Until…
Silence descends. Absolute. Expanding all around me.
The world before my eyes seems to come to a halt. Freezing in frame on this gruesome scene.
The man just killed himself.
Steps.
Steady. Methodical. Disturbing the vacuum within.
Ruffo walks up to the dead man and crouches, checks his pulse. After a few seconds, he nods. As if responding to a silent command, the office doors burst open, and a team of medical personnel rushes into the room. A whirlwind of activity ensues. The dead man is loaded onto a gurney. There are chest compressions. Some kind of squeezable bag and mask forcing air into him.
It doesn’t make sense.
Nothing makes sense.
The man in the black suit follows the EMTs out, closing the door behind him with no urgency at all. Like the dead leaving this place is a regular thing.
“Don’t worry.”
A palm grazes my upper arm. The touch is light, barely there. Still, it burns. The kind of pain that comes from exposure to freezing cold.
Goose bumps break out all over my skin. Tremors and chills rack my body.
“I’ve hired the best. His heart will be fine.”
I’m still gaping at the now closed door. Can still hear the receding sounds of the commotion.
“His...heart?”
“Yes. My car is waiting for you downstairs. Go collect your mother. Her care is being transferred to a private hospital.”
My brain finally starts catching up. The realization of what just happened hits me square in the chest. Knocks me over like a thousand-pound hammer. Crushing me beneath a mountain of horror. Obliterating everything in its wake.
The heart.
The donor.
My body starts to shake.
He asked if I wanted to know about the donor. I said,not right now. I didn’t want to think about another death.
“Everything will be fine, Little Iris.”
It won’t. Nothing will ever be fine again.
“What have I done?” I whisper, choking out the words.
“Nothing.” Ruffo’s voice, cold enough to freeze blood, wraps around me like an icy fog, seeping under my skin. “You were present during a transaction, nothing more. No one forced him. I simply gave him a choice. His heart in exchange for his grandson’s life. He picked.”
A beat of silence.
“Your mother needs a new heart. And I got one for you.” He nods toward the door. “Let’s make sure it doesn’t go to waste. Go.”
Launching myself out of his chair, I run across the office to the door. Through the exterior space that feels like a modern version of an ancient tomb. Away from the man who had me trade my mother’s life for another’s.
Chapter 20
