Paul took a step back, his eyes darting toward the door as if looking for an exit. “We… we didn’t know,” he lied, his voice lacking any conviction. “We trusted the clinic.”
“Whether you knew or not will be determined by the authorities,” Dr. Harrison continued. “Because when we discovered the incompatibility on the operating table, Claire was already under general anesthesia, and her donor organ had already been surgically retrieved.”
A heavy breath escaped my lips. “Where is my kidney, Doctor?”
Dr. Harrison looked back at me, a subtle smile replacing his stern look. “When you filled out your pre-surgery consent forms two days ago, you checked a box allowing your organ to be entered into the National Paired Donor Exchange in the event of a sudden recipient incompatibility. You chose to save a life, no matter whose life it was.”
He turned back to face Paul, Dorothy, and Vanessa.
“While Dorothy Vance was rolled out of the operating room without a transplant, Claire’s organ was flown via medical helicopter three miles away to Children’s Memorial Hospital. It was successfully transplanted into a seven-year-old girl who had been on life support for eleven months. The surgery was a complete success. The child is waking up today, fully stable, with a second chance at life.”
The breath completely left the room. Dorothy gasped, staring at her son in utter horror. She had gone through the prep, the IVs, the waiting, and the illusion of recovery, only to realize she still carried her failing organs inside her.
“What about my mother?” Paul shouted, his composure shattering completely. “She needs a transplant! She spent months preparing for this! You had no right to give that organ to a stranger!”
“Your mother was legally and medically disqualified the moment the falsified records were discovered,” Dr. Harrison replied calmly. “Furthermore, because of her current health metrics and the anti-tissue antibodies present in her system, she has been placed back at the bottom of the national registry. She will have to undergo standard dialysis until an exact, verified match is found through legal channels.”
Vanessa looked at Paul, her eyes wide with panic. “Paul… you told me your mother was cured. You told me the family estate would be secured once the medical power of attorney passed to you after the successful operation!”
“Shut up, Vanessa!” Paul snapped, rounding on her.
“No, let her speak,” I said, my voice rising above the quiet hum of the room. The pain in my side had not disappeared, but a sudden, overwhelming clarity took its place. I looked at the man I had loved, the man for whom I was willing to lay down my health and my body, and I saw him for the pathetic coward he truly was.
I picked up the thick envelope Paul had placed over my bandages and held it out.
“Ten thousand dollars,” I said softly, looking at the legal document inside. “You thought my sacrifice was worth ten thousand dollars. You brought your mistress into my hospital room two days after surgery to discard me because you thought you had already taken everything you could from me.”
