\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 4\u00a0<\/p>\n
As the sedative wore off, I leaned against the wall and made my slow way to the operating room entrance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Estelle was there, wheedling and pleading with the papers in hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNathan, once Ricky\u2019s better, I\u2019ll enroll him in the best private school. Please, just sign it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nathaniel had been wholly focused on praying for Patrick\u2019s successful\u00a0<\/p>\n
surgery.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Unable to resist Estelle\u2019s coaxing, he signed the document without even reading it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He went back to his prayers, murmuring Patrick\u2019s name.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Our daughter was not mentioned once\u00a0<\/p>\n
The last shred of my hesitation vanished.\u00a0<\/p>\n
All my regret now was for trusting the wrong man and bringing harm to my daughter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the end, a doctor finally emerged, wiping sweat from his brow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Sanford, the donor\u2019s physical condition is weak. The quality of the stem cells is critically insufficient. We need to extract more, but doing\u00a0<\/p>\n
So\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dizzy and lightheaded, I stumbled forward, my voice trembling uncontrollably. \u201cStop the procedure. Sir, please stop it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned and grabbed Nathaniel\u2019s arm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
0.00%\u00a0<\/p>\n
10.58 M\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never come to you with a request. But today I\u2019m pleading with halt the procedure. I won\u2019t hold anything against you. I\u2019ll accept any condition\u2026 Please, just stop it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
288 Vouchers\u00a0<\/p>\n
you-\u00a0<\/p>\n
Estelle let out a piercing scream, her cries tearing through the hallway.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The doctor quickly shook his head. \u201cThe recipient\u2019s marrow has already been cleared. Stopping now would be fatal for him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stared at Nathaniel, my gaze desperate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I clung to a futile hope-that just once he might choose our daughter and\u00a0<\/p>\n
Instead, he steadied me, keeping me from collapsing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cVivi, Nika\u2019s mind is damaged. Growing up would only be a burden for her. We can have other healthy children.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I shook my head, backing away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I tried to force my way into the operating room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I called my daughter\u2019s name, over and over.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNika!\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSweetheart!\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t be scared. Mommy\u2019s right here.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But at Nathaniel\u2019s command, his hired assistants held me back firmly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the silent surgical corridor, amidst Estelle\u2019s wrenching sobs and my own cries and the frantic alarms from the operating room, I heard Nathaniel\u2019s voice, tight yet utterly resolved.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSave Ricky. At any cost.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
25.06%\u00a0<\/p>\n
I fought like mad against Nathaniel, wishing I could tear him apart.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Estelle approached me, tears in her eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know you\u2019re sad. But you can\u2019t keep forcing Nathan to choose. Don\u2019t you know how much it tortures him?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The next instant, I kicked her to the ground. She spat out blood and fragments of teeth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nathaniel\u2019s face darkened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cVivienne, can\u2019t you act like an adult? This isn\u2019t Elle\u2019s fault.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cApologize to her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked at him with a deep hatred. \u201cIf anything happens to Nika, you and Estelle will pay for it. I swear you will\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nathaniel faltered, seemingly shocked by the venom in my eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He looked away, his voice cold. \u201cLock her in a storage room. She can stay there until she\u2019s ready to apologize to Elle.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As I was dragged away, I heard it: the flatline alarm of my daughter\u2019s monitor from inside the OR.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was my daughter\u2019s.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes in agony.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Once the storage room door slammed shut, plunging me into darkness, a strange, profound calm settled over me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I took out my nearly dead phone, exported the audio file, and sent it to my assistant, Claud Duncan, with instructions to release it to the press.\u00a0<\/p>\n
52.32%\u00a0<\/p>\n
pter 4\u00a0<\/p>\n
1 288 Vouchers\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked at the family photo on my screen-the three of us.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Another tear, tinged with blood, fell and smeared Nathaniel\u2019s face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
***\u00a0<\/p>\n
Outside the operating room, Nathaniel held Estelle, a sudden, inexplicable dread gripping him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
To distract himself, he picked up the document she had urged him to sign.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Only then did he read the words on the page.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His breath caught.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWho told you to trick me into signing this?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Estelle froze, her tears stopping abruptly. \u201cNathan, you love me, don\u2019t you? Don\u2019t you want to divorce her and marry me?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nathaniel\u2019s hand shot out, striking her face with such force that she crashed against the wall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t spare her a glance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He ran for the storage room like mad, as if losing a single second would cost him something vital.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But when he threw the door open, the sight before him nearly destroyed him.<\/p>\n
Joseph King is an editor and storyteller who ensures every chapter is clear, polished, and engaging for readers.<\/p>\n
Broken Yet Untouched by Mark Twain 4 \u00a0 Chapter 4\u00a0 As the sedative wore off, I leaned against the wall […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bound-to-him-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22844"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22844\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}