Chapter 6: The Debt of Five Years

Dad stared at Laila with trembling eyes.

"Answer me," he said in a hoarse voice. "Five years ago... who donated that kidney to me?"

Laila instinctively stepped backward.

"It... it was me, Dad. You know that."

Healer Petra folded her arms and spoke coldly.

"Impossible. The patient lying inside has an old nephrectomy scar from exactly five years ago. Your daughter couldn't have donated another kidney today because she never had one to spare."

The words struck everyone like thunder.

Mom grabbed Laila's shoulders.

"Laila... tell me she's wrong."

"Mom, I... I don't know what she's talking about."

Her voice trembled as tears filled her eyes.

Simon suddenly remembered something.

"Five years ago, Zora disappeared for several weeks after your father's surgery. She told me she'd been hospitalized because she was exhausted."

His face slowly turned pale.

"Was that... because she had donated her kidney?"

No one answered.

Petra ordered her assistant to retrieve the archived surgical records.

"If the family insists on denying it, we'll verify everything."

Half an hour later, the assistant hurried back carrying a dusty medical file.

"Healer Petra, I found it."

Everyone gathered around.

Inside the file was the original consent form from five years earlier.

The donor's signature was clearly written at the bottom.

"Zora Thorne."

Mom's hands shook violently.

"No... This can't be..."

Dad snatched the file away, staring at the signature over and over.

"It's her handwriting..."

His knees weakened until he nearly collapsed.

"Then why did everyone tell me Laila was my donor?"

The assistant continued flipping through the records.

"There's another document."

"According to the recovery notes, the donor specifically requested that her identity remain confidential because she didn't want the recipient to feel guilty."

Petra sighed softly.

"Your daughter protected all of you even after giving away one of her kidneys."

Simon's lips trembled.

"She never... mentioned a single word to me."

Petra looked directly at him.

"Perhaps she believed no one would care enough to ask."

Those words pierced Simon's heart.

Scenes from the past replayed endlessly in his mind.

Every time Zora looked exhausted...

Every time she quietly endured pain...

Every time she forced a smile after being wronged...

He had ignored every single sign.

Mom suddenly burst into tears.

"How could this happen? Why didn't she tell us?"

Petra answered without hesitation.

"Would you have believed her?"

The hallway fell completely silent.

No one could answer that question.

Because deep down, they all knew the truth.

Even if Zora had spoken, they would've chosen to believe Laila instead.

Standing beside my own body, I watched them break down one after another.

For years, I had desperately wanted them to know the truth.

Now they finally did.

But I no longer felt relieved.

Some truths arrive far too late to save the person who needed them to be believed.