Chapter 5: The Truth Beneath the Scalpel

Surprisingly, my soul floated midair. I didn't disappear right away.

I watched Healer Petra Holmes gasp the moment the scalpel dove into my skin, and only one kidney was found.

"Why does she only have one kidney?" she boomed. "This is ridiculous! How could they make her donate her kidney when she only has one? This is murder!"

Just then, her assistant panicked and yelled, "Healer Petra, the patient's stopped breathing. What's going on?"

Healer Petra immediately checked my pulse again, then pressed both hands against my chest, desperately trying to restart my heart with healing energy.

"No... Her wolf is gone. Her healing core has completely shattered," she muttered, her face turning pale.

"How could someone in this condition be approved for surgery? Didn't anyone review her medical records?"

The assistant quickly flipped through the files before freezing in shock.

"Healer Petra... there are no records here about her missing kidney or the wolfsbane poisoning."

"Someone intentionally removed them," Petra said through clenched teeth.

Outside the operating room, Simon, Mom, Dad, and Laila were still comforting one another while waiting for the surgery to finish.

None of them knew that I had already stopped breathing.

Petra stormed out of the operating room with blood still staining her gloves.

"Who is the patient's family?" she demanded.

Mom hurried over. "We're her parents. How is the surgery going? Is Laila alright?"

Petra stared at her in disbelief.

"Your other daughter is dead, and the first thing you're asking about is the recipient?"

The hallway fell silent.

Dad frowned. "Dead? What nonsense are you talking about? She only donated a kidney."

"She only had one kidney left!" Petra snapped. "And she was suffering from advanced wolfsbane poisoning. Her wolf had already disappeared. She only had days left to live."

"Removing her last kidney guaranteed her death."

Simon's expression froze completely.

"Impossible... Zora never told me any of this."

"She didn't tell you?" Petra laughed bitterly. "As her mate, you never noticed that her healing ability was fading? You never noticed how thin she had become?"

Simon staggered back several steps, unable to answer.

Mom shook her head repeatedly.

"No... That can't be true. She looked perfectly healthy."

"Healthy?" Petra's eyes reddened with anger.

"Her organs were already failing. The poison had spread throughout her body. She endured unimaginable pain every single day."

"Even without today's surgery, she would've lived for only three more days."

Everyone stood frozen in place.

Laila instinctively grabbed Simon's arm, her face turning pale.

"Simon... maybe the healer made a mistake..."

Petra shot her an icy glare.

"Mistake? Then explain why your sister had only one kidney."

Silence.

No one could answer.

Petra continued coldly, "Five years ago, she donated that kidney to someone else. The surgical scar had already healed."

Dad's pupils shrank violently.

"Five years ago..."

His breathing became uneven as an impossible thought crossed his mind.

"Five years ago... wasn't that when I received a kidney transplant?"

Mom's face instantly lost all color.

Both of them slowly turned toward Laila.

For the very first time, uncertainty appeared in their eyes.

Behind the operating room doors, my lifeless body lay quietly beneath a white sheet.

As I looked down at them from above, I realized something ironic.

Only after I died had the truth finally begun to surface.