Six hours later, the surgery ended.
Sophia walked out of the operating room. Gabriel and Mrs. Rivers were anxiously waiting outside. Even Quinn and Tyler were there. Everyone was concerned about how Ethan Rivers was doing.
Sophia said the surgery was very successful. Gabriel and Mrs. Rivers immediately burst into tears of joy. Quinn and Tyler also jumped up happily.
Not a single person cared where I had gone.
In the operating room, Ethan Rivers was wheeled out. Mrs. Rivers followed the nurse to the hospital room first. Gabriel stayed behind to thank Sophia, his eyes brimming with tears. He held Sophia's hand.
"Little Sophia, you're truly a wonderful daughter-in-law. If it weren't for you finding the donor heart this time and personally performing Ethan's surgery, his surgery wouldn't have gone this smoothly. If only we'd let Ethan marry you back then. Actually, that year, when he was going to tell you, he got halfway through —" Gabriel sighed again. "Well, never mind. Can you tell me who donated this heart? I want to thank their family properly."
Just as the words left his mouth, the operating room door behind them opened. A nurse wheeled me out, covered in a white sheet.
As she passed by the two of them, a gust from the window lifted a corner of the white sheet, revealing a hand with a birthmark.
Gabriel froze. He recognized that birthmark. He instinctively moved to follow.
Seeing this, Sophia quickly stopped him, blocking Gabriel's view. "Organ donors and recipients can't know each other. It's the rule. Please don't ask anymore."
Gabriel didn't think much of it. That birthmark probably just looked similar.
In the hallway, Sophia took over from the nurse, personally wheeling me to the morgue.
Inside the morgue, it was freezing cold. She lifted the white sheet to look at my pale face, beneath it a horrific wound across my chest. Even knowing this wasn't truly death, seeing me lying there cold in the morgue, Sophia's heart still clenched painfully. As if she'd truly lost me, a belated pain spread through her.
Sophia took my hand, comforting herself as she spoke. "You'll come back. You love me so much. You'll definitely come back, even if you don't want to. Before the mission is complete, the system won't let you leave me."
Sophia bowed her head, pressing her forehead against my cold one, her voice low and quiet. "When you come back, we'll live well together."
If it were me from before, I would have gently stroked her brow and said, "Yes."
But now only endless silence answered her.
From Sophia's experience, I would usually return within three days. I would switch to a different body, living with a different identity. And Sophia was confident that no matter how I changed, no matter what identity I took on, as long as I appeared by her side, she would definitely recognize me.
Walking out of the morgue, Sophia saw Quinn standing at the door, looking inside, her expression slightly unnatural. "Is Dad dead?"
Sophia only said he'd be back in a few days.
Quinn said nothing, walked into the morgue, lifted the white sheet covering me. Though she'd been prepared, her face still paled several shades. Her eyes suddenly reddened. Then, without a word, she turned and ran away.
In Ethan Rivers' hospital room, his anesthesia gradually wore off. He touched the place where his heart was, his expression somewhat dazed. "Will I be like a normal person from now on?"
Sophia nodded.
Ethan immediately teared up with emotion, looking at Gabriel and Mrs. Rivers. "Mom, Dad, Sophia, thank you all so much."
The hospital room filled with an atmosphere of happiness.
Ethan wiped his eyes, suddenly asking, "Where's my brother? Now that I'm better, he must be very happy, too. I want to tell him the good news."
Sophia's expression changed slightly.
Gabriel scoffed dismissively. "Who knows where he went off to die? From when you went into surgery until now, we haven't seen him once. Clearly he doesn't care about you at all."
Understanding flashed through Ethan's eyes. But he still asked Sophia uneasily, "Sophia, is he angry with me?"
Sophia didn't know what to say. No matter how she explained my identity, death was the clear reality. She didn't answer, only comforted him. "Rest now."
Then she left the hospital room.
That night, Gabriel went outside to smoke. He saw a nurse cleaning the room next door. Inside was empty.
Gabriel couldn't help asking, "Where's the person who was in there?"
The nurse shook her head. "I don't know. I'm just here to clean the room. Are you a family member of the patient? He seems to have left a paper on the bed. You can take it."
As she spoke, the nurse handed over a piece of paper.
Gabriel took it and looked. It turned out to be a compatibility test report. The results showed my heart and Ethan Rivers were a perfect match.
In the cold night, the cigarette in Gabriel's hand trembled. "What is this?"
The nurse thought he didn't understand, explaining, "It's a compatibility report. The donor and recipient are very compatible."
Gabriel's hands began to shake. He couldn't believe it, flipping the paper over, examining it carefully front and back. On it, my name and Ethan Rivers' name, written clearly, unmistakably.
In that moment, he remembered all the tests I'd done before. Remembered the test report I'd dropped at the hospital room door. Remembered the body covered in a white sheet outside the operating room. The wind had blown open the white sheet. The birthmark on those hands, so familiar.
Gabriel's hands trembled. The paper fell to the ground. His steps shaking, he turned and headed toward the morgue, nearly falling the entire way.
When he pushed open the morgue door and saw me lying on the body shelf without a breath, Gabriel's face completely lost color. He nearly collapsed.
Sophia rushed over to support him, blocking his view, still trying to explain.
Gabriel shoved her away, finally breaking down. "What happened here?"
Sophia stayed silent.
Gabriel demanded, "You said you found a donor heart. The donor heart was Jackson's. What did you do?" Gabriel collapsed, roaring.
Sophia explained. "Ethan's condition was very critical. Donor hearts are too hard to find."
"So you let Jackson die. No matter how bad he was, he's still my son. He's also your husband."
Sophia looked up at Gabriel. "This was the only way to save Ethan. If you had to choose, would you do the same?"
The morgue fell into silence. No answer was the best answer.
Gabriel staggered back several steps. Realizing something, finally covering his face in anguish, speaking to my corpse. "I'm sorry. Dad is so sorry."
Sophia said nothing, silently leaning against the wall. After a long while, she finally spoke. "I'm the one who should apologize to him. I've bought plane tickets abroad. Once Ethan is discharged, I'll take his ashes and leave this place. You know, he didn't want to see any of you."
After speaking, Sophia turned and left.