Page 78 of The Call She Made That He Never Answered
"I understand your excitement, but you should sign the consent form first, then ask questions. That's the proper order. The donor is a car accident victim who just passed. His familyagreed to donate. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. There are many people watching this."
I hesitated.
According to the original plan, Maya still had two months to wait.
Ahead of her in line was a single father of three—without a transplant, he had less than two weeks left. And a nineteen-year-old college student whose family started every morning kneeling in the hospital's prayer room, begging God for mercy.
Every one of them needed that kidney more than Maya.
But...
The director looked puzzled at my silence. "What are you hesitating about?"
He pushed up his glasses and opened the folder on his desk. "There are indeed patients in this hospital who need a kidney more urgently than your sister. Organ allocation is a complex system. Match compatibility, urgency level, and wait time. These are all factors we consider. And your sister's situation..."
"Then my sister shouldn't be this high priority!" I said, confused.
The director looked at me with a mysterious smile. "Medical resource allocation has never been absolutely fair. Your sister has the chance to get this kidney. That's a good thing. You should understand better than I do why she's first in line."
I got his subtext immediately.
This wasn't an accident. This was a bribe.
Rage flooded through me.
There could only be one person behind this.
Only one person in my life had this kind of power.
Lucas had been in Rochester for half a month. He picked me up from the hospital every day like clockwork. If I refused, he'd pretend not to hear and follow me anyway. He'd walk those two kilometers with me, go with me to discount supermarkets.
Every night, he'd call me. Because he'd hired the overnight nurse for Maya, and even just to know if Maya's condition had changed, I had to take Lucas's number off my blocked list. When the phone rang, I always let it ring three times before answering, as if that proved I wasn't waiting for his call.
I'd never really been in love before. But what Lucas and I had now—maybe this counted as dating? Innocent as a high school romance. I'd gotten used to Lucas's company. If nothing else, having a gorgeous man walk with you felt romantic.
I knew Lucas would leave eventually. I was prepared for him to leave at any moment for work. I treated this companionship as a brief affair. A time-limited arrangement, destined to end.
But I'd noticed things getting weird lately.
The nurses looked at him differently. Initial curiosity had turned into something like awe. Doctors spoke to him more respectfully, more carefully.
Then Joe disappeared.
Just like that. One day he was doing rounds, the next he'd been transferred to the ER. The nurses said it was a normal rotation, part of his training. It should've been good for Joe—the ER would give him intense training instead of having him check in like a nurse several times a day.
Until I overheard nurses gossiping that Joe had been transferred because he'd offended someone he couldn't afford to offend. But when they noticed me, they panicked and looked away.
Now, this kidney.
Connecting all the dots, even I wasn't stupid enough to miss it.
"Mr. Rockefeller has made significant contributions to the hospital," the director said, looking at me the way my mother had when she left—with a "you're so naive" sort of mockery. "Mr. Rockefeller's investment will help many patients. But Iassure you, this kidney allocation is completely legal. We haven't violated any regulations."
"If my sister knew, she'd refuse," I said flatly, rejecting the director's proposal.
I understood Maya.
Even though I desperately wanted her to recover and be healthy. But I couldn't act against her wishes. I couldn't steal someone else's kidney source. Besides, there were two months left in the waiting period. Maya had planned to wait. I respected her decision.
