Chapter 8: The Arrangement Was Made Before the Accident

Liam's POV

I stared at the payment description for a long time.

"Emergency Arrangement — Andy Morrison."

My fingers went numb around the phone.

Before the accident.

That was the part I couldn't get past.

Someone had prepared for Andy's blood to be taken before he was ever hit by that car.

I immediately called my lawyer.

"I need you to investigate every account connected to Gwen Dalton and Pierce Donovan. Don't leave anything out. I want every transfer, every payment, every medical expense."

"Understood," he replied. "But there's something else. The account that received the money isn't Pierce's personal account."

My heart skipped.

"Then whose is it?"

"A private medical foundation. Its director is Dr. Adrian Cole, the same doctor listed on Andy's surgical team."

I gripped the edge of the table.

The same doctor.

The doctor who had warned Gwen that she was gambling with our son's life.

The doctor who had told her to draw Andy's blood.

"Send me everything you have."

A few minutes later, another file arrived.

I opened it.

There were emails between Gwen and Dr. Cole dating back nearly two months.

My breathing became heavier with every line I read.

They weren't discussing Pierce's accident.

They were discussing Andy.

"His blood type is confirmed?" Gwen had written.

"Confirmed. Rh-null is extraordinarily rare. If we don't secure a compatible donor in time, Pierce may not survive."

Another message followed.

"Then make sure the child is tested again before the procedure."

My vision blurred.

I scrolled further.

There was a payment authorization signed by Gwen.

The date was six weeks before Andy's accident.

Six weeks.

She had known.

She had known our son was a possible donor long before that night.

I dropped the phone onto the table and covered my face with both hands.

For months, I'd believed Gwen had simply become obsessed with another man.

I thought she'd stopped loving me and stopped caring about our child.

But this was something far worse.

She hadn't merely abandoned Andy.

She had been planning to use him.

...

Third-Person POV

Gwen sat in a small interrogation room, staring at the table in front of her.

Her confidence was gone.

An officer placed a folder on the table.

"We need to ask you about this medical arrangement."

Gwen swallowed.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

The officer opened the folder and slid a document toward her.

"Your signature is on this authorization."

Gwen stared at it.

Her face slowly lost what little color remained.

"That's... that's not what it looks like."

"Then explain it."

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

The officer leaned forward.

"Why was a medical foundation paid to arrange an emergency blood transfer for your son six weeks before his accident?"

Gwen's hands began to tremble.

"Pierce needed the blood."

"So you planned to use your four-year-old son's blood to save him?"

Gwen lowered her eyes.

"I thought Andy would be fine."

The officer's expression hardened.

"You thought a four-year-old child could be treated like a blood bank?"

"I didn't want him to die!" Gwen suddenly shouted.

"I didn't want Pierce to die either!"

The room went silent.

The officer looked at her for several seconds.

"You understand that your son actually did die, don't you?"

Gwen's lips trembled.

For the first time, she couldn't hide behind excuses.

"I didn't know it would happen."

"But you knew there was a risk."

Gwen said nothing.

That silence was answer enough.

...

Liam's POV

That evening, I stood beside Andy's tiny coffin.

The funeral home was quiet, almost painfully so.

I placed his favorite toy beside him.

Then I looked at his photograph.

"Dad found out the truth, Andy."

My voice broke.

"You weren't forgotten. You were betrayed."

My lawyer called again.

"Mr. Morrison, there's one more thing."

"What?"

"We traced the account that paid the foundation. Gwen wasn't the only person who authorized the transaction."

I froze.

"Who else signed it?"

There was a long pause.

"Pierce Donovan."

My eyes hardened.

So Pierce hadn't been an innocent man lying in a hospital bed.

He knew exactly what Gwen had been planning.

And if the records were accurate, he had known about Andy's blood weeks before the accident.

I slowly clenched my fists.

The divorce wasn't enough anymore.

I wanted the truth.

And I was going to make sure both of them answered for what they had done.