With a witness, in five days, our chances of winning would be a little better.
Suddenly, all the humiliation I had endured that night in the party hall—the forced kneeling, the degradation made into a spectacle—seemed trivial.
Soon, the operating-room lights went out.
The doctors emerged with solemn faces. One of them told Mariam, “The gastric lavage went smoothly. The child’s life is saved. However, during the procedure, we found abnormalities in his brain. We suspect a glioblastoma. We’ve sent samples for further testing. Even with surgery, the success rate for this kind of lesion is very low—less than thirty percent.”
As soon as the words fell, the air suddenly chilled.
Mariam’s face was drained of color. She shook her head and muttered, “No… No… Luca is so young. How could this be…”
Her body went weak, and she nearly collapsed. Charlton immediately held her up.
While no one was paying attention to me, I crushed the scrap of paper into a ball and, with deliberate calm, I swallowed it.
‘There are only a handful of surgeons in the country qualified to perform this operation. And I… am one of them.’
5
Arizona’s POV
Of course, Charlton would think of me first.