yelling at her,” Anna whispered, her voice trembling. “Gordy, I’ve managed this team for three years. I grew up playing football with you both! We promised to win together… we promised to join the pro club together!”
“Katie is our cheerleading captain,” Jonathan sneered, standing up and stepping between Anna and Katie. “She cheers for us at every single game. What have you ever done besides hand out towels and nag us about our physical therapy?”
The words struck Anna like a physical blow. What have I ever done?
“Anna, do not be mad at them,” Katie said smoothly, sliding off the table and walking over to put a comforting hand on Anna’s shoulder. Her grip was surprisingly tight, her nails digging slightly into Anna’s arm. “They just have a new companion. You should accept it…”
Katie suddenly let out a dramatic, high-pitched gasp. She threw herself backward onto the hard tile floor, letting her drink spill everywhere.
“Ah! Anna, I know you don’t like me, but how could you push me?!” Katie cried out, clutching her wrist.
“No! I didn’t!” Anna gasped, taking a step back. “I didn’t touch you!”
Gordy shoved Anna roughly out of the way, rushing to Katie’s side. “Katie! Are you okay?”
Jonathan rounded on Anna, his eyes blazing with pure hatred. “Do not ruin our party! Get out! You are not welcome here!”
“Don’t you understand English?” Gordy growled, pointing at the exit. “Get lost!”
Anna backed away, her chest heaving. The emotional shock hit her hard, but then something far worse happened—a sudden, violent spasm erupted deep within her nerve centers. Her vision blurred, dark spots dancing across her eyes. Her heart hammered erratically, her lungs seizing up.
The drug trial’s latent side effect.
“Help…” Anna choked out, clutching her throat as her knees gave out. “The… the drug…”
She collapsed onto the cold tile floor, darkness rushing in from the edges of her vision.
Through the fog, she heard a teammate yell, “Oh no! The former manager fainted!”
Then she heard Gordy’s cold, disgusted voice echoing above her as her world went completely black:
“Grow up, Anna. Stop playing tricks.”
Part 2
When Anna opened her eyes, the stark white ceiling of the university clinic stared down at her. The sharp smell of rubbing alcohol stung her nose.
She pushed herself up slowly, every joint in her body aching with an unnatural, grinding fatigue.
“How long was I out?” she murmured, rubbing her temples.
The door to the room banged open. Gordy and Jonathan stepped inside, their faces dark and devoid of any warmth.
“Grow up, Anna,” Jonathan said, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. “Stop playing tricks. Do you love stealing Katie’s spotlight that much?”
Anna blinked, disoriented. “What…?”
“You passed out at the party,” Gordy sneered, walking to the foot of her bed. “You embarrassed Katie in front of the whole athletic board. They once promised to care for you… now look at you. Pathetic.”
They once promised to care for me, Anna thought, a profound bitterness settling over her heart. Now they only care about Katie.
“What happened to you, Anna?” Jonathan continued, his tone condescending. “You woke up so fast. You look perfectly fine.”
“Of course,” Katie’s voice chimed in as she slid into the room behind them, holding a small box of expensive chocolates. “I believe you, Anna! You didn’t fake it on purpose… you were just jealous of Katie’s gift, so you ruined the party.”
Anna looked at the three of them—the twin brothers she had given up her health for, and the girl who had stolen her life in less than a month.
“Am I that vile to you?” Anna asked, her voice cracking under the weight of her pain. “I did it… I did everything to help you and Gordy…”
“Enough!” Gordy interrupted harshly. “Anna, what have you ever helped with? You ruined Katie’s big day. You do not deserve to be manager anymore. Reflect here alone.”
They turned and walked out, slamming the clinic door shut behind them.
Anna sat in the quiet room, staring at her trembling hands. Tears slipped quietly down her cheeks, dripping onto the white hospital blanket. I do not understand, she thought, her chest tight with agony. Why did you suddenly change? Did you forget our dream?
“They didn’t forget,” a calm, deep voice spoke from the doorway. “They just got blind.”
Anna looked up, startled.
Standing at the entrance of the clinic room was a tall, remarkably broad man wearing a sharp navy suit and a black leather jacket. His presence commanded the entire room. He possessed a sharp jawline, intense dark eyes, and a muscular frame that screamed elite athletic conditioning.
Ethan Hawke.
The legendary pro football superstar, the youngest team captain in the history of the elite National World Rugby & Football League—the prestigious W.W. Club.
“Ethan… Hawke?” Anna breathed, wiping her eyes quickly.
Ethan walked into the room, his heavy boots sounding softly against the floor. He pulled up a chair and sat down, looking at her with keen, calculating eyes.
“I’ve been watching Eastern State’s games,” Ethan said smoothly. “Their tactical setups, their conditioning schedules, their recovery protocols… none of it matches their head coach’s old-school style. I asked around. The coach admitted it was all you. You managed their training, analyzed their rivals’ film, and built their strategy.”
He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a sleek, black folder, laying it on her lap.
“Anna, remember me?” Ethan asked, a faint, rare smile touching his lips. “I am Ethan Hawke. I want you at the W.W. Club. Be my personal pro manager.”
Anna opened the folder. The contract inside was staggering.
“Annual pay: five million dollars,” Anna read aloud, her eyes widening. “Ethan… I… I do not deserve this.”
“You do deserve it,” Ethan said firmly, his eyes fixed on hers with absolute conviction. “I want you as my own manager. I need a decision.”
Anna looked at the contract, then thought of Gordy and Jonathan. Despite everything—despite the harsh words, the betrayal, the cruelty—a small, foolish part of her heart still clung to the twenty years they had spent together.
“I… I need three days to think,” Anna whispered.
Ethan stood up, adjusting his jacket. He nodded slowly. “My offer will always stand. Take your time, Anna.”
As Ethan left, Anna checked her phone. A text from the team doctor was waiting on her screen:
Anna, Gordy’s wrist scans came back weird today. There’s slight inflammation. And Jonathan’s knee is showing muscle fatigue. If they don’t follow proper recovery protocols, their old injuries will flare up again.
Anna’s breath hitched. Gordy’s wrist is hurt… Jonathan’s leg is not fully healed… These injuries may crush their dream. No… I must help them one last time.
She checked herself out of the clinic and hurried back to the university’s athletic building.
As she approached the private lounge, she heard loud, frustrated shouting from inside.
“We cannot win like this!” Gordy smashed a plastic water bottle against the wall. “Damn it! Damn it! Only champions enter the W.W. Club! We must become stars like Ethan Hawke!”
Anna stepped into the room, holding her clipboard and a list of physical therapy adjustments. “Do not worry,” she said softly. “I will help you.”
The room went dead quiet.
Gordy turned around, his face dark with fury. “You? You are not our manager now! Why are you here?”
“What, am I fired?” Anna asked, her voice tight.
“This is for everyone’s good,” Jonathan said coldly, stepping forward. “Katie can take care of the team.”
Anna looked past them. On the far side of the room, Katie was casually packing Anna’s personal belongings into trash bags.
“No…” Anna whispered, walking toward her. “No… where are my trophies? Where are my photos?”
Katie sneered softly, holding up a framed photograph of twelve-year-old Anna standing between young Gordy and Jonathan after their first youth championship.
“Looking for this trash, little mouse?” Katie whispered viciously, making sure the boys couldn’t hear her.
“No!” Anna reached for it. “How dare you! These are mine!”
Katie’s eyes flashed with venom. She dropped the frame onto the floor and stomped her heavy heel directly onto the glass, shattering it into a hundred pieces.
“Not anymore,” Katie hissed softly. “Listen, bitch. This club is mine now. Gordy and Jonathan are mine, too.”
Before Anna could react, Katie suddenly grabbed Anna’s hand, slammed it against her own face, and screamed loudly, falling backward onto the couch.
“Ahhh! Help! Anna is hitting me!” Katie wailed.
The door flew open. Gordy and Jonathan rushed in.
“Katie!” Gordy gasped, rushing to hold her.
Jonathan rounded on Anna, his face contorted in pure rage. “Anna! You have disappointed me so greatly! How could you even hurt Katie like that?”
“You’ve been bullying Katie behind our backs, haven’t you?!” Gordy roared.
“I’ve never bullied her!” Anna yelled, tears stinging her eyes. “The injured one is me!”
She held up her hand, which was bleeding from where the shattered frame glass had sliced her palm.
Gordy didn’t even glance at her bleeding hand. “Anna, you’re bleeding… but Katie! Are you okay?”
Katie whimpered, curling into Gordy’s chest. “Anna… Anna just choked me by the neck! I thought I was going to die!”
“Dammit!” Jonathan growled, stepping up to Anna. “You bullied Katie, yet you still pretend to be pitiful! I can’t believe I almost felt sorry for you! Now apologize to Katie! Immediately! Apologize!”
“She broke into our club!” Anna screamed, her voice breaking. “She threw away our photos! And our trophies! This is all her fault!”
Katie squeezed out tears, looking up at the twins. “I am really sorry… I was just trying to tidy up the lounge… I didn’t know Anna would be so angry…”
“Don’t be afraid, Katie,” Gordy said softly, rubbing her shoulder. “You did nothing wrong. You are our new manager. You can do whatever you want here.”
Just then, the university athletic director walked past the open door, holding a stamped document. “Oh! Gordy! Jonathan! Great news! The school has approved Katie’s official manager application! From now on, this lounge is your team base! Katie is your only manager!”
Gordy turned to Katie with a smile. “You hear that? We only listen to you.”
Anna stood amidst the shattered glass of her childhood memories, her hand dripping blood onto the floor, watching the two boys she loved treat a manipulative stranger like royalty.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket. A text from Ethan Hawke:
Anna, have you decided? Give up that childish school club. Join my professional club.
Anna stared at the screen. Her thumb hovered over the keyboard.
She looked up at Gordy and Jonathan, her eyes cold, hollow, and completely emptied of warmth.
Part 3
Gordy caught her looking at her phone. “What do those texts mean?” he demanded, his brow furrowing. “Are you joining another club? Is someone texting you?”
Anna slowly locked her phone screen and placed it back into her pocket. “Does this even matter to you?” she asked quietly. “You’ve already fired me and found a new manager. It doesn’t matter where I go.”
“Come on, Gordy,” Jonathan laughed mockingly, crossing his arms. “She’s acting again. These fake messages are just a trick to get our attention.”
Gordy sighed, shaking his head with an air of superior annoyance. “All right, Anna. I didn’t want things to go too far. Just apologize to Katie, and this all ends here. If you admit your mistake, we might still let you stay in the club as an assistant.”
Anna looked Gordy straight in the eyes. “I did nothing wrong. And I will never apologize.”
“How dare you!” Jonathan snapped, taking a threatening step forward.
Katie quickly caught Jonathan’s arm, putting on her softest, most innocent smile. “Let it go, please… I just want you all to be okay. My little grievance is nothing…”
“No way!” Gordy declared loudly, glaring at Anna. “Anna, if you don’t apologize today, don’t ever think of stepping into this club again! The spot beside us now belongs to someone else!”
Anna looked at the space beside them—the space where she had stood for eight years, holding their water, tracking their health, cheering their names.
“There’s no room for me anymore,” Anna said softly, her voice devoid of anger, left only with a profound, terrifying stillness. “Why should I even come back?”
She turned toward the door.
“Wait!” Jonathan barked. “Hand over the club keys!”
Anna stopped.
Her fingers reached into her pocket, brushing against the smooth metal of the heavy brass key ring.
She remembered the day they had unlocked this lounge together three years ago. Gordy had handed her the key with a huge grin: This lounge room… we prepared it for you. Only our manager, Miss Anna, can use it freely. You keep it safe.
“The key is still the same,” Anna murmured, holding it out in her palm. “But you don’t care anymore. What meaning does holding it have?”
“This is your lesson,” Gordy said smugly. “Admit your mistake, and we might return it to you.”
“No need,” Anna said.
She opened her hand. The brass key hit the hard tile floor with a loud, metallic clatter.
“I don’t need it,” Anna whispered. “I won’t come back anymore.”
“What do you mean?!” Jonathan yelled, startled by her sudden compliance.
“Since you hate me so much,” Anna said, looking at them one last time, “I will never come here again.”
“Anna!” Gordy shouted, his face flushing with anger. “You still do not see your mistake! You are still throwing a tantrum! This is the key time for the upcoming championship game! We cannot handle your feelings right now!”
“Now I know your true thoughts,” Anna said calmly. “Fine. I quit by myself. From now on, I have nothing to do with you.”
“Nothing to do with us?!” Jonathan exploded, his voice echoing violently off the walls. “Do you know gratitude at all?! You lived in our home for years! Without us taking you in, you would be on the streets!”
Anna froze.
The words felt like ice water poured directly into her veins.
“I have not forgotten,” Anna whispered, her throat tight. “I thank Mrs. Kane for taking me in. I will repay it.”
“With what will you repay us?!” Gordy sneered, stepping closer. “Your money came from us! Your tuition and living costs—even your clothes! We bought them! If you’re so independent, if you dare… take them off right now!”
The room fell completely silent.
Katie smirked behind Gordy’s shoulder, enjoying every single second of the humiliation.
“You don’t dare, right?” Jonathan mocked. “I knew you were pretending.”
Anna stared at the twin brothers she had considered her family. The boys who had once promised to protect her from the world were now standing over her, using her poverty and her orphan status to crush her dignity into the dirt.
“Is humiliating me what you want?” Anna asked softly, her tears drying under a sudden, searing wave of cold resolve. “Fine. I will take it off.”
She reached up and unbuttoned the Eastern State University athletic polo shirt—the official team merchandise bought with the club budget. She pulled it off, revealing the plain black tank top she wore beneath it.
“Anna…” Gordy blinked, suddenly taken aback as he watched her pull off the university jacket and throw it at his feet.
Memory flashed in Anna’s mind: The day they had all gotten accepted into Eastern State University. Gordy and Jonathan had surprised her with a customized team jacket, hugging her in the middle of the campus square: Great! We got into the same college! With us here, no one can bully you! Do you like it?
I will wear it every day, she had promised them then with a bright smile.
“This was your last gift to me,” Anna whispered, staring at the jacket lying on the floor. “Why stop now?”
“I knew you were acting for us…” Jonathan muttered, though his voice lacked conviction now, a strange knot forming in his stomach.
“I don’t care to stand here anymore,” Anna said quietly. “Nothing now. Everything should end now.”
She reached down, unlacing her official team athletic sneakers—also bought by the athletic department—and stepped out of them, standing barefoot on the cold, hard floor.
“Is that enough?” Anna asked, her voice hollow.
Katie snickered softly. “You wouldn’t want to leave wearing that underwear, would you? It’s a luxury brand… Gordy and Jonathan paid a lot for your birthday…”
Gordy snapped his head toward Katie, uncomfortable. “Katie…”
“I am just stating facts!” Katie pouted.
“Do not worry,” Jonathan grunted, trying to harden his heart again. “She is just throwing a tantrum. She wants us to beg her back.”
“I truly want no ties with you,” Anna said, stepping toward the exit in her bare feet, holding only her personal phone.
“Enough! Enough!” Gordy yelled, feeling an inexplicable panic rising in his chest as he watched her walk away so completely. “Must you make this so ugly?! Leave now! Stop messing around here! You have twenty minutes to pack your things out of the campus housing!”
Katie stepped forward with a sweet, triumphant smile. “Oh, Anna, I forgot to tell you! I am moving into their house, too! To help Gordy and Jonathan recover! The club is mine now… your room at the Kane house will be mine, too. Be smart, don’t bother us.”
Anna didn’t answer.
She walked out of the athletic building barefoot, her cold toes touching the pavement outside. The autumn wind blew against her arms, but she didn’t shiver. The cold outside was nothing compared to the dead ice inside her heart.
I was always the one left behind, she thought, looking up at the gray sky. I only have myself.
She pulled out her phone and dialed the number she had held off on answering.
“Hello? Ethan?”
On the other end, Ethan’s voice was immediate and sharp. “Anna? Why did you not reply? Do you still want to stay at Eastern State? Will you consider my W.W. Club?”
“This place is no longer mine,” Anna said, her voice trembling slightly. “I should have left long ago. I accept. I will join your club.”
Silence hung on the line for a second, followed by the sound of Ethan standing up from his desk. “Really? I will pick you up tomorrow. Do not worry. I will arrange everything for you.”
“Thank you, Ethan,” Anna whispered.
She hung up and walked straight to the head coach’s main office.
Coach Miller looked up from his desk, astonished to see Anna standing barefoot in a tank top. “Anna?! What happened to you? Why are you…?”
“Coach,” Anna said calmly, setting her official manager badge on his desk. “I am quitting the club.”
Coach Miller stood up in shock. “What?! Anna, you trained with those boys late every night! You stayed up studying their rivals! You gave so much to this team! We are about to win the regional title! Why give up so suddenly?!”
“Another club invited me,” Anna said softly. “I plan to transfer schools.”
Coach Miller stared at her for a long moment. Then, he let out a heavy, solemn sigh. “I knew this day would come. Your talent deserves a better club… I always thought you stayed just for one of them.”
“You were wrong,” Anna said quietly, a faint, sad smile touching her lips. “They like Katie. Gordy and Jonathan… I am leaving. They have a new partner now. I will not bother them again. Goodbye forever.”
As she walked out of the administrative building, a familiar, elegant car pulled up to the curb.
The window rolled down, revealing Mrs. Kane’s warm, gentle face.
“Anna!” Mrs. Kane gasped, throwing the car door open and rushing out to wrap a heavy wool coat around Anna’s bare shoulders. “My goodness! Why are you barefoot?! Were you not abroad for athletic seminars? Why did you come back now?!”
“For you,” Anna whispered, sinking into the elderly woman’s comforting embrace. “The coach told me everything…”
“Oh, my sweet girl,” Mrs. Kane wept, holding Anna’s face. “I am so sorry you suffered so much…”
“No, Mrs. Kane,” Anna said, her eyes filling with real tears for the first time. “You always cared for me. You are like my second mother.”
“I wish I were your legal mother,” Mrs. Kane said softly, stroking Anna’s hair. “I always hoped you would marry one of them…”
“That is impossible,” Anna whispered, looking down. “Gordy and Jonathan do not like me.”
Mrs. Kane’s face hardened with maternal protective fury. “Then they do not deserve you! You sacrificed too much for them! Go chase your own dream now!”
Mrs. Kane reached into her purse and pulled out a checkbook, quickly writing a check for one million dollars and pressing it into Anna’s hands.
“Here. Take this.”
“No!” Anna gasped, trying to push it back. “Mrs. Kane, no! I owe you too much already! I cannot take this money!”
“Take it!” Mrs. Kane insisted fiercely, forcing her hands closed over the check. “Ethan Hawke is waiting for you. You deserve to win both your career and your happiness.”
Suddenly, a harsh voice shouted from behind them.
“What new club?!”
Gordy and Jonathan came running out of the athletic center, having seen Mrs. Kane’s car from the window.
“Where are you going?!” Jonathan demanded, glaring at Anna before looking at his mother in disbelief. “Mom! How dare you give her money?! Why would Anna leave and transfer?!”
Part 4
At that moment, Katie stepped out from behind the twins, offering a sweet, polite bow toward Mrs. Kane.
“Hello, Mrs. Kane! I am Katie,” she introduced herself smoothly. “I manage the football club now. I am their best friend, and I’ll be staying at your house for now to help them recover!”
Mrs. Kane turned her cold, sharp gaze onto Katie. “You are not welcome here.”
Katie blinked, caught off guard. “I… I don’t know what Anna told you… I only wanted to help them…”
“Did you complain to my mother?!” Jonathan shouted, stepping in front of Katie protectively. “Anna! Do not use our mother to bully Katie! Mom used to use our money to pay for your stuff!”
“Anna said nothing!” Mrs. Kane barked, her voice booming with absolute authority. “I can see what happened with my own eyes! You two bastards! You hurt Anna for a liar! She never complained! She covered for you again and again!”
“Mom! You got it wrong!” Gordy yelled back. “Anna is just trying to cheat money from you! She does anything for profit! Anna is not the girl you knew! She keeps bullying Katie! She is vain, violent, and she has no gratitude!”
Anna stood beside Mrs. Kane, her heart dead to their words.
“Whatever I say or do,” Anna said quietly, looking at the twins, “you never believe me. You only believe Katie.” She looked at Mrs. Kane’s check, then carefully placed it back into Mrs. Kane’s coat pocket. “I will repay you, Mrs. Kane. I do not want to owe anyone.”
“Anna…” Mrs. Kane whispered sorrowfully.
“Mom! Leave her!” Jonathan sneered, grabbing Katie’s hand. “Just let her go! She’ll come back crawling! Where else can she go?!”
Mrs. Kane looked at her twin sons with profound disappointment. “You will regret this,” she whispered. “Mark my words. You will regret this for the rest of your lives.”
Anna got into a taxi, leaving the university campus behind forever.
An hour later, Anna sat in Dr. Vance’s private clinic room.
Dr. Vance reviewed her blood panel with a grim expression. “Your body’s feedback is valuable. The experimental medicine can be improved and used… but as promised, I have prepared two additional refined, concentrated doses for you.”
He set two sealed silver cylinders on the desk.
“Take care, Anna,” Dr. Vance warned solemnly. “The side effects of the original dose you took will continue. You are so young… if you undergo severe physical or emotional trauma right now, you could become paralyzed.”
Anna looked at the two silver cylinders. The final cure, she thought. The double-concentrated dose that will permanently fix any lingering nerve damage.
She packed them into her small bag and walked toward the train station. But before she could leave the city, she needed to retrieve one final medical record from the team’s off-campus housing facility.
As she stepped into the hallway of the off-campus house, she ran straight into Katie, Gordy, and Jonathan, who were sitting at the dining table eating lunch.
Katie smirked, setting her fork down. “Did you not say you were leaving? Why are you back? Do not think Mrs. Kane can protect you here. You cannot drive me away. They will always stand by me.”
“Come eat with us, Katie,” Jonathan said warmly, ignoring Anna entirely as he passed a plate to Katie.
Anna stood near the doorway, watching them. In one day, they became like family, she thought quietly. As expected, I mean nothing to them.
Katie leaned against Jonathan’s shoulder, throwing a triumphant look at Anna. “You heard them! They only care about me! The Kane brothers are mine!”
Anna walked past them toward the side table. “Move aside. I came to bring them something. I will leave after I give it.”
“What is it?” Katie sneered, standing up and snatching Anna’s bag. “I am their manager now! I check their gear, their jerseys… even medicine must be checked! I will not let trash near them!”
“Let go of my bag!” Anna demanded.
Katie unzipped the bag and pulled out the two silver cylinders. “What is this?”
“This is a special medicine,” Anna said, her voice rising with urgency. “It can help them recover completely! Do you not want them to heal?!”
Katie’s eyes narrowed. She recognized the immense value of whatever was inside those high-tech cylinders. If I give this to them, Katie thought greedily, they will worship me forever.
“Really?” Katie smiled viciously. She suddenly grabbed the cylinders and shoved Anna hard against the doorframe. “Then it’s mine!”
“What are you doing?! Let go!” Anna gasped, trying to reclaim them.
“This is the newest special medicine!” Katie yelled, intentionally raising her voice to draw the boys. “There are only two bottles!”
Gordy and Jonathan rushed out of the kitchen. “What happened?!”
Katie instantly threw herself onto the floor, scattering the cylinders near her feet, and let out a dramatic sob. “I don’t know! Anna suddenly rushed in and tried to attack me!”
Jonathan rounded on Anna, his face dark with fury. “You said you cut ties with us! Why crawl back tonight?!”
“Get up!” Gordy barked at Anna, who was leaning weakly against the wall, clutching her chest as her nerve pain flared. “If you came back, why are you lying there?!”
Anna ignored his shouting and dropped to her knees, frantically reaching for the silver cylinders on the floor. “My medicine… Thank God, it is not broken…”
Jonathan stepped forward, roughly grabbing Anna’s wrist and pulling her up. “Anna, let me help you—”
“Get away!” Anna screamed, swatting his hand away.
Gordy’s face hardened. “You never learn! Apologize to Katie!”
“No!” Anna yelled, her voice trembling with pure, unadulterated agony. “Apologize to her?! Never! You hit me for her! You yelled at me for her! I sacrificed my body for you to get the best medicine! I’m such a joke!”
Gordy froze. “What did you say…?”
Just then, Dr. Vance stepped into the foyer, having followed Anna to deliver her final health warning.
“Doctor!” Jonathan asked, pointing at the silver cylinders in Anna’s hands. “Do you know this medicine?”
Dr. Vance looked at the cylinders and nodded gravely. “It is the newest, most advanced cellular regeneration compound. It can heal all permanent nerve and body damage. These two doses alone are worth over ten million dollars on the black market.”
Gordy’s eyes widened. “Is it really that powerful?”
“If you doubt it, give one to me,” Dr. Vance said, taking one cylinder, priming the needle, and administering a small diagnostic scan to Gordy’s wrist.
Within ten seconds, Gordy gasped. The persistent, dull ache in his wrist vanished completely. Flexibility returned to his fingers instantly.
“Feel much better?” Dr. Vance asked calmly. “This medicine is amazing. You should thank that girl. She volunteered for human trials to create it. These bottles would never reach you otherwise.”
Gordy and Jonathan stood frozen, staring at Anna in absolute, earth-shattering shock.
“Anna…” Gordy stammered, his voice shaking violently. “Did you… did you give us this?”
Anna looked at them, her eyes dead and cold. “Yes. It was me. I got that medicine.”
Suddenly, Katie let out a loud, hysterical cry.
“Anna stole my medicine!” Katie wailed, clutching her face. “How can you be so shameless, Anna?!”
Gordy blinked, disoriented. “What?!”
“I got this medicine from my family’s private medical connections!” Katie lied brazenly, pointing a shaking finger at Anna. “And you came to steal it! You are jealous I took your manager job! You are mad I moved into the Kanes’ home! You shouldn’t take my things! This medicine can save their careers! It does not belong to you!”
Jonathan looked between Katie’s tears and Anna’s cold silence. His brain, warped by weeks of Katie’s manipulation, made a fatal, stupid leap of logic.
“So you came back to steal it…” Jonathan whispered, his eyes filling with disgust as he looked at Anna. “Anna… I am so disappointed in you. Why bully Katie and lie to us?!”
“She just wants our attention!” Gordy spat, his temporary gratitude evaporating into anger. “And to steal the spotlight!”
Anna looked at the two brothers. A soft, terrible laugh escaped her lips.
“I quit the club and left your home,” Anna said quietly. “I just want to stay far from you. If not to repay Mrs. Kane and clear my debt…”
“Money!” Jonathan barked. “So it is still about money! You wanted to sell this medicine, right?! I regret letting Mom take you in! You only shame the Kane family!”
Anna closed her eyes.
“I owe you nothing now,” Anna whispered. “I never want to see you again. Get out.”
Suddenly, Dr. Vance grabbed Anna’s arm as her body began to shake violently. “The drug side effects have started! Her body cannot take stress now! You boys must leave this room immediately!”
Anna pulled out her phone with trembling fingers and dialed Ethan Hawke.
“Anna?” Ethan’s voice came through instantly. “I am in your city. Where are you?”
“I am… at the hospital clinic…” Anna choked out, her vision fading. “Please… take me away…”
Outside the clinic, Gordy and Jonathan stood in the hallway, looking through the glass window as Dr. Vance stabilized Anna.
“Why not leave and take Katie home?” Jonathan muttered, crossing his arms nervously.
“Anna’s body has a problem…” Gordy said, a strange, hollow knot tightening in his chest. “We cannot leave her… and we must figure out the medicine…”
“Do not mix it up,” Jonathan grunted, looking at Katie, who was standing nearby. “Katie earned that medicine.”
Inside, Anna was placed in a wheelchair. Ethan Hawke strode down the corridor, his face dark with concern as he took the handles of her chair.
Gordy stepped forward into the hallway. “Wait! Anna, let’s have a good talk!”
Anna didn’t even look at him. “I have nothing to say to you.”
Katie slipped beside Gordy, whispering venomously into Anna’s ear as Ethan briefly turned to speak with the doctor: “Isn’t it exactly what you want, that you won’t go back? Yes… but your medicine will steal my spotlight! You should disappear forever, bitch! Let go!”
Katie suddenly grabbed Anna’s arm and pulled herself backward onto the floor again, screaming loudly. “Ahhh! Anna, why on earth do you hate me so much?! I just hope you stop hitting me!”
Gordy rushed over, shoving Anna’s wheelchair back violently. “Anna! Are you crazy?! Katie cares about you again and again! Why can you not be kind?!”
“I see she needs an unforgettable lesson,” a freezing, terrifying voice boomed down the corridor.
Gordy and Jonathan froze.
Ethan Hawke stepped forward, his massive frame towering over them, his eyes dark with lethal intent.
“My God…” a passing nurse whispered. “That is football star Ethan Hawke! Why is he here?!”
Ethan looked down at Gordy and Jonathan as if they were beneath contempt. He gently wrapped a thick, warm blanket around Anna, lifting her effortlessly into his arms.
“Do not be afraid,” Ethan whispered gently to Anna. “I will take you away.”
Anna rested her head against Ethan’s shoulder, looking back at the twins one final time.
“Goodbye, Gordy,” Anna said quietly. “Goodbye, Jonathan. To those twenty years of growing up together as childhood friends… to our unfinished football dream… all of it… goodbye.”
Part 5
Ethan carried Anna out to his private SUV, placing her gently in the passenger seat before driving away.
Behind them, Gordy and Jonathan stood frozen on the hospital steps, their minds reeling.
“Anna knows Ethan Hawke…?” Jonathan stammered, staring at the road. “What is their relationship? Where is he taking Anna?!”
“Gordy! Jonathan! Wait!” a sports photographer shouted, running up to them holding a digital camera. “Hey! My God! Was that really Ethan Hawke holding that woman in public?!”
The photographer showed them the clear, high-definition preview screen. Ethan Hawke was cradling Anna in his arms, his expression fiercely protective.
“Embracing a woman in public for the first time!” the photographer gasped. “Ethan must have a girlfriend now! This will be huge news! Why did Ethan come to this hospital suddenly? Did he take Anna with him, too?!”
Gordy’s hands clenched into fists, his face turning pale. “That photo… it cannot be Ethan!”
“Calm down, brother,” Jonathan said, though his own voice was shaking violently. “I would never mistake a football superstar. But… Anna grew up living with us! We went to the same school! We spent almost every day together! When did she know Ethan?!”
“The photo is not clear!” Gordy yelled, trying to convince himself. “It may not be Ethan! Maybe Anna hired a male model to pretend to be Ethan!”
“Right!” Jonathan agreed frantically. “Ethan Hawke is a superstar! His W.W. Club has many private doctors! Why come to this hospital suddenly?! This Ethan must be fake! Why would Anna hire such a man? She did it on purpose… she knows Ethan is our idol!”
Meanwhile, inside Ethan’s private facility, Dr. Evans completed a thorough examination of Anna.
He walked out to the waiting room, where Ethan was pacing the floor.
“How is Anna?” Ethan asked immediately.
Dr. Evans shook his head gravely. “Her condition is very bad. She likely joined an unregulated experimental drug trial… it severely damaged her central nervous system and immune response. She needs someone to care for her around the clock.”
Ethan walked into Anna’s room. She was sitting up in bed, looking small and fragile against the white sheets.
“Anna,” Ethan said softly, coming to her side. “What happened to you?”
Anna looked down at her hands. “Ethan… I am sorry…”
“Sorry?” Ethan sat beside her, taking her cold hand in his warm palm. “You are not the one who should apologize. It is the people who hurt you. Tell me what happened. Let me help you.”
“It is all in the past,” Anna whispered, a tear slipping down her cheek. “It does not matter anymore. The medicine I sacrificed myself for cured Gordy and Jonathan. I have repaid their mother’s goodness. I owe no one anymore. Ethan… I will start over.”
Ethan looked into her eyes, his grip on her hand tightening with absolute commitment. “Okay. We will start over together.”
The next morning, back at the Eastern State football locker room, the atmosphere was suffocatingly tense.
Gordy and Jonathan walked in, looking exhausted and pale. They hadn’t slept all night.
“Anna did not come home last night,” Jonathan muttered, kicking an equipment bag. “She is getting more rebellious.”
“I do not believe she will not return today,” Gordy said, trying to sound confident. “Come on, stop worrying about Anna. Anna’s grown up… maybe she spent the night with a man.”
“She would not dare!” Jonathan snapped angrily.
Inside her quiet room at Ethan’s facility, Anna pulled out her phone. She opened her contacts, selected Gordy and Jonathan’s profiles, and tapped Block and Delete.
I saw you as my dearest family, she thought quietly, watching their names vanish from her screen forever. My closest partners… but what about you? I will erase you from my world completely.
Back at the university, Jonathan stared at his phone. “I cannot reach Anna’s phone…”
“I cannot reach her either,” Gordy frowned, dialing again and again. “Anna never hung up on us… could something have happened?”
“What could happen?!” Katie chimed in, walking into the locker room holding a coffee. “She is always like this! Either she is lying or faking an injury! This must be her trick again… she vanished so we would find her! Stop thinking about Anna! She is not your manager anymore! You should listen to me now!”
She pulled them toward the practice field. “Come on! Let us train at the club!”
During practice, several senior players stopped training, looking around the sidelines in confusion.
“Speaking of it… where did Anna go?” a senior lineman asked. “I have not seen her lately. Gordy, Jonathan… was Anna not bringing you medicine and caring for you? Why is she not here?”
“Anna’s no longer the football club manager,” Jonathan said stiffly. “Katie replaced her.”
“What?!” the lineman gasped. “Will Anna never come here again?”
“How is that possible?” Katie laughed mockingly. “She is so shameless! No matter how we drive her away, she always follows us shamelessly! Training is about to start… she will come watch this! I count to ten, she will appear! 10… 9… 8… 3… 2… 1!”
The field remained completely empty.
Gordy stared at the tunnel entrance, his heart pounding in his throat.
Suddenly, a figure stepped out of the tunnel.
“Anna!” Gordy yelled, a wave of intense relief washing over him as he ran forward. “I knew it was a trick! Ignore you and you come back—”
He stopped dead.
It wasn’t Anna. It was Head Coach Miller holding a stack of playbook folders.
“Gordy?” Coach Miller frowned. “Why are you yelling? Do you not know your coach?”
“Sorry, Coach…” Gordy stammered, looking behind him. “We… we thought it was Anna…”
Coach Miller’s face went completely cold. “Anna resigned. She transferred schools. She will never come back.”
“What?!” Jonathan yelled, running over. “This is impossible! How could she leave our club?!”
“She was angry we replaced her,” Katie said quickly, stepping up. “We took her key, so she is sulking!”
“Anna really abandoned the club…” Gordy whispered, his face turning gray. “What should we do now?”
“Whatever!” Katie sneered. “We do not need her! I am with you!”
Practice resumed, but it was a complete disaster. Without Anna’s meticulous tracking of their physical limits, Gordy’s wrist began to throb with intense pain. Jonathan stumbled, his knee buckling slightly under heavy strain.
“Gordy! Jonathan!” Katie cheered from the bench, waving pom-poms. “You were so cool! Your injuries are really healed!”
Gordy walked off the field, wiping sweat from his face, his wrist burning. He looked at the bench.
Instead of the custom electrolyte mix Anna always prepared, Katie handed him a warm, sugary soda and a greasy fast-food bag.
“Eat up!” Katie beamed.
“You only got us fast food?” Jonathan asked, his brow furrowing in disgust. “What is wrong with that?”
“We are pro athletes!” Gordy snapped, throwing the bag to the ground. “Do not eat junk food outside!”
Memory flashed in Gordy’s mind: Anna standing in the locker room kitchen at 6:00 AM every single morning, hand-preparing balanced, nutrient-rich meals customized for their metabolic recovery: You want to be pro athletes! Do not eat junk food outside! I made this meal just for you, eat up!
You are not eating, Anna? young Gordy had asked her then.
This is the men’s locker room, Anna had smiled, wiping her brow. Thanks, Anna, you worked hard… I will do anything for your best game.
Gordy sat on the bench, holding his aching wrist, staring at the empty space where Anna used to stand.
Anna cared for us for so long… Gordy thought, his chest tightening with a suffocating weight. We forgot what she had done… Anna… where did you go?
At that exact moment, fifty miles away, Anna stood inside the grand training facility of the W.W. Club.
The facility was massive—state-of-the-art recovery pools, biometric tracking systems, and elite medical staff everywhere.
“No wonder Club W always takes the championship in the World games,” Anna murmured softly. “It is much bigger than Eastern State’s club.”
“Hey!” Ethan walked up, wearing his official red-and-black team jersey, introducing her to the entire roster. “This is our new manager, Anna Orlando! Say hello!”
The elite pro players bowed respectfully. “Hello, Manager Anna!”
“No need to be so formal,” Anna smiled warmly. “Let us begin!”
During practice, Ethan ran a flawless drill, executing a stunning touchdown play. He walked over to the sidelines, drenched in sweat, taking a water bottle from Anna.
“Thank you,” Ethan smiled, sitting on the bench.
Anna stepped up, gently pressing her thumbs into his shoulder alignment. “Do not move, Ethan. Relax your muscles right after training.”
Ethan looked up at her, his dark eyes filled with genuine admiration. “All done?”
“Is it over already?” Anna laughed softly. “There’ll be plenty more chances. Also… your muscles are pretty well developed.”
“I’m glad you like it,” Ethan grinned. “I’ve never felt this good. Anna… inviting you to join our club was the best decision I’ve ever made. I honestly don’t understand how those guys at Eastern State could abandon you like that. They’ll regret it.”
Back at Eastern State, two senior players were packing their bags in the locker room, talking loudly.
“This Katie doesn’t deserve to be our manager at all,” one player grumbled. “She can’t even compare to Anna! I really don’t get it… why did Gordy and Jonathan replace Anna?”
“Only a fool would choose Katie over Anna,” the other agreed.
Gordy and Jonathan stepped into the room, hearing every word.
“Hey!” Jonathan barked. “Were you calling us fools just now?!”
“No, no,” the player scoffed, walking past them. “We were just leaving.”
Katie walked in, adjusting her cheer skirt. “Anna, Anna, Anna! She’s not even here, so why do they keep talking about her?!”
Just then, a player’s phone chimed with a major news alert.
“Guys! Check this out! Anna’s on the national sports news!”
Gordy and Jonathan rushed over, crowding around the phone screen.
The national sports network was broadcasting a live press conference from the W.W. Club:
“BREAKING NEWS: Legendary superstar Ethan Hawke officially introduces Anna Orlando as the head pro manager of the W.W. Club!”
The screen showed clear, high-definition footage of Ethan Hawke smiling broadly, standing beside Anna, holding her hand as she signed the official manager contract.
“Anna really does know Ethan Hawke…?” Jonathan whispered, his jaw dropping in utter shock. “So that guy that day… that was Ethan too?! This is impossible! It must be fake!”
“This is official national news,” the senior player sneered at Jonathan. “It can’t be fake! I get it now… Anna was noticed by Ethan because she’s an excellent manager! Too bad Anna’s already been taken by W.W. Club… and all of you couldn’t stop treating her like trash!”
Katie stomped her foot angrily. “Do I even matter to any of you?! I’ve had enough!”
“Katie’s just upset,” Jonathan tried to defend her, though his own heart was slamming against his ribs. “She’s usually very gentle, right?”
“No! You’re wrong!” the senior player yelled, slamming his locker shut. “Anna is not a bad person! Anna is the real victim! It was Katie who bullied her all along!”
“How is that possible?!” Jonathan argued blindly. “Katie is a true angel! She would never hurt anyone! It was Anna who always targeted Katie!”
“We’re not blind!” the player roared back. “We saw what really happened! Before Katie showed up, Anna poured her heart into taking care of everyone on this team! Our club’s success was built on her sacrifice! But after Katie appeared, you two were so captivated by her that you never saw Anna’s devotion again! You never saw the truth again! I’m quitting the club! Without Anna, this team has lost its soul!”
The player tore off his Eastern State jersey, threw it at Gordy’s feet, and walked out.
“Then get the hell out of here right now!” Gordy screamed, though his hands were trembling uncontrollably. “Those bastards… they’ve all been brainwashed by Anna!”
“What if…” Jonathan whispered, his voice cracking as he looked at Gordy, a cold, terrifying dread creeping into his soul. “What if we were wrong, Gordy…?”
“Snap out of it, Jonathan!” Gordy yelled desperately. “Have you forgotten?! Anna is a thief! She stole club funds! She threatened Katie with violence! We saw it with our own eyes!”
Part 6
Later that afternoon, the locker room was deathly quiet.
Gordy sat alone in the dark office, staring at the floor. The seed of doubt planted by the senior player had grown into a suffocating forest in his mind.
What if we were wrong…?
Gordy stood up abruptly and walked straight to Head Coach Miller’s office.
“Coach,” Gordy said, his voice raw. “Can you give me a copy of the security surveillance footage from the lounge from two weeks ago?”
Coach Miller looked up from his desk, surprised. “What do you need that for? No one ever checks those things.”
“I need to find out the truth!” Gordy demanded, his eyes bloodshot. “If I don’t figure this out, I won’t be able to focus on the championship game at all!”
Coach Miller sighed, opened his computer archive, and pulled up the security camera files. “Alright. Here’s the footage you wanted. See for yourself.”
Gordy sat at the monitor, pressing play.
The video played with crystal-clear audio:
The footage showed Katie stepping into the lounge while Anna was tidying up. Katie deliberately snatched the club’s budget envelope from the desk, stuffed it into her own jacket pocket, and then violently shoved Anna against the wall.
When Anna tried to grab the envelope back, Katie deliberately threw herself to the floor, screaming for help just as Gordy and Jonathan walked in.
The video continued, showing the scene from the hospital corridor: Katie catching Anna alone, viciously threatening her, and then fake-falling onto the floor again to make the boys attack Anna.
Gordy sat in front of the screen, his vision blurring as hot, agonizing tears spilled over his cheeks.
Anna never stole money… she never lied… but we didn’t believe her… and we hurt her again and again…
On the screen, he watched his past self shriek at Anna, forcing her to take off her shoes, throwing her out into the cold barefoot. He heard Anna’s desperate, heartbreaking sob through the speaker: “Jonathan! Please believe me! No! Let me out! I didn’t steal! Gordy! Jonathan! Don’t leave me here alone! I’m scared!”
“Damn it… damn it…” Gordy sobbed, slamming his fists into his head until his knuckles bled. “How could we treat Anna like this?! Gordy… you’re such a fool! Such a blind, pathetic fool!”
He bolted out of the office, running straight home.
He burst through the front door of the Kane estate. Jonathan was sitting on the couch with Mrs. Kane.
“Mom!” Gordy screamed, tears streaming down his face. “Can you reach Anna?! I have something very important to tell her!”
Mrs. Kane looked at him with cold, unyielding eyes. “Anna again? Now you want to find Anna? What were you doing before this? She blocked your numbers. We haven’t seen or spoken to her for a long time. Why should I help you?”
“I need your help to reach her, Mom!” Gordy begged, dropping to his knees before his mother. “Please!”
“I refuse,” Mrs. Kane said flatly. “You two bastards didn’t believe Anna. You hurt her deeply, forced her to move out, and forced her to transfer. Thankfully, Anna went to W.W. Club and is living a better life now. I don’t want you bothering her again. In fact, I think the farther you two stay from her, the better.”
“Mom!” Jonathan interjected angrily, still ignorant of the video. “No one wants to be near Anna! She’s just a hopeless scumbag! I hope she never bothers us again!”
BAM!
Gordy turned around and landed a devastating, bone-shattering punch directly across Jonathan’s jaw, sending his twin crashing over the coffee table.
“Gordy!” Mrs. Kane gasped.
Jonathan scrambled up, bleeding from the mouth, eyes wild with rage. “You bastard! Have you gone mad?! Why did you hit me?!”
“Because you deserve it!” Gordy roared, tears blinding his eyes. “I won’t let you insult Anna!”
“What’s wrong with you?!” Jonathan screamed back. “Didn’t you hate Anna just like me?! Now you’re playing the good guy?!”
“Stop fighting!” Katie sobbed, stepping out from the kitchen. “You both mean so much to me! Anna’s gone… I don’t want you to hurt each other over someone so insignificant!”
“Anna is family!” Gordy screamed, throwing the security video drive onto the coffee table. “We grew up with her! You’re the insignificant outsider! Watch this surveillance footage!”
Jonathan stared at the screen as the video played.
His face turned from angry red to a sickly, horrified gray. The blood drained completely from his cheeks.
“No…” Jonathan whispered, his knees buckling as he fell back onto the couch. “No… how could this be…? Katie… you lied to us!”
“Jonathan! Let me explain!” Katie shrieked, frantic.
“You’re the real thief!” Jonathan yelled, his voice cracking with pure, agonizing horror. “You framed Anna! You used us again and again to hurt her!”
“I just envied your bond!” Katie sobbed hysterically. “I wanted to be with you like Anna was!”
“Enough! Shut up!” Jonathan roared, tears bursting from his eyes. “I never want to see you again! Get out of my house, Miss Liar! I don’t welcome trash like you!”
“I’m not leaving!” Katie snapped back, her sweet demeanor instantly morphing into ugly malice. “I healed your two sons! I am your family’s benefactor! None of you have the right to kick me out!”
Mrs. Kane frowned sharply. “What? Gordy… Jonathan… is what she said true?”
“Yes…” Gordy whispered, his head hanging in shame. “Mom… Katie took part in a drug trial and got us the special medicine…”
“With your selfish personality?” Mrs. Kane scoffed at Katie. “Would you sacrifice yourself for others? Don’t make me laugh.”
“Anyway, Gordy and Jonathan recovered because of me!” Katie sneered arrogantly. “From now on, you two have to listen to me!”
Mrs. Kane pulled out her phone and dialed a private number. “Investigate something for me. I want the complete participant roster of the university’s experimental drug trial from six months ago.”
Thirty seconds later, her phone chimed with the official document.
Mrs. Kane read the name on the official trial registry aloud:
“Participant #001: Anna Orlando.”
Katie’s name was nowhere on the list.
The room fell into absolute, terrifying silence.
Gordy and Jonathan stared at the document on their mother’s phone.
“Anna…” Gordy choked out, falling to his knees, clutching his heart as if he were dying. “Anna traded her health… for our medicine…”
“And we…” Jonathan sobbed, slamming his face into the sofa cushions, “we called her a thief… we stole her keys… we threw her out barefoot…”
Without another word, Gordy grabbed Jonathan by the collar, dragging him out the door.
“Where are we going?!” Jonathan wept.
“To the hospital!” Gordy screamed. “To find Anna! To apologize to her in person!”
They drove like madmen to the private hospital where Dr. Vance worked.
As they burst into the lobby, they saw Anna stepping out of an examination room, leaning weakly on Ethan Hawke’s arm. Her face was pale, her body noticeably frail.
“Your body is very fragile now,” Dr. Vance was telling her softly. “A moment of carelessness could make you sick.”
Gordy and Jonathan froze in the hallway.
“Since when…” Jonathan whispered, tears spilling down his face, “did Anna become so weak…?”
“This is all because of the drug trial side effects,” Dr. Vance’s voice echoed down the hall. “Anna… you traded your lifelong health for someone else’s medicine. Was it really worth it?”
Gordy and Jonathan couldn’t hold it back anymore. They rushed forward, throwing themselves at Anna’s feet.
“Anna!” Gordy sobbed, reaching for her dress. “What did you and the doctor mean?! You risked taking part in a drug trial for our medicine?!”
“But Katie said it was her!” Jonathan wept uncontrollably. “Anna… why didn’t you tell us sooner?!”
Anna looked down at the two brothers kneeling in front of her. Her eyes were completely cold, devoid of any anger, devoid of any warmth.
“If I told you,” Anna asked quietly, “would you have believed me?”
The twins froze.
“Did either of you ask me if it was true?” Anna continued, her voice slicing through their souls like a blade. “The night I brought the medicine, Katie blocked the door and wouldn’t let me in. She snatched the medicine from my hands… but you only believed her. When I was in the hospital, you pushed me off my wheelchair for Katie. When I caught Katie stealing money, you locked me in the storage room for two days to protect her.”
“No… no… no…” Jonathan sobbed, slapping his own face repeatedly. “What have we done…? What have we done…?!”
“Anna! I’m sorry!” Gordy cried, grabbing her shoes. “We didn’t know back then! We were wrong!”
“Too late,” Anna whispered.
“No, Anna!” Jonathan begged, reaching up to clasp her hands. “It’s not too late! We can fix this! Come home with us, Anna! Let us take care of you, just like before! We’ll find you the world’s best doctors and heal you!”
“What’s broken can’t be fixed, Gordy… Jonathan,” Anna said softly. “We can’t go back.”
“No!” Gordy screamed. “You haven’t even tried! How can you know?! Anna, have you forgotten?! We grew up together! Went to the same college! Swore to always stay together until we became superstar football players!”
“You two forgot it first,” Anna replied calmly. “You two kicked me out of the football club. You found Katie to replace me. There’s no place for me in your dream anymore.”
“No, Anna!” Jonathan wept hysterically. “You are irreplaceable! We made a terrible mistake! We’ll take you back to the club now! You are our only manager!”
“I don’t want it,” Anna said.
“Anna said no,” Ethan Hawke stepped between them, his towering frame blocking the twins as he pushed them back firmly. “Let her go, you bastards.”
“Don’t touch her!” Gordy roared, scrambling up to shove Ethan. “She’s ours! She’s ours!”
“What gives you the right to say that?!” Ethan’s voice boomed through the hospital corridor, terrifying everyone nearby. “It was you two who hurt Anna time and time again! It was you who abandoned her! You don’t deserve her at all!”
“Shut up!” Jonathan yelled back, eyes wild with grief and rage. “You stole Anna away! You just want to keep her for yourself! We won’t give her up to you!”
“Alright, Ethan,” Dr. Vance interjected, stepping between the men. “We have a match later. Don’t be impulsive. No fighting in the hospital, gentlemen.”
Ethan took a deep breath, adjusted his suit jacket, and gently turned Anna’s wheelchair around. “We’ll leave now.”
“Anna! Don’t go!” Gordy screamed, trying to pursue them, but security guards quickly tackled the twins to the floor.
As Anna was wheeled away, she didn’t turn back once.
Part 7
The next morning, the Eastern State athletic facility was completely empty.
Gordy and Jonathan sat in the quiet lounge, surrounded by open trash cans. They had spent the entire night digging through the campus dumpster, their hands bruised and covered in dirt, desperately searching for the memories they had allowed Katie to throw away.
Gordy sat on the floor, holding a battered, cracked picture frame—the photo of young Anna standing between them after their first youth championship. He clutched it to his chest, weeping silently.
“Nothing…” Jonathan whispered, digging through another bin. “Nothing…”
Mrs. Kane walked into the lounge, looking at her sons with deep pity and cold disappointment. “Gordy, Jonathan… I’ve looked into it thoroughly. Katie lied to you. Her name was never on the trial list. Only Anna’s. And I pulled up the surveillance footage from our doorstep… see for yourself.”
The video showed Katie slapping herself and throwing Anna’s things into the street while the boys were inside.
“That bitch…” Jonathan growled, his knuckles turning white. “She hurt Anna… we absolutely cannot let her get away with this!”
Ten minutes later, Katie walked into the main athletic building, holding her designer purse, acting as if nothing had happened.
“Gordy! Jonathan!” Katie smiled brightly. “Why aren’t you at football practice? I know you’re still mad, but the club funding thing is over. Once we win the championship, we’ll get a huge bonus—”
BAM!
Gordy threw her heavy luggage bags out of the office door, spilling her clothes across the hallway floor.
“Your bags from our place are here, too,” Jonathan said, his voice cold as ice.
Katie gasped. “Are you crazy?! Why throw away my things?!”
“Because you’re not qualified to stay in the club, let alone live in our house,” Gordy sneered.
“Gordy, Jonathan, don’t forget!” Katie yelled, trying to use her old trick. “I’m still your lifesaver!”
Jonathan let out a harsh, bitter laugh. “We know everything. It was Anna who sacrificed herself, tested the medicine, and saved us… not you. You stole her medicine, framed her, bullied, and hurt her.”
Katie’s face went completely white. “No… this is a misunderstanding! Let me explain!”
“Shut up!” Gordy roared, stepping forward. “Don’t try to fool us again! You threw away Anna’s trophies and photos with us! You got Anna hurt and sent to the hospital! It was you who tried to steal club funds and framed Anna! Did you think lying would let you get away with it?!”
“What… what are you gonna do?!” Katie whimpered, backing away in terror.
“We’re gonna make you feel every bit of pain Anna suffered,” Jonathan growled, picking up a heavy football from the rack. “Look familiar? You used this ball to hit Anna!”
“Help!” Katie screamed. “They’re going to kill me!”
“I wish I had smashed it on your head,” Gordy spat. “I’m removing you as club manager from now on. I will also explain everything to the coach and the university board.”
“No!” Katie shrieked. “You can’t do this! I’ll be expelled!”
“That’s what you deserve!” Jonathan barked.
Katie broke down into ugly, bitter laughter. “Fine! Everyone hates me! Are you satisfied now?! This isn’t even one-tenth of the damage you did to Anna! Anna has everything! She grew up adored by you two like a princess! I just wanted to be like her! What did I do wrong?!”
“I can’t believe we were fooled by a gold digger like you for so long,” Gordy said coldly. “You’d better pray you get expelled… otherwise, I’ll make your life a living nightmare!”
Two days later.
The atmosphere at the National World Rugby & Football Championship Finals stadium was electric. Over sixty thousand fans packed the stands, banners flashing under the stadium lights.
It was the ultimate showdown: The underdog Eastern State University vs. the undefeated powerhouse W.W. Club, led by Ethan Hawke and managed by Anna Orlando.
Inside the W.W. Club locker room, Ethan was adjusting his helmet. He was running a slight fever from a pre-game flu, but his resolve was absolute.
“Big star,” Anna smiled warmly, handing him a cup of warm tea and a towel. “You can’t get sick before the finals.”
“Don’t worry,” Ethan grinned, taking the cup. “I’ll stay strong for you, Anna. You’re the best.”
Suddenly, the locker room doors swung open.
Gordy and Jonathan stepped inside, wearing their Eastern State uniforms. They looked thin, haggard, and desperate.
Ethan stepped in front of Anna instantly. “What are you doing here?”
“We’re here to take Anna home,” Gordy whispered, his eyes locked on Anna.
“That’s not my home,” Anna said calmly, standing beside Ethan. “You can just live happily with Katie.”
“We’ve already kicked Katie out!” Jonathan pleaded, stepping forward. “Anna, please come back! We’ve investigated everything thoroughly! We know everything now, and I’m so sorry for all the pain you’ve endured! Katie framed you for stealing! Katie tried to steal your medicine! She was the one bullying you all along! We’ve removed her, and the school is expelling her!”
“This has nothing to do with me,” Anna said softly. “I’ve already transferred. I’ve joined the W.W. Club.”
“Anna!” Gordy wept, dropping to his knees on the locker room floor. “We truly know we were wrong! We’ll make up for all the pain we’ve caused you! Give us one more chance! Let everything start over, okay?!”
“I’ve already started over,” Anna said quietly. “But in my new life, there’s no place for either of you. Goodbye.”
“Wait!” Jonathan yelled frantically, pulling a crumpled paper from his pocket. “Look! I found our old photo! The first trophy we won together! You must remember! We wished for the tenth… the hundredth! Anna, please come back to us! We redid your lounge! You will love it!”
“I do not need it anymore,” Anna replied. “I will keep chasing my football dream… but with my new partner, Ethan.”
“No!” Gordy screamed. “I know Ethan offered you five million dollars! We can give you more money! The Kane family is rich!”
Anna looked at them with profound sadness. “I do not want it. I did not leave for money. I just never want to see you again.”
“Anna…” Jonathan sobbed, clutching his chest. “What you said… it can’t be true! I don’t believe you can bear to leave us forever!”
“Goodbye, Gordy. Goodbye, Jonathan,” Anna said, her voice steady and final.
“Anna!” Gordy screamed, tears soaking his uniform. “Ever since you came to our family, we grew up together! Went to school together! Played football together! Don’t these twenty years of memories mean anything to you at all?! You said it yourself… we’re the most important people to you!”
Anna stopped at the door, her back turned to them.
“They used to be,” Anna whispered softly. “But not anymore. Gordy… Jonathan… we are completely over. The moment you refused to believe me time and time again… the moment you abandoned me time and time again… the twenty years of bond between us was all used up. Katie is indeed a liar… but the ones who truly hurt me were you two.”
Gordy and Jonathan fell flat onto the floor, sobbing uncontrollably, their hearts completely broken beyond repair.
“Leave here immediately,” Ethan commanded coldly, signaling security to escort the weeping twins out to the field.
An hour later, the final game concluded.
The stadium screen flashed in giant, golden letters:
“CHAMPIONS: W.W. CLUB!”
The crowd erupted into deafening cheers. Confetti rained down from the sky.
Ethan Hawke sprinted off the field, holding the massive championship trophy, and ran straight toward Anna on the sidelines.
In front of sixty thousand cheering fans and national television cameras, Ethan dropped to one knee before Anna.
“Anna!” Ethan shouted over the roar of the crowd, holding up a small, velvet ring box. “From the first time I saw you at the university locker room, I’ve liked you! Will you be my girlfriend?!”
Anna looked into Ethan’s fierce, devoted, loving eyes. She felt the warmth of a man who had protected her, believed in her, and given her a new life.
A radiant smile broke across her face—the first true smile she had worn in months.
“I do!” Anna cried out happily.
Ethan stood up, wrapped his powerful arms around her waist, and spun her around, kissing her deeply as the stadium roared with wild celebration.
On the losing team’s bench across the field, Gordy and Jonathan sat in the dirt, watching Anna melt into Ethan’s arms.
Memory echoed in their minds: Mrs. Kane teasing them when they were kids: When you grow up, Anna, just pick one to be your husband!
I want to marry Anna! young Gordy had yelled.
I like Anna too! young Jonathan had shouted back. Let’s compete fairly! Whoever becomes a super football star first gets the right to confess to Anna!
Gordy stared at the flashing stadium lights, tears washing lines through the dirt on his face. “It’s all too late…”
As Anna and Ethan walked hand-in-hand toward the stadium tunnel, a wild, disheveled figure suddenly burst through the security barrier, holding a jagged glass bottle.
It was Katie.
“Bitch!” Katie screamed, her eyes wild with madness. “I got expelled because of you! Kicked out by my family! This is all your fault!”
She lunged straight at Anna with the jagged glass.
“Anna! Careful!” Ethan roared, stepping in front of her instantly and throwing a powerful side-kick that struck Katie full in the chest, sending her flying backward onto the turf, where security guards immediately pinned her down.
“I curse you, Anna!” Katie shrieked as she was dragged away in handcuffs. “I curse you to a horrible death!”
Anna leaned against Ethan, her face suddenly turning pale. She pressed a hand to her chest, her breathing becoming shallow and erratic.
“Anna?” Ethan’s smile vanished, replaced by instant terror. “Anna, what’s wrong?!”
“Ethan…” Anna whispered softly, her vision darkening as her body finally reached its absolute limit from the drug trial’s long-term strain. “I…”
She collapsed into Ethan’s arms.
“Anna! Call an ambulance!” Ethan screamed, cradling her as Gordy and Jonathan came running over in sheer terror.
At the emergency hospital an hour later, Dr. Vance stepped out of the surgical suite, his expression gravest of all.
“Doctor! How is Anna?!” Ethan, Gordy, and Jonathan yelled simultaneously.
“The experimental drug trial she took to save those boys…” Dr. Vance said solemnly, looking at the twins with deep condemnation, “left large amounts of synthetic residue in her system. Her central organs are failing. She needs immediate, high-risk emergency surgery.”
Ethan grabbed Dr. Vance’s coat, his voice breaking with fierce, desperate love. “Doctor! You must cure Anna! No matter how much it costs… no matter what it takes! Save her!”
Gordy and Jonathan fell to their knees in the waiting room, praying with every shred of their souls for the girl who had sacrificed everything for them—hoping against hope that she would survive to live the happy, beautiful life she so deeply deserved.
