Chapter 3
Counting the days, Lily should have already started donating blood to Lauri.
One weekend evening, my mom called me in a panic.
She said, "Audra, Lily fainted at school. You need to call an ambulance right away."
It was always like this in my previous life—whenever Lily had an accident, my parents would call me first to solve the problem.
I was the one who paid for her hospitalization, follow-up medication, and even the ambulance.
They couldn't even be bothered to come to the hospital, treating me like a problem-solver, constantly calling to rush me.
I used to be naïve, thinking family shouldn't keep count.
Now, sipping my coffee, I said slowly, "Mom, I'm an emergency doctor, not an ambulance driver. How can I drive to save her?"
My mom was frantic. "You know you're an emergency doctor. Then hurry and go with the ambulance to the school to save Lily. What if something happens to her because you're late?"
I held up the phone to show the chaos of the emergency room.
I said, "Mom, it's not that I don't want to go, but you know how busy I am in the emergency room. The nurses are calling me for an urgent surgery. I have to go now."
My mom nearly lost her mind, shouting, "Wait! Audra, do you even have a conscience? Is Lily's life less important than those strangers in the hospital?"
I calmly advised her, "Mom, don't panic. Lily is getting along well with Mr. Zuniga. Maybe he'll even send a helicopter to rescue her, which would be faster than an ambulance."
My mom, furious, started cursing me and lamented how the family ended up with such an ungrateful child.
I hung up the phone and turned around to find several nurses pushing a stretcher into the emergency room.
They called out to me, "Dr. Moran, this patient, who was confused, mentioned you as her sister and insisted you treat her."
I walked out with my coffee and waved my hand. "Sorry, my shift is over. Please find the on-duty doctor."
Lily wasn't in serious trouble. She had just fainted from anemia.
In my previous life, I had noticed the needle marks on her arm and asked her what had happened.
She had refused to tell me, and I had desperately searched for clues to understand the truth.
She complained about me being a nuisance, insisting, "Can't you just leave me alone? My problems don't concern you. It's just a bit of blood donation. I'll recover by eating some meat."
Donating a bit of blood might not be a big deal, but being a regular blood donor for someone else was significant.
It was especially true with Lauri's unstable condition. If something went wrong, Cole would draw Lily's blood.
Lily wanted to impress Cole and would do whatever he asked, always available.
Frequent blood draws could have irreversible effects on her body's blood production system.
Chapter 4
The next day, I returned to the hospital and saw that Lily's hospital bed was surrounded by flowers and supplements.
Lily, lying in bed, had a pale face and lacked color in her lips, but she was smiling happily.
She was on the phone with Cole, softly saying, "Thank you, Mr. Zuniga, for sending so many things. I feel embarrassed to accept them. Actually, I'm fine, just a bit of low blood sugar. What? Do you want to have dinner with me? Oh, there's no need to go through all that trouble."
After hanging up, Lily looked triumphant.
She said, "Did you hear that, Audra? Cole wants to have dinner with me, just the two of us, at the best restaurant in the city."
I nodded to show I had heard.
She looked at the circle of spoils by her bed and said, "I only helped him a little, and he went all out, sending so many things. He must care about me."
I continued to nod. "Yes, Lily. You must be special to him."
Lily was very happy, admiring the flowers Cole had sent.
I left the ward, quietly closing the door.
This was the happiness Lily wanted anyway.
Two months later, I heard in the hospital that Lauri was in critical condition.
Her liver had failed, and medication was no longer effective. A liver transplant was urgently needed.
Chapter 5
When I got home, I found the house filled with various gift boxes, including two safes full of cash.
Our parents were very pleased. "Come and see, these are all gifts from the Zuniga family. Lily is really going to marry into a wealthy family."
Lily, fiddling with jewelry, tossed me a bracelet.
She said, "Audra, take this and wear it. But be careful, this bracelet might be worth several years of your salary."
Our mom said, "You should thank Lily."
I picked up the bracelet but hesitated to put it on, considering it was something Lily had obtained by giving up a liver.
The whole family was immersed in the joy of Lily marrying into wealth, while I just smiled and said nothing.
Human livers could regenerate, but a liver given to someone else could never be returned.
Besides, what Cole wanted was not just Lily's liver.
Before leaving, Lily mentioned that Cole wanted to take her abroad for a six-month tour.
Our parents laughed as they packed her bags, reminding her to try hard on the trip, and if she got pregnant, she could marry into the Zuniga family sooner.
Only I knew Lily was lying. She wasn't going on a tour but would be hospitalized for a long time.
After leaving the house, Lily said to me, "Audra, I might need to have a minor surgery at your hospital. If there are any problems during the surgery, you must come to save me right away."
I was confused. "What surgery?"
Lily was reluctant to say but kept insisting it was a minor surgery with no risk.
I smiled, "If the surgery is so low-risk, why would you need me to rescue you?"
Lily frowned. "Don't worry about it. If someone from the Zuniga family comes to find you, just go with them."
She saw me as a last resort, knowing I would save her.
But this time, I wasn't so naïve.
I said, "Sorry, Audra, I'm going to be dispatched to the countryside tomorrow. The Zuniga family's people are so formidable. You should ask their family doctor for help."
Lily grew anxious because she had already promised to donate a liver to Lauri next month.