I yanked the IV line from Addilyn's hand, sending the medication spilling across the floor. My eldest son, Oscar, hurried forward to intervene.

“Mom! What are you doing? The sedative is meant to ease Addilyn’s pain, not harm her!”

“Ease her pain?” I retorted, indicating the IV bag. “At that dosage, you’re trying to knock her out permanently!”

Addilyn lay in bed, her breathing so faint it was barely perceptible. I realized that if I had been even a moment later, she might never have woken up.

Charlie, my second son, stood quietly to the side, adjusting his glasses with a composed demeanor. “Mom, please don’t be upset. We only want what’s best for Addilyn…”

“Be quiet!” I was shaking with anger. “You decided on your own to donate her organs while I wasn’t here, and now you’ve nearly killed her with an overdose. Is this your idea of what’s best?”

Emiliano, my third son, frowned, sounding hurt. “Mom, how can you think that of us? We’ve been taking turns caring for Addilyn, hardly getting any sleep. Donating organs was her choice; we tried to dissuade her but she insisted.”

I brushed off their excuses and pulled back Addilyn’s blanket, only to be horrified.

Her fingernails had been removed, her fingertips still bleeding. Judging by the wounds, they had been violently pried off.

“What kind of monsters are you?!” My voice shook with fury.

Zoya Riley, standing nearby, rolled up her sleeve to show scratches on her arm. “Professor, Addilyn has been very unstable lately. You see… I was just trying to clean her up last time when she scratched me badly.”

“We only wanted to prevent her from harming herself…”

“That's nonsense!” I cut her off sharply. “Addilyn doesn’t have the strength to lift her arms; how could she have scratched you?”

I struggled to control my anger, lifting Addilyn’s shirt to check for more injuries. There, I found a fresh incision on her abdomen. The stitching was crude, as if done in a hurry.

“What… what is this?” My eyes burned with rage. “Give me a rational explanation right now!”

The three boys exchanged anxious glances until Charlie finally spoke up. “Mom, we only took a tissue sample from her organs to better assess her condition.”

I laughed bitterly. “That’s a load of rubbish! You’re selling her samples for research, trying to get a good price, aren’t you?”

Addilyn’s condition was extremely rare, with fewer than a hundred cases worldwide. Such unique sample data would be highly sought after by research institutions.

“Professor Washington, I understand your feelings, but there’s no cure for Addilyn’s disease. Rather than let her suffer, contributing to medical science seems more meaningful!”

As soon as she finished speaking, I slapped her hard across the face. “How dare you decide my daughter’s fate? Why don’t you donate yourself?”

Zoya stepped back, holding her cheek, tears immediately welling up, her expression one of utmost grievance.

Seeing this, my three sons moved to defend her, turning on me instead:

“Mom! How could you hit Zoya? Was she wrong?”

“You haven’t been here. She’s been caring for Addilyn so compassionately. Isn’t that enough?”

“Compassionate?” I scoffed. “Then explain to me, who tore off Addilyn’s nails? Who left the incision on her abdomen?”

At that moment, an uneasy silence fell over the hospital room.

I couldn’t stand to argue any further. I quickly retrieved the newly developed medicine from my bag and administered it to Addilyn. My sons were alarmed:

“Mom! Don’t act rashly. This medicine hasn’t even been through clinical trials!”

“Be quiet!” I silenced them with a cold glare. “Are you even qualified to question me?”

As the medication slowly entered Addilyn’s body, everyone, including myself, held their breath.

Time ticked by, second by second. Yet, Addilyn remained motionless, her eyes shut tight, showing no signs of life.

Oscar let out a dismissive chuckle. "Mom, stop wasting your efforts. Addilyn signed those documents to refuse further treatment and donate her organs. She's decided to contribute to science, so why are you being so selfish?"

"That's nonsense!" I retorted, lifting my head. "She would never give up on treatment. Before I left, I promised her I'd develop a breakthrough medication, and she promised she'd wait for me."

"Addilyn isn't one to give up easily; she would never make such a decision!"

Oscar adjusted his tie impatiently. "Stop deluding yourself. She lost the will to live long ago. All that reckless partying over the past six months? She probably knew her time was running out and decided to live it up..."

I grabbed his shirt in a tight grip. "Oscar, you and Addilyn are engaged. She loves you deeply; how can you speak about her like this?!"

"Love me?" Oscar scoffed, his eyes cold. "What right does a woman of her character have to speak of love?"

Charlie handed over a stack of photos, looking troubled. "Mom, see for yourself... these are records from her hotel stays over the last six months, along with photos of her with different men..."

I stared at the photos. The girl in them wore revealing clothes and bold makeup, starkly different from the sweet Addilyn I remembered.

"Mom, we didn't want to believe it either, but the evidence is clear. She betrayed her promise to Oscar," Emiliano said, his lips tightly pressed, a mix of indignation and helplessness on his face.

Just as I was about to defend Addilyn, the door opened with a sudden, forceful motion. A middle-aged man in a sharp suit strode in, addressing my sons and Zoya with impatience.

"We've been waiting over a week. The lab's demanding the sample now; why haven't you sorted this out?"

Then he turned, and upon seeing me by Addilyn’s bedside, his bravado faltered. "Leona... Professor Washington, what are you doing here?"

I glared at him, suspicious and unyielding. "Mr. Porter, shouldn’t I be asking you that question?"

Bjorn Porter let out an awkward laugh. "I'm just here to check on your daughter..."

"Really?" I glanced at the folder he clutched. "I’ve never seen anyone visit a patient carrying contracts."

Panicking, Porter hid the folder behind him. "This... this is..."

Before he could come up with an excuse, Oscar interrupted. "Mom, Bjorn is here to take Addilyn. It's already been arranged."

With Oscar’s support, Porter's demeanor grew bolder. He waved the papers slightly, smugly. "Professor Washington, the terms are clear. Your daughter’s signature is here, and it’s notarized. Even with your standing as an esteemed lifetime fellow of the International Genetics Association, you must abide by the law!"

His arrogance fueled my anger, but I kept it in check. "Addilyn is just unconscious; she hasn't passed away!"

"I’ve already administered the drug. It won’t be long before she wakes up. Then, I'll hear from her whether she truly signed such an agreement."

The room erupted in dismissive laughter.

"Mom, has your research clouded your mind?" Oscar scoffed. "Addilyn’s condition is a genetic mutation worse than ALS. There hasn’t been a single case cured worldwide. How could that drug work?"

Bjorn added, his tone dripping with condescension, "Professor Washington, didn't you sign a deal with our company? If your research fails, there’s a $300 million penalty."

He leaned in, whispering provocatively, "Why not hand Addilyn over? Perhaps I can put in a good word with the board, and you might owe a little less..."

Instead of anger, I felt a strange calm, an urge to laugh even. They were unaware that I had completed clinical trials with this drug. It had a nearly perfect cure rate, but the full effect took about seventy-two hours. Only twenty minutes had passed so far.

In the contract with Bjorn's pharmaceutical company, it was stipulated that I could terminate our partnership at any time. One word from me could nullify the entire deal. Once released, the drug was poised to generate billions in revenue.

Pondering this, I couldn't help but anticipate the reckoning Bjorn would face at the press conference in three days for his sheer foolishness.