Episode 1

Laura, at 23, was finishing medical school with great sacrifice and starting her residency. She aimed to specialize in transplants, a long road ahead, and had put everything aside to dedicate herself to her studies.

With no social life, her only friend shared the same goal, and they were always studying. Laura received no support from her father; her mother, from a wealthy business family, had passed away, leaving an inheritance for her and her older sister.

Her studies were paid for, but she could only receive the full inheritance upon marriage or turning 30. Her father, a businessman associated with her mother's family companies, had a penchant for horse racing and was squandering his fortune, resorting to his older daughter's inheritance, which he'd managed to usurp.

That day, the hospital buzzed with excitement due to the visit of Jason Willis, the current president of the Memorial hospital group.

"Girl, what do you think he's doing here?" Amanda asked.

"I don't know, maybe he's sick. I'm going to check on my patient; I don't want to run into him," Laura replied.

Both were at the nurses' station of one of the wards where they were interns, wearing their impeccable white uniforms and hair tucked under personalized scrub caps allowed by the hospital.

"I'm going to check on the patient in ward 7," said Laura.

"And I'll check on the patient in ward 4," Amanda added.

As they left, they missed the entourage accompanying the CEO of Memorial. Flanked by his fiancee, he walked down the corridor toward the doctor's office. Laura, exiting the patient's room, focused on her notes, bumped into the man's foot, and fell.

She fell right in front of the man and he didn't even make a gesture to help her. When Laura looked up to identify who had put her foot in front of her, she came face to face with the sullen bride, who immediately complained:

"What do you think you're doing? Get up right now. How could a little intern block the path of the great businessman Jason Willis?"

Laura rose quickly, moving aside with her head down.

"I apologize, sir."

"Don't let it happen again," the fiancee said. "Let's go, love."

He looked at Laura, unable to see the young woman's face, and said:

"Don't mind Leda, it was an accident. You just need to pay more attention, that's all." Only then did he move on, not paying attention to Leda's frown.

Laura remained silent until they passed, embarrassed but also angry, for the woman who had admonished her was her older sister, Leda.

"Why did she treat you like that?" Amanda asked, arriving shortly after.

"Go figure. Seems like she's got a stick up her butt. We haven't seen each other since I left home for college. I had no idea she was engaged to a tycoon," Laura replied.

"At least he wasn't so unpleasant to you. You know what? Let them be, let's work."

"Yes, let's go."

Their day went on as usual, a whirlwind of activity. They returned to their small shared apartment, unaware of the CEO's thoughts.

Back in his office after the hospital visit, Jason dismissed everyone, including his fiancee, and sat alone, recalling his doctor's words from a few months ago:

"Your illness is in its early stages, we'll start treatment soon to prevent it from worsening, but I advise you to take precautions while there's still time, by finding potential donors."

"I have no relatives who could be compatible, which is what you're suggesting."

"That you have a child. They have the highest chance of compatibility for a bone marrow transplant. But first, of course, we'll do the usual treatment; you may not even need it."

"I understand, I'll think about it. When will I start treatment?"

"I'll prescribe you the initial medication."

Now he felt lost, not because of what he had to do, but because of the illness itself. As for having a child, he had made an advantageous agreement with his father's partner, and Leda was already pregnant, as confirmed that morning at the hospital. He sighed, looking out the window, and decided to visit her at the marketing department to thank her and give her a gift.

Jason

He walked down the corridor unannounced, and as he approached the ajar door, he heard her voice talking to someone and stopped to listen:

"Don't worry, Paul, he doesn't suspect a thing."

"See? Nothing can go wrong now. If he discovers this child isn't his, it screws up our whole plan to get his fortune; after all, you heard, he has leukemia."

Jason didn't want to hear another word. He returned to his office, so enraged that the first thing he did was call her father.

"It's all off, Onofre. Your daughter is a bitch who's pregnant by another man, and I won't marry a woman like that."

"But we have a contract, Jason!"

"Which your daughter broke by sleeping with someone else. Now, more than ever, I need to be sure that the child my wife bears is really mine."

"Let's not be hasty, give me two days, and I'll take care of it."

"You have two days, although I don't think there's a solution."

He hung up without saying goodbye, called HR to fire the marketing manager, then his lawyer to see how to terminate the contract with the security firm whose boss had impregnated his ex-fiancee.

And with all that, he felt tired and defeated; his life was slipping through his fingers, taking his hope with it. How could he find a compatible donor so quickly?

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