As the red light over the operating room turned on, I took a shaky breath, composing myself as I pulled the divorce papers from my bag. Once Adeline’s surgery succeeded, I’d be done. What she needed was a real father, not just a title.
Then, abruptly, the operating room light switched off. A doctor rushed out. “I’m sorry,” he said quickly, “we’ve just been informed that the hospital received a car accident patient in critical need. The kidney we’d planned to use for Adeline has been reassigned.”
For a moment, my world went black. Desperately, I fought to stay calm. “Where is...the person who took Adeline’s kidney?”
At the other end of the hallway, I heard a woman’s quiet sobs. Even if he’d turned to ashes, I’d know that figure anywhere.
It took only a second for everything to click. Only Paul could redirect the kidney at the last minute as he is also one of Adeline’s guardians.
“Paul! That’s Adeline’s kidney—the one she’s waited for all year!” My voice quivered. As I bolted towards the operating room, I slapped Paul with all the anger that boiled inside me. Paul’s lip bled from my slap, but his face remained passive.