Chapter 1

Great-Uncle Roland had no children of his own. Now he was gravely ill in the hospital, and the surgery would cost eight hundred thousand.

Even the doctor was telling us to give up.

But when I called my cousin Sandra Gilbert, a thousand miles away, she turned on my sister and me with real venom:

"Great-Uncle was so good to us when we were little. Now, when he needs us most, how can the two of you be so heartless?"

I tried to explain. "But the doctor says the surgery's high-risk. And even if it works, there's a strong chance he ends up in a coma."

Sandra shouted back, "Then he gets treated anyway! We can't fail Great-Uncle. We can't be that kind of people!"

I said, "Then, the money."

She let out a cold laugh. "The three of us split it evenly, obviously. You and your sister can't be doing so badly you can't even scrape together that much, can you?"

After the surgery, Great-Uncle really did end up comatose.

Sandra looked after him for a while, then tried to slip away home in the middle of the night.

I gripped her luggage and wouldn't let go. "Sandra, this is when Great-Uncle needs you most. You wouldn't be that heartless, would you?"

She begged me through her tears. "Marcus Gilbert, just let me go. I can't stay chained to this place forever. I have to go home, or my whole family falls apart!"

1

When the doctor laid out Great-Uncle's condition,

my sister and I could barely take it in.

Marcia Gilbert's face was full of worry.

"Doctor, is there really no cure?"

The doctor sighed.

"He's terminal now."

I asked, "Even if there's just a sliver of hope?"

He shook his head.

"Let me put it plainly. Even in the small chance the surgery succeeds, he'll come out of it in a coma."

"Of course, if you as the family insist on treatment, what kind of doctor refuses to treat a patient?"

"I think I've made myself clear."

"My advice is that you talk it over as a family first, then make the final call."

Hearing that, Marcia squeezed my hand.

She couldn't accept an ending like this.

I walked her out of the doctor's office, one hand supporting her.

After thinking about it for a long time, I said,

"Sis, we shouldn't decide this on our own. We should call Uncle Howard and Sandra."

"Great-Uncle has no children, after all, and when we were young, Sandra was always his favorite."

Marcia nodded.

I called Uncle Howard first.

Once he'd heard me out, he brushed it straight off.

"Marcus, you're his nephew. A nephew is half a son, and since your great-uncle has no son of his own, that makes you his son."

"So you handle this however you see fit."

I said, "Uncle Howard, you're his brother. Great-Uncle really wants to see family right now. I think you should come to the hospital."

He snapped, irritated, "That sickly man, how long has he been ill now?"

"Every single time, I'm the one who has to come to the hospital. Where am I supposed to find all that time?"

"Am I not allowed to work? To have a life?"

"You're his nephew. You handle it!"

His attitude left a bad taste in my mouth.

Great-Uncle was barely hanging on.

How could his own brother act like this?

I frowned. "Uncle Howard, I'm not asking you for money. I just want you to come see him once. This might be the last time you ever do."

He barked right back, "I don't care what your angle is. Either way, you're his nephew, so it's your call what you do."

"When I've got the time on my end, I'll come. That's it. Goodbye."

He hung up without a shred of mercy.

I let out a breath.

Then I called Sandra.

Part of me wondered if she'd take the same line.

But the moment Sandra heard what was going on, she shrieked at me,

"Marcus, I think the real story is you're too cheap to pay for Great-Uncle's surgery, so you cooked up this excuse."