Hender

urses rushed past, their faces grim. Snippets of urgent conversation drifted into my room,

orders into her phone. Her voice, usually so controlled, was strained. "I don' t care what it costs! F

A rare blood type? A chilling

he accident) check-ups. My blood type was rare, she' d said. Not just A, B, or O, but a specific, u

I wasn' t just a burden, a problem. If I could save Doria, Christopher' s mother, Deborrah' s mother-in-law...

otested. My head still throbbed, but I ignored it.

ice barely a whisper, but it

ide with feigned innocence. "She' s just trying to get attention, M

ression was not one of concern, or even recognition, but annoyance. "Aisha," she said, her v

her. Even now, when I offered to save her adoptive family, she

aching emptiness. I was not special. I was not v

od transfusion Doria needed immediately to stabilize her after a sudden complication. Family members breathed sighs of relief, their faces loo

atched my desperate plea, his eyes thoughtful. He approached a nurse, his voice low. "Please, cond

d, nodded. "Of cou

carefully transported back to the mansion. Christopher, Deborrah, and Kaylee went

was like I had never existed to them. The numbness returned, a heavy blan

sion on her face. She held a clipboard. "Aisha, honey," she

self for mo

atch for Mrs. Winters' s bone marrow." She looked at me with a mixture

n' t want my help," I said, the words ta

now this." She dialed, her finger hovering. But then she paused, listening to somethin

ey said you' re not a viable option. That they' d rather find another donor, no matte

gments of the conversation. "Foster care... no family

Doria suffer, would rather pay any price, than accept h

aybe Deborrah could finally be happy. Maybe my absence was the only gift I could give her. I closed my eyes

an, led me out of the hospital. I didn' t look back. Th

ide us. Augustus Winters. His face was pale, his eyes wide with a frantic u

red into the phone, his voice cracking. "Chr

onto mine. A chilling silence descended.

ou' re saying Aisha... is Christopher' s biological daughter? And De