Chapter 8 - THE SURGERY
The private surgical center was almost empty.
A team was waiting.
They had been called ahead.
Emma was rushed inside.
Grace held my hand.
My father stood across the room.
Michael watched him.
Nobody spoke.
Then the surgeon came out.
"We're beginning."
I nodded.
"Save my daughter."
"We'll do everything we can."
The doors closed.
Hours passed.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
I couldn't sit still.
Grace finally leaned against my shoulder.
"I never stopped loving you."
I looked at her.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I thought staying away would keep them alive."
"You should have trusted me."
"I know."
I took her hand.
"I'm not angry anymore."
She looked at me.
"You should be."
"Maybe."
I looked at the operating room.
"But I'm here now."
She cried.
Across the room, my father sat alone.
He looked older than I'd ever seen him.
I walked toward him.
"Did you love us?"
He looked up.
"More than anything."
"Then why?"
"Because I thought power was protection."
He sighed.
"I was wrong."
Before I could answer, the lights went out.
Again.
My father immediately stood.
"Richard."
Security alarms screamed.
Michael pulled a weapon.
I froze.
"Where did you get that?"
"Don't worry about it."
We heard footsteps.
Then gunfire.
Security guards shouted.
Glass shattered.
My father grabbed me.
"Stay down!"
The doors to the surgical wing locked.
I heard Grace scream.
"Emma!"
We ran.
Richard appeared at the end of the hallway.
He held a gun.
Two men stood beside him.
"You should have listened," he said.
My father stepped forward.
"Leave my grandchildren alone."
Richard laughed.
"Grandchildren?"
He pointed at me.
"You mean heirs."
I felt rage rise.
"They're children."
"To you."
Richard looked at my father.
"To him, they're the end of his empire."
My father said nothing.
Richard raised his gun.
Then Michael stepped between us.
"Richard."
Richard froze.
"You."
Michael smiled.
"You thought you killed me."
Richard's expression changed.
Michael held up a phone.
"I recorded everything."
Richard's face went pale.
"The company knows."
"You're lying."
"Press conferences are happening as we speak."
Richard looked toward my father.
"You betrayed me."
My father shook his head.
"No."
He looked at me.
"I finally chose my son."
Richard fired.
My father pushed me aside.
The bullet struck him.
He collapsed.
"NO!"
Security tackled Richard.
The hallway erupted into chaos.
I dropped beside my father.
Blood spread across his shirt.
"Call an ambulance!"
He grabbed my hand.
"Ryan."
"I'm here."
"I should have told you."
"Save your strength."
"No."
His eyes filled with tears.
"I need you to know..."
He struggled to breathe.
"...I never wanted them hurt."
"I know."
He looked toward the surgical doors.
"Your daughter?"
"She's still in surgery."
He smiled weakly.
"Then maybe..."
He coughed.
"...maybe I can still make one thing right."
Then his eyes closed.
"FATHER!"
Doctors rushed in.
They carried him away.
I stood frozen.
The operating room doors opened.
The surgeon stepped out.
I ran toward him.
"Emma?"
He smiled.
"She made it."
My knees nearly collapsed.
"She's alive?"
"She's alive."
Grace began sobbing.
The surgeon continued:
"The surgery was successful."
I closed my eyes.
For the first time in three years, I felt hope.
Then the surgeon's expression changed.
"There is one problem."
"What?"
"We found something unusual in Emma's medical records."
"What?"
He handed me a document.
A genetic test.
The results showed something unexpected.
Emma wasn't the only child with the inherited condition.
Sophie had it too.
And Ethan's tests showed something else.
May you like
A different genetic marker.
One connected to my father's secret.
