Chapter 2

The waiting room had become a pressure cooker. Bystanders were whispering, their eyes burning holes into the side of my head. The nurse stood with her arms crossed, a silent, judgmental statue.

"Please, Andrew," Jennifer's fake mother wept, grabbing at the hem of my jeans. "She loves you so much. She was going to be your wife."

I looked at her, my face a blank wall. "And I'm telling you, I have seventeen dollars. What do you want me to do with that? Buy her a get-well card?"

A collective gasp went through the small crowd. The nurse's face hardened into a glare of pure disgust.

The "father," Mark, scrambled to his feet, his eyes wild with desperation. He was a better actor than his partner. He was really selling it. "There has to be a way! A loan! A high-interest medical loan! We'll co-sign, we'll sell the farm, whatever it takes!"

Then he leaned in, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper that was just loud enough for the nurse to hear. "Listen, son. We know about your mother. We know how sick she is."

My blood ran cold, even though I knew this was coming.

"Her heart," he continued, his eyes locking onto mine. "The cardiomyopathy. She's on the transplant list, isn't she? Waiting."

I didn't move. I didn't breathe.

He delivered the killing blow, the offer I knew was the centerpiece of their entire trap. "You take out this loan. You save my Jenny. And I will personally convince my son, my boy Danny, to get tested. He's young, healthy. A perfect match. I'll make sure he signs the papers to be a donor for your mother. You save my daughter, we save your mom. A life for a life."

The room was silent, waiting for my response. The offer hung in the air, a twisted, beautiful piece of bait. In another life, I had lunged for it.

This time, I let a flicker of something-feigned consideration-cross my face. I looked from the "father" to the nurse, then back.

"Okay," I said, my voice steady. "I'll do it."

A wave of relief washed over the actors' faces. The nurse looked surprised, maybe even a little impressed by my sudden change of heart.

But I wasn't finished.

"But I want Danny here. Now. With the official organ donor consent forms. I want to see him sign them, with a notary present, before I sign a single piece of loan paperwork."

The "father's" face fell. "What? That's impossible! It'll take hours, maybe days! Jenny doesn't have that kind of time!"

The nurse jumped back in, her voice dripping with accusation. "He's right. What kind of cruel game are you playing? She'll have permanent brain damage by then! You're using this to delay, to let her die!"

I just shrugged, turning my attention back to my phone. "Those are my terms."

The public shaming began in earnest. "Monster." "Heartless bastard." "He's letting her die over paperwork." The words washed over me, but they were just noise. I was already dead to their opinions.