The cost was overwhelming. Every dollar I had saved for Liam’s college would vanish, but I didn’t hesitate. “Do it,” I said.
The surgery took seven hours. Liam sat beside me in the waiting area, his face pale, his hands clasped tightly. When the surgeon finally appeared, he smiled. “She made it. The repair was successful.”
Liam exhaled for the first time in hours, tears sliding silently down his cheeks. “Thank you,” he whispered.
Elise spent several days in recovery, and when she was finally stable, the nurses called Liam the most devoted brother they had ever seen. He never left her side, reading stories from his phone, humming lullabies she was too young to understand.
A few months later, another phone call changed everything. Brian had been in a car accident. He died at the scene. There was no estate to claim, no apology left behind, only silence.
I expected Liam to break, but he didn’t. He just held the twins tighter and said, “We still have each other.”