Episode 9: The Fix
Luca’s post-surgery immune rejection reaction suddenly worsened, with large red rashes breaking out across his skin. Doctors warned that this could lead to organ failure. The hospital told Thony that the only hope lay in an experimental antibody drug that had not yet received FDA approval—but this drug was monopolized by Hayak’s pharmaceutical company. When Thony snuck into the company’s warehouse late at night to find the medication, she discovered Arman hiding in the ventilation duct. He had narrowly escaped the bomb attack but was now the prime suspect in Tarik’s death, wanted by the police.
“Hayak is going to pin all his dirty deals on me,” Arman tossed a USB drive down from the duct—it contained secretly backed-up money-laundering records of the hotel project. “There’s evidence here that he used a charity foundation to cover up arms deals, but you need to hand this to someone you can trust.” As Thony hesitated, the warehouse alarm suddenly blared, and Garrett’s face appeared on the surveillance screen: “I can help you get the drug, but the condition is that you testify against Arman in court—this is your last chance.”
The family crisis reached a boiling point. Marco had used a hidden camera to take photos of Thony and Arman in the warehouse, threatening to report her illegal work to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). When Thony argued with her husband in the hospital corridor, Luca’s monitor suddenly emitted an alarm— the child was experiencing difficulty breathing due to emotional agitation. Doctors demanded an immediate transfer to a sterile ward, but Marco locked the ward door: “Come back to the Philippines with me, and I’ll let you in.”
Fiona’s rescue mission was equally thrilling. She found the detention location through the note Chris had left, only to discover that the so-called “prison” was actually an underground stronghold of the gang. While rescuing Chris, she stumbled upon Hayak’s personal ledger, which detailed bribe transactions with government officials. As she fled with the ledger, Tarik’s deputy was waiting for her at the alley entrance, gun in hand: “Hand over the book, and your nephew can still live.”
By the end of the episode, Thony was driving across the border in a downpour. The experimental drug and Arman’s USB drive lay on the passenger seat. In the rearview mirror, the lights of police cars drew closer and closer. At the same time, she received two messages on her phone: one from Fiona saying “Successfully rescued Chris” and one from Garrett saying “See you in court tomorrow—don’t play tricks.” The windshield wipers swung back and forth, blurring the road ahead, just like the uncertain future she faced.
Episode 10: The Trial
On the day of the court confrontation, Thony stood in the witness stand, looking at Arman in handcuffs in the defendant’s seat. The USB drive in her pocket was almost warmed by her body temperature. Garrett gestured toward the direction of Luca’s ward from the spectator gallery, implying that her choice would directly affect her son’s treatment. When the prosecutor asked about the night Tarik died, Thony suddenly pointed at Hayak in the spectator gallery: “He’s the one who really ordered the killing.”
This twist threw the trial into chaos. Hayak’s lawyer immediately objected, and Arman took the opportunity to break free from the bailiffs and rush toward the spectator gallery—he saw Hayak sending an assassination order via his phone. A scuffle erupted in the courtroom in an instant. Thony slipped the USB drive into the judge’s robe pocket amid the confusion, only to have Garrett grab her wrist: “You ruined our deal.” Thony responded coldly: “I’m not your pawn.”
Meanwhile, Luca suffered a sudden cerebral hemorrhage in the hospital and urgently needed a second transplant surgery. However, Dara, the matched bone marrow donor, was being held by Hayak’s men in Mexico. Fiona had to take a risk and contact Nadia—a woman who had always been hostile to Thony, but now used all her connections to arrange cross-border transportation. “I’m not helping you,” Nadia snapped over the phone. “I’m saving my husband’s life.”
The assassination attempt in prison was equally heart-stopping. Just as the prison guard bribed by Hayak was about to inject a lethal drug into Arman, Chris suddenly appeared at the cell door with evidence—a recording he had secretly made while working in the warehouse, in which Tarik admitted to fabricating the crime scene. This recording not only cleared Arman of suspicion but also exposed Hayak’s plan to silence witnesses. When Arman walked out of the prison after being exonerated, he saw Nadia pointing a gun at Hayak.
By the end of the episode, Thony received two pieces of good news in the hospital corridor at the same time: Luca’s surgery had been successfully completed, and Hayak had been arrested on multiple charges. But Garrett’s appearance shattered the brief peace. He handed Thony an FBI witness protection agreement: “You and your family can get green cards, but you have to keep helping us monitor Arman.” Thony looked at the signature line on the agreement, then toward her son in the ICU ward, and finally crumpled the agreement into a ball and threw it into the trash can.
In front of the ruins of the cigar club, Thony handed Nadia the cleaning product formula left by Arman’s mother: “This is the only thing he cares about.” Police lights flashed in the distance as Arman walked toward a police car, but when he passed Thony, he whispered: “The money in the Panama account is enough to cover all of Luca’s medical expenses.” Thony watched his retreating figure as she received a text message from Marco: “I’m waiting at the airport. Bring Luca and get out of this mess.” Inside her toolbox, the scalpel that had been used in the surgery glinted with a cold light.
