4
To increase the chances of a successful surgery, my brother deliberately didn’t give me enough anesthesia.
I could feel the blade slicing through my skin, the scissors cutting through my tissue.
The pain was excruciating.
When people are scared, they instinctively cry out for their mom.
I almost did too–until it hit me like a slap in the face: I didn’t have a mom anymore o
My brother, James, raised an eyebrow and glanced at me with disgust.
“Never thought you were a fake,” he sneered.
“No wonder you never felt like family. All those years I cared about you–it was a complete waste!”
His words were sharp, but I couldn’t be hurt anymore. My vision blurred as I stared at the ceiling, a bitter smile tugging at my lips.
“Don’t be mad, James,” I said softly. “After this, I won’t call you my brother ever again.”
He didn’t like that. His expression darkened, and he twisted the scalpel deliberately. Pain shot through me, making my whole body tremble and break out in cold sweat.
“Good,” he growled, grinning smugly. “You don’t deserve to call me your brother.”
The surgery felt endless. So long, in fact, that I started to wonder if I’d already died.
Finally, James tied off the last suture. He tilted his head, looked down at me, and said with a smirk, “Lucky you. You made it.”
I blinked slowly, the pain dulling into a cold numbness. “Thank you… Dr. Whitman,” I murmured.
Something about the way I said it set him off. His face twisted in anger, and he slammed the scissors onto the tray before storming out of the
room.
6:10 PM
<
From the operating table, I could hear the voices outside.
My mom’s frantic voice broke through the indistinct chatter. “How’s Jessica? Is she okay?”
James’s voice was dismissive. “The surgery was a success, but her body’s in terrible shape. She’s going to suffer for the rest of her life.”
I heard my mom sigh in relief. “As long as she’s alive… that’s all that matters.” Then her tone changed, as if she’d just remembered something.
“Oh, Mrs. Whitmore,” she said, turning to the neighbor, “she’s always wanted a mom. I’m giving her back to you now. You need to take good
care of her!”
Mrs. Whitmore didn’t even have a chance to respond.
Suddenly, I started coughing violently, blood gushing out of my mouth in uncontrollable waves.
The nurse working nearby froze in shock, dropping the instruments in her hands as she stumbled backward.
Panic consumed the room. The nurse scrambled to her feet, tripping over herself as she rushed to the door and shouted at the top of her
lungs:
“Doctor, emergency! The patient’s bleeding out!”
“And… and there’s signs of infection!”
The moment the words left her mouth, James spun around in a panic. He sprinted back into the room, yelling my name as he ran.
But my vision was fading fast. My pupils were dilating, the world around me growing darker and more distant.
Outside, I heard my mom trying to push past the people holding her back, her voice trembling with fear. “What’s happening? What’s wrong with
her?”
The chaos in the room was overwhelming, and in the midst of it all, a nurse from the lab walked in, holding an envelope.
She seemed completely oblivious to the scene, her voice cheerful as she announced, “Congratulations! The DNA test results are in–these two are confirmed to be mother and daughter!”
