I understood exactly what he meant. Either pay up, or watch my son die.
"She doesn't have any money!" Audrey's voice cut through again. "She's been a housewife this whole time. Every bite she's eaten, every stitch she's worn, my son paid for it! Where would she get that kind of money?"
I ignored her shrieking. Instead, I grabbed Dr. Lambert's hand like it was the last lifeline I had left. "Dr. Lambert, is there really no other way? What about the national bone marrow registry? Or maybe an international one..."
He shook his head, his expression heavy with sympathy. "Cliff's tissue type is extremely rare. The chances of finding another match in time are virtually nonexistent."
My heart plummeted.
Cold, absolute despair swallowed me whole.
I stood vigil outside the sterile ward in a daze, motionless as a statue drained of its soul.
My phone buzzed. A message from Dana: "Sarah, Mom just wants what's best for us. As soon as you get the money, I'll go right back in and finish the donation. Cliff is my son too. You think I'd just abandon him?"
The words made my stomach turn.
I didn't reply. I just switched my phone to silent.
My best friend, Sabina Pruitt, a top-tier lawyer, dropped everything and rushed over the moment she heard.
One look at my haggard face and her eyes rimmed red with fury. "Sarah, you are too trusting! You actually believed that woman and her son? You signed away everything in the divorce? Are you out of your mind?"
"What was I supposed to do?" I leaned against her shoulder, and the tears I'd been holding back finally broke free. "I couldn't just stand there and watch Cliff..."
Sabina pulled me close, patting my back gently. "No more crying, Sarah. There's always a way. I'll figure out the money. I'll front it myself for now. But that five million is not going to just land in their hands. Not like this."
Her words gave me a sliver of strength. I lifted my head from her arms and met her steady gaze.
"Sabina, thank you."
"Don't you dare thank me." She smoothed the tangled hair from my face. "What you need to do right now is pull yourself together. If you fall apart, who does Cliff have?"
She was right. I couldn't fall apart.
I was the only person Cliff had left.
Sabina worked fast. In less than half a day, she had five million dollars in cash.
When she appeared at the hospital hauling two enormous suitcases, Audrey and Dana both went wide-eyed.
"Well, well. Turns out your side of the family has money after all." Audrey sauntered over with a thin, plastic smile and reached for one of the suitcases.
Sabina's expression turned to ice. She yanked the cases back. "The money's here. But it's not for you."
She turned to Dr. Lambert. "Doctor, we'd like to set up a dedicated medical trust under the hospital's name with this five million, earmarked exclusively for Cliff Gilbert's ongoing treatment. Every single withdrawal will require both my signature and Sarah's."
The color drained from Audrey's face in an instant. "What is that supposed to mean? My son is donating his bone marrow, and the money goes to the hospital instead of us?"
"Would you prefer the alternative?" Sabina let out a cold laugh. "Hand it to you so you can take the cash and disappear, leaving a child to die? Or are you saying Mr. Gilbert's bone marrow is only worth five million?"
That struck a nerve.
Dana's face cycled between red and white. He leaned in, voice dropping to a furious hiss. "Sabina, don't push it. This is a family matter."
"A family matter?" Sabina arched an eyebrow. "The moment your mother coerced Sarah into signing away every asset she had, the moment you walked out of surgery halfway through, the moment you held your own son's life hostage for five million dollars, this stopped being a family matter. This became a criminal case."
Her voice wasn't loud, but every word landed like a hammer blow. Up and down the corridor, other patients' families turned to stare.
