Chapter 3

At the Florida Organ Transplant Bureau, I looked at the historical donor records, and my blood ran cold.

Over the past ten years of my illness, I had been matched with a donor heart twice. And both times, my mother had declined them on my behalf.

The first time was three years ago.

Looking at the donor’s name on the screen, I broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. The donor was my dad, Robert!

My parents had divorced ten years ago when I first got sick. My dad had fought desperately to take me with him.

"Helen, if you won't treat our daughter, I will! I’ll take her to New York. We don't need you! Stop lying about your 'ethics'—you’re just obsessed with your precious reputation!"

But back then, my mom had cried and told me my dad was misunderstanding her. Trusting her blindly, I chose to stay with my mom.

After that, I never saw my dad again.

Until he passed away three years ago in a car accident. Before he died, he had held my hand tightly and whispered, "Chloe, don't be afraid. My death will give you a new life..."

But Dad... I never got that new life.

Because the lifeline you left for me was snatched away by my mother.

The pain in my chest was so intense I could barely breathe. My legs gave out, and I collapsed onto the floor, gasping for air like a dying dog. The staff panicked and immediately called for an ambulance.

The ambulance rushed me to the nearest hospital. The paramedic yelled into the radio, "We have a critical cardiac patient incoming! Prep the CT scan room immediately!"

But my mom’s cold voice came through the receiver. "Request denied. Mia is scheduled for her routine scan. Put the incoming patient on hold."

The paramedic froze, then screamed into the radio, "Dr. Miller, are you insane? This patient just collapsed and is in critical condition!"

I stared at the radio, desperately wanting to know what her choice would be.

A patient on the verge of death versus Mia, who was perfectly stable. Who would she choose in the name of her beloved "medical fairness"?

After a long pause, my mom’s voice came back, cold and detached. "I have already pushed back another patient's appointment.

Tell this incoming patient to wait ten minutes. As soon as Mia is done, she can go in."

With that, she cut off the radio, ignoring the paramedic's frantic calls.

Tears rolled down my cheeks. At that moment, I finally understood.

Her strict moral rules only applied to me.

I struggled to sit up and grabbed the paramedic's sleeve. "Call Dr. Helen Miller... Tell her I'm Chloe... I'm her daughter!"

The paramedic looked at me with deep pity. "Sweetie, pretending to be her daughter won't work."

"We’ve already called your emergency contact—labeled 'Mom' on your phone—over ten times. We told her exactly how bad your condition is. She just said 'I got it' and hung up.

If Dr. Miller were really your mother, she’d be running here by now."

"Why would any mother put another patient ahead of her own dying daughter?"

Right... Why would she?

My tears fell like rain. The heart monitor beside me began to beep frantically. The paramedic’s face paled, and she yelled, "Hurry! Patient's heart rate is dropping rapidly! Get her to the ER!"

Amidst the chaos, my gurney was wheeled right past my mom.

She was carefully shielding Mia, turning her head to bark angrily at the passing nurses, "Slow down! Watch where you're going! Don't bump into people!"

Then she turned back to Mia, her voice incredibly tender. "Don't be afraid, sweetie. I'm right here."

Mom, if you knew the person on this gurney was me, would you still do this?

Mom, why does your "medical fairness" always mean Mia comes first?

I was eventually woken up by a loud argument outside my hospital room. My mom was shouting at the hospital staff.

"Why are you giving this monitoring equipment to this patient? We only have one unit left! It has to go to Mia's room!"

The Chief of Medicine, Dr. Evans, frowned deeply. "Are you out of your mind, Helen? This patient is in critical condition and needs 24-hour monitoring! Mia is perfectly stable! Why on earth does she need this advanced equipment?"

I slowly opened my eyes and rasped, "Mom, are you trying to give my life away again?"