CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 7
"SAVE HIM FIRST!"
The emergency alarm echoed through the surgical wing.
Every conversation stopped.
Doctors rushed past Connor without saying a word.
The once orderly hallway exploded into controlled chaos.
Connor grabbed the nearest nurse.
"What happened?"
She hesitated.
"I... I can't discuss the patient's condition."
Before Connor could ask another question, Dr. Andrew Latham hurried toward the operating room.
Connor blocked his path.
"Doctor!"
"Is it my mother?"
Dr. Latham looked at him for only a second.
Then he answered quietly.
"No."
Connor froze.
His stomach dropped.
"If it's not my mother..."
"...then it's Robert."
The doctor didn't deny it.
Connor felt the blood drain from his face.
Through the small glass window in the operating room doors, Connor caught brief flashes of movement.
Doctors surrounded one operating table.
Someone was performing chest compressions.
Machines screamed.
Nurses shouted medical instructions.
Connor couldn't see the patient's face.
But he already knew.
It was Robert.
The man he had publicly humiliated less than an hour earlier.
The man who had smiled at him...
And wished him well...
Just before walking into surgery.
Connor slammed his fist against the wall.
"No..."
"This can't be happening..."
A nurse stepped out carrying a tray stained with blood.
Connor's heart nearly stopped.
"Please..."
"Tell me he's okay."
The nurse lowered her eyes.
"They're doing everything they can."
She hurried away before Connor could ask another question.
Minutes felt like hours.
Connor couldn't sit.
Couldn't think.
He kept replaying the morning in his head.
Robert quietly picking up the family photograph.
Robert apologizing...
Even after being shoved to the floor.
Robert placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"Take good care of your mother."
Not once...
Not once had Robert shown resentment.
Not once had he tried to defend himself.
And now...
He might never have the chance.
Connor looked down at the letter still clutched in his hand.
Another folded page remained unread.
With trembling fingers, he opened it.
His father's handwriting appeared once again.
"Connor...
If Robert ever risks his life for your family...
Please don't let him face that sacrifice alone.
He will never ask you for love.
He will never ask you for thanks.
But if you can...
Stand beside him...
The way he stood beside us."
Connor burst into tears.
The letter slipped from his hands.
For twenty-two years...
He had done the exact opposite.
Suddenly...
The operating room doors swung open.
A surgeon rushed out.
"We need O-negative blood!"
Everyone nearby sprang into action.
Connor instinctively stepped forward.
"My blood type is O-negative."
The surgeon stopped.
"Are you a relative?"
Connor looked toward the operating room.
For the first time in his life...
He answered without hesitation.
"...Yes."
The word surprised even him.
The surgeon nodded.
"Come with me."
Connor followed without thinking.
As they hurried down the hallway, he asked,
"Is it for my mother?"
The surgeon's expression remained grim.
"No."
"It's for Mr. Hale."
Connor's chest tightened.
Inside the donor recovery unit, nurses quickly prepared him.
A needle slid into his arm.
Dark red blood flowed through the tubing.
Connor watched silently.
For years...
Robert had given him everything.
His childhood.
His education.
His home.
His mother's happiness.
Today...
Connor could finally give something back.
Even if it was only a few bags of blood.
Halfway through the donation...
Dr. Latham entered the room.
Connor immediately looked up.
"Doctor..."
"Did he make it?"
The doctor didn't answer right away.
Instead, he slowly removed his surgical cap.
His face was exhausted.
There was blood on his gown.
Connor's heart pounded.
"Please..."
"Tell me."
Dr. Latham took a deep breath.
Then he spoke the words Connor had been dreading.
"The transplant was successful."
Connor let out a shaky breath.
But the doctor continued.
"Your mother's new kidney is functioning..."
"...but Robert hasn't regained consciousness."
Connor's relief disappeared instantly.
"He should have woken up by now."
The room fell silent.
Connor stared at the floor.
His tears returned.
Not because he was afraid anymore...
But because he had finally realized something.
He had spent twenty-two years calling Robert an outsider.
Yet in the moment between life and death...
The only person he couldn't bear to lose...
Was the man he had never once called...
May you like
Dad.
To be continued...
