Chapter 3

Lily was transferred to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

After I had waited outside for three agonizing hours, Julian finally called.

"How is she?"

I stared at the blinking red light above the ICU door.

"Septic shock. Heart failure. The kidney has already been transplanted into another child."

Silence stretched on the other end for two long seconds.

"Why didn’t the transplant center wait for me to get back?" Julian’s voice carried a hint of annoyance.

I let out a cold, hollow laugh.

"A donor organ isn’t a VIP booth at your restaurant, Julian. It doesn't wait around just because you're rich and powerful."

His voice darkened.

"Clara, I know you’re angry, but I only postponed it by one day."

"Hailey has waited years to see this snow."

"Once the winter season passes, she would have to wait another whole year."

I dug my nails into my palms until they bled.

"Lily waited three years for that kidney! How many more years do you think she has left?"

The line went quiet.

Then, Hailey’s soft, whimpering voice drifted through the receiver.

"Julian... did I make things difficult for you?"

Julian immediately softened his voice to soothe her.

"No, babe. Don't overthink it."

When he spoke to me again, his tone was laced with impatience.

"I’ll have my assistants search for another donor. I'll buy one if I have to."

"With modern medicine, there's no way that was the only kidney in the world."

I closed my eyes.

Eight years ago, Julian was in a horrific car accident that caused bilateral renal failure.

Back then, he was the one waiting desperately for a kidney.

I was the one who lay on the operating table and gave him my left kidney.

Before the surgery, he had held my hand, weeping like a child.

"Clara, I swear I will never fail you for the rest of my life."

But now, when it was Lily’s turn, he casually told me we could just "find another one."

As if human organs were commodities on Amazon that he could purchase whenever he pleased.

Suddenly, the monitors in the ICU blared in alarm. Several doctors rushed past me into her room.

I scrambled to my feet.

Julian’s voice was still buzzing in my ear.

"When Hailey dragged me out of that burning car, a piece of rebar pierced her abdomen. She can never have children because of me."

"I promised to take her to the mountains. I couldn't break another promise to her."

I stared at my daughter through the glass as doctors crowded around her bed.

"You didn't want to break your promise to Hailey, so you chose to break your promise to Lily?"

"Julian, she is your daughter!"

He took a deep, irritated breath.

"She’s your daughter too, Clara. You’re there to watch her, aren't you? What's the big deal?"

My heart felt like it was being ripped out of my chest by bare hands.

I hung up.

Ten minutes later, the doctor came out with grim news.

Lily had developed acute left heart failure. They needed to start emergency bedside dialysis.

But her blood vessels were too weak and scarred.

The doctor tried three times to insert the line, failing each time.

During the fourth attempt, Lily, though semi-conscious, began to shiver violently from the pain.

Through the glass, I watched the thick needle pierce her fragile little neck over and over.

She didn't even have the strength to cry out loud.

By evening, the hospital called an emergency consultation.

The head of the transplant department pulled up the donor registry.

"There are currently no matching donors on the active list for Lily."

"We’ve contacted out-of-state databases, but pediatric kidneys are incredibly rare, and the transport risk is too high."

I stared at the glowing screen.

"What about family matches?"

The doctor paused.

"Direct relatives can be tested."

"However, the patient's father is currently living with a transplanted kidney himself. He cannot donate."

"As for your records..."

He looked up, his expression extremely grim.

"Mrs. Vance, your tissue match with Lily is actually a perfect 10 out of 10."

My heart leaped.

The lead surgeon quickly interjected.

"But you donated your left kidney eight years ago."

"If we take your remaining kidney, you will not survive."

I turned my head and looked at my daughter sleeping behind the glass.

"I’ll do it."

The conference room fell dead silent. No one spoke.

Every doctor in the room avoided my gaze.

In that silence, I finally understood.

They had already silently concluded that Lily would not survive long enough to find another kidney.