“If the surgery has to be stopped, then so be it. There’ll be other chances in the future.”
“I’m taking the heart for the sake of our family’s future. If Zack is satisfied, he’ll invest in me and our son can get better treatment. You won’t have to keep working odd jobs anymore! I’m doing this because I love you both!”
Before I could respond, she hung up. I called her dozens of times, but Raquel eventually turned off her phone.
And all I could think about was my son, still waiting in the operating room…
My heart ached so much that it was hard to breathe. My legs gave out and I collapsed to my knees.
I stared blankly at the surgery room, where its red light was still glowing.
Raquel’s so-called love was letting our son miss his only chance at healing. How noble her love truly was.
A nurse beside me sighed. “Mr. Hayes, maybe you should check out Second City Hospital. My friend said they’re performing a heart transplant today too and they just received a donor heart. Your son’s surgery has already started. He can’t wait any longer.”
The soles of my shoes were worn through, my feet bloodied.
But I didn’t seem to feel the pain at all. I just ran toward the hospital the nurse had mentioned.
When I burst into the VIP ward hallway, I was stopped by bodyguards.
A bespectacled secretary at the front sneered, “Where did this hillbilly come from? This isn’t a place for someone like you. Get lost.”
Tears and snot streamed down my face as I cried out, “My wife is in there. Get Raquel out here!”
The secretary scoffed, then kicked me to the ground. He ground his foot into my face, sneering, “A toad wanting to eat swan meat. Are you insane? Mrs. Simmons is worth tens of millions, what the hell are you? She’s with her fiancé’s nephew right now. Don’t cause trouble!”
I took a deep breath and raised my head, trembling. “Give me back my son’s donor heart!”
The secretary rolled his eyes and kicked me hard, knocking my teeth out. “That heart was brought by Mrs. Simmons. What do you mean it belongs to your son? He was a bastard born to a broke nobody like you, how could he ever compare to Mr. Lincoln’s nephew?”
I coughed up a mouthful of blood, the metallic taste sharp in my throat. My eyes were filled with desperate pleading. “Raquel is my wife! Her son is waiting for that heart to save his life!”
The secretary motioned to the bodyguards. “Get this guy out of here. Stop trying to pull these pathetic stunts and cling to her.”
The phone rang abruptly and I fearfully answered the call. The voice of my son’s attending physician was heavy with sorrow. “Mr. Hayes, your son suffered a heart attack during the surgery and has passed away…”
My son… was killed by his own mother. If only the surgery had been successful, he would have recovered. I could have taken him to the amusement park and sent him to school…
I cried and screamed, “Raquel, you killed your own son!”
But in the end, I was nothing more than a dying dog, thrown outside the hospital. My eyes were devoid of any light.
***
Raquel heard the noise from outside and asked the secretary in confusion, “Was someone causing a scene just now?”
The secretary sneered, “Just a poor, worthless fool, nothing but a madman! He keeps saying he’s your husband and that you took the heart and caused your own son’s death.”
