Chương 13 - The VerdictAt 2:14 PM, the heavy wooden door of the waiting room swung open.
Dr. Evans stood in the doorway. He wasn't holding a chart. He didn't have a clipboard. But the expression on his face—a complex mixture of professional gravity and profound relief—made my heart hammer against my ribs like a sledgehammer.
Grace scrambled off the sofa so fast her coffee cup tipped over, spilling dark liquid across the oak table, though neither of us cared.
“Dr. Evans?” Grace breathed, her hands flying to her mouth. “The results...?”
Dr. Evans took two steps into the room, looking between Grace and me. A slow, cautious smile broke across his tired features.
“Mrs. Sterling. Mr. Sterling,” the doctor said clearly. “The HLA tissue-typing panel has cleared the sequencer. The genetic markers match across six primary loci. It’s an exceptionally rare and high-grade compatibility match.”
The room spun.
For a terrifying second, the hum of the hospital monitors outside seemed to fade into absolute silence.
“A match?” Grace whispered, her knees buckling slightly. I moved instinctively, catching her elbow before she could stumble, steadying her against my side. She didn't pull away. She gripped my forearm with both hands, her fingernails digging through my sleeve. “He’s a match? Ryan is a match?”
“He is,” Dr. Evans nodded firmly. “Your bone marrow is compatible, Mr. Sterling. We can proceed with the harvest and transplant protocol tomorrow morning at 7:00 AM.”
Grace let out a sound that was half-sob, half-laugh—a jagged, broken noise of pure, unadulterated release. She buried her face against my chest, her shoulders shaking violently as three years of held-back terror finally broke like a shattered dam.
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I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her small frame tightly against my ribs, burying my face in her damp hair as tears of my own finally spilled over my eyelashes.
“I told you,” I whispered against her crown, my voice thick with emotion. “I’m not going anywhere.”
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