The Heart That Was Owed

The day my aunt suffered heart failure, my father had my mother strapped to an operating table and forcibly took her heart, giving it to my aunt and buying her another ten years of life. That day, I left home and devoted myself to my studies. I eventually entered the medical research institute with the highest score in the entire country. Ten years later, I developed an artificial heart and became a highly sought-after medical expert. Countless people came to me, desperate for a chance to receive one of my artificial hearts. One day, my assistant handed me the latest application list. At the very top of the list was my aunt's name. I picked up my pen and crossed it out. "Denied. And put her on the blacklist permanently." Chapter 1 Ten Years Later The applications were ranked by the amount of money offered. The fact that Ivy Clement's name appeared at the very top meant that my biological father, Sylvester Walsh, had put up a staggering sum. Even so, I crossed her name out without hesitation. She had stolen my mother's heart and used it for all these years. It was time to give it back. My assistant, Leah, took the list from me and stared at it for a moment. "Dr. Walsh, C&W Co. has allocated one billion dollars as research funding for us. It'll be distributed over ten years, which means a hundred million every year. If we accept this deal, not only will we never have to worry about funding again, but we could also double the number of patients we provide free treatment to every year…" I looked at Leah. Her voice gradually grew quieter under my gaze. Ten years. It had been ten years since my mother died. My eyes fell on the framed photograph on my desk. The original picture had been of the three of us, but I had torn it in half. All that remained was a woman holding a child in her arms, smiling brightly. "Don't worry about the funding. I've got it handled, but this application is permanently rejected." Leah looked confused. Ever since the artificial heart was introduced, I had set one rule: every year, a portion of our research funding would be set aside to provide free treatment for young people suffering from heart disease. Accepting C&W Co.'s offer would allow us to save countless more lives. But I still refused. Seeing that I was not going to change my mind, Leah cautiously asked, "Shall I reject C&W Co. then?" "Yes." She left my office, looking back at me three times before she finally disappeared from view. Then, I watched the number of people on the blacklist in the system change from zero to one. Leah had been with me since the very beginning of the project and had stayed by my side all these years. However, she did not know that the rule was my way of doing something good for my mother in the afterlife. I had devoted myself to developing the artificial heart because I never wanted another tragedy like my mother's to happen again. My mother had been only 38 when she died. That day, I had just received my SAT results and was lying on the bed with my mother, discussing which universities I should apply to. But my father took her away while I was asleep, and it was not until the next day, after the surgery was over, that I woke up to learn that my aunt would continue to live, while my mother had been reduced to ashes. I had not even gotten to see her one last time. Instead, I saw my aunt. When she woke up, I watched my father rush to her side, clutching her hand and weeping with joy. My aunt told me that from then on, she would take good care of me in my mother's place. But she was not my mother. And I would never have a mother again. After I learned the truth, I left home and changed my university application to medicine. From that day onward, I devoured one thick, heavy textbook after another. I studied cadaveric hearts again and again. Every morning, I went to the study room as soon as the sun came up, and whenever I woke, I went straight to the library. That was my life for eight years. By the time I graduated, I had already developed the artificial heart. It took another two years to take it from research and development to actual clinical use. Ten years. I had not seen any of them again in all that time—not until now. I returned to my seat and sat down in front of my computer. The new patient files had already been reorganized and sent to my email, but for some reason, I opened the old file instead. The page that appeared on the screen showed a woman's face strikingly similar to the mother I remembered. Tears immediately spilled from my eyes. My phone rang. After knocking twice, Leah hurried anxiously into my office. "Dr. Walsh, C&W Co. wants to speak with you. I don't know how they got your number, and I couldn't stop them…" I looked at the vibrating phone and brushed away my tears with my fingertip. "It's fine." Ten years had passed. "We should have a proper chat." Chapter 2 Let Him Try I swiped to answer, and a voice that was somehow both familiar and strange came through the phone. "Am I speaking to the head of the artificial heart project? This is Sylvester Walsh. I assume you know who I am." "Yes." "What do you want? Money? Status? Fame? One and a half billion? Two billion? I can donate. Maybe it'll bring my critically ill wife some good luck. I know your institute's director. If you take this case, getting promoted to deputy director isn't out of the question. Think about it." I said nothing, so he continued raising the stakes. "On top of all that, I can even transfer some of my personal shares to you…" I smiled and interrupted him for the first time. "Mr. Walsh, I'm not interested in any of your offers." Silence lingered between us for several seconds before he finally asked, "What do you want? Name your price." I suddenly laughed. "This isn't about money. It's about the patient. I can't do it." Sylvester laughed in disbelief, his anger evident in his voice. "You can't do it? I asked around. You're the only person in the world who can perform an artificial heart transplant. And now you're telling me you can't do it? You think you're being funny?" But the next second, he remembered he was the one asking for a favor and softened his tone. "You know what—let's do this. If you perform the surgery—if you save her—I'll give you 5% of C&W Co. I can transfer the shares to you personally right away. That's more money than you'll ever make in your entire life!" "Mr. Walsh, this isn't about money," I repeated. "What the hell is it about then?" Sylvester was practically shouting now. "You're a doctor. It's your job to save lives! If you refuse to save her, you're no different from a murderer!" He took several breaths before continuing, "I've had my assistant look into you. I heard you've poured your heart and soul into this project. You were so short on funding that you once signed a performance-based investment agreement with someone, and you still haven't paid it off. You even implanted experimental materials into your own body for the sake of your research despite everyone's objections and nearly died from anaphylactic shock. "That agreement comes due this year, doesn't it? C&W Co. is the industry leader. I just have to say the word, and no one will invest in your project again. You should understand what that means. The moment I pull my funding, you'll be facing a financial crisis before long. You and your little project will both be done for." "Is that so?" I gave a soft laugh. "Well, I appreciate your concern, Mr. Walsh, but if I go down, the person you're trying to save will go down before I do. You're welcome to try." He fell silent. All I could hear were several hurried breaths. "What do you want? What will it take for you to save her?" "I already told you. I won't." As if suddenly realizing something, he demanded, "Who are you? Do we know each other? Did I offend you somehow?" When I did not answer, he became even more convinced of his suspicion. "I don't care who you are! You're going to save her whether you want to or not! I want everything prepared and you on the operating table within three hours. Do it, or else!" "Try me." I pressed the button to end the call, and all his unfinished words dissolved into the steady beeping of the disconnected line. I was not afraid of Sylvester investigating me. I was under national security protection. My records were classified—he could never get to them. I opened the encrypted program on my desktop. It contained the truth I had spent the past ten years painstakingly piecing together—the evidence Sylvester had believed he had erased long ago. It was enough to bring down all of C&W Co. It was enough to send Sylvester and Ivy to hell together. All I had to do was send it, and they would instantly lose everything. I looked at the half of the old photograph sitting at the corner of my desk and murmured, "Mom, I know your heart has been exhausted from beating inside Ivy's body for all these years. But I'll have to ask you to wait a little longer. I still need to put on an act. People only fall hardest when they're at the very top. I want Sylvester to hurt the way I am hurting. Only then will it be an apology." Chapter 3 A Doctor on Trial Three hours passed. Sylvester never got me onto the operating table. Instead, I got to see his retaliation. Several law enforcement officers suddenly stormed into my office, their expressions stern and their tone unfriendly. "Someone from your team filed a real-name report accusing you of misappropriating public funds and withholding research funding. You need to cooperate with the investigation. Come with us." "That's impossible!" Leah instinctively protested before I could say anything. She stared at them in disbelief and stepped in front of the investigators. "You must've made a mistake. Anyone else might have done it, but Dr. Walsh? That's impossible!" Leah was so frantic that tears had already begun streaming down her face. "A few years ago, when the project was short on funding, Dr. Walsh sold her house just to keep it going. She even pawned her mother's belongings before she could sign that investment agreement…" "Leah, enough!" I said quietly. Leah immediately fell silent, but tears continued rolling down her cheeks. I looked around the room. Several members of my team had lowered their heads, afraid to meet my eyes. I had personally chosen every one of them. They had been with me since the very beginning of the project, and I had always believed I had treated them fairly. "You all…" I said quietly. "Very well. I'll remember this." They confiscated my access card and took every document I had handled for investigation. To prevent me from fleeing, they even confiscated my passport. Then, Sylvester called me. "Do you admit defeat?" "No." … The next day, he posted a video on social media. With tears streaming down his face, he begged me to save the woman he loved. "I don't know how I've ever crossed the doctor, but my wife is innocent. She's been lying in a hospital bed for ten years, able to see the world only through a window. Her greatest wish is simply to feel the sea breeze and see the snow. "Please. Give her that chance. If you agree, C&W Co. is willing to donate three billion to support artificial heart research and fund a dedicated medical assistance program!" The video sent the internet into an uproar. And with people deliberately stirring up outrage, I was suddenly condemned across the entire internet. 'Who the hell is refusing to do it? She must be some rat hiding in a gutter. How can someone be this jealous?' 'Seriously? This is a matter of life and death! How can she just stand by and let someone die? What a piece of trash!' 'C&W Co., look at me! If she won't perform the surgery, I'll drag her there myself if I have to! My mother is sick. Can I apply for one of those medical assistance spots?' 'Isn't it the doctor's job to save lives? What kind of unethical doctor is this?' 'Someone with no compassion doesn't deserve to live!' In no time, the internet's remarkably resourceful users had dug up all my personal information: my full name, Lucille Walsh; my license plate, BD51888; even my workplace at the research institute. When people uncovered the investigation and my suspension, some enraged patients' family members began waiting near the underground parking garage. The moment I showed my face, someone would throw rotten eggs at me. "Kill her! Kill her!" "Get off this planet, you heartless doctor!" For a while, I was public enemy number one. Chapter 4 The Trap Closes I had barely managed to hide inside my car when Sylvester's call came right on schedule. "Not a pleasant feeling, being hated by everyone, is it? Are you ready to admit defeat… my daughter?" "Shut up!" I cut him off immediately. "Hearing you call me that makes me sick." "Does it? That's a shame. But whether you admit it or not, I'm still your father." Sylvester laughed, then sighed. "I'm telling you, you'd better agree while you still can. After all, there's another way to save her besides an artificial heart." "Find someone else then." I hung up without hesitation and drove home. However, in my rearview mirror, I saw cars surrounding me from every direction. Less than a minute later, I was forced to a stop. The door of the black Mercedes in front of me opened, and Sylvester stepped out. He leaned against the car and said, "If you won't listen to reason, I guess I'll have to do this the hard way." His bodyguards grabbed me from both sides, restrained me, and threw me into his car beside him. "Who'd have thought, Lucielle? I really didn't want you to die—genuinely. All you had to do was agree. But you refused. Without the artificial heart, we'll have to use your heart to replace your mother's." I was held down and could do nothing but glare at him with murderous hatred. "My mother died this way ten years ago too, didn't she?" Sylvester lit a cigar, took a drag, and exhaled a cloud of smoke. "You're clever, but you're just as stubborn as your mother." He gave me a sidelong glance. "I tried to reason with her, but she wouldn't listen. She said she'd promised you a graduation trip. She wanted to keep that promise before giving Ivy her heart. Did she really think I was stupid enough not to see that she was trying to buy time? She wanted to stall until Ivy died so she could stay alive. How could I possibly let her have her way?" My temper flared instantly. "So, you had her kidnapped that day and forcibly took her heart, just to keep my aunt alive?" "That's right. I just didn't expect her heart to be as useless as she was. It only lasted ten years." He looked at me, his eyes as cold as if he were staring at a corpse. "Fortunately, once I discovered that she could be used as a heart donor, I persuaded her to have you. Her heart was useless once it failed, but yours could still be used. If you hadn't run away from home ten years ago, I wouldn't have lost my source of replacement hearts, and I wouldn't have needed to consider an artificial heart in the first place." I stared straight at Sylvester, my eyes burning with hatred. "So, the embezzlement, the online smear campaign, the doxxing… All of it was your setup." He smiled. "Haven't you already figured that out?" The car headed toward a private hospital, the very one where Ivy was being treated. Sylvester dragged me out of the car and looked earnestly into my eyes. "Don't worry. You'll end up just like your mother. You'll sign a voluntary organ donation agreement and give Ivy another chance at life. Whenever people talk about you afterward, they'll say you did it to atone for your sins. Everything will be perfectly legitimate." I gritted my teeth and shouted my final words at him. "Sylvester Walsh, you'll regret this. You'll pay for everything you've done!" He looked away and shoved me toward the doctors. "I'll be waiting." … The moment Sylvester's back was turned to me, I finally smiled. Inside my pocket, my phone screen blinked with the live-streaming indicator. Everything Sylvester had said and done became evidence in that moment, including the truth behind my mother's death ten years ago. I was finally brought into the operating room, where I saw Ivy lying on the bed. She was crying as she said to Sylvester, "Thank goodness we found her. We're finally going to be together again." That was right. Ivy had never been innocent. She was in on it the entire time and even took part in it. I gave her one last long look. I was strapped to the operating table, the cold needle of the anesthetic pressing against the back of my hand. Just as they were about to inject the liquid into my skin, I finally heard a commotion outside the operating room. The people I had been waiting for had arrived. The operating room doors were kicked open and slammed against the wall with a deafening bang. "Freeze! Nobody move!"