Sons' Betrayal Rejected

I yanked the IV line from Addilyn's hand, sending the medication spilling across the floor. My eldest son, Oscar, hurried forward to intervene.

“Mom! What are you doing? The sedative is meant to ease Addilyn’s pain, not harm her!”

“Ease her pain?” I retorted, indicating the IV bag. “At that dosage, you’re trying to knock her out permanently!”

Addilyn lay in bed, her breathing so faint it was barely perceptible. I realized that if I had been even a moment later, she might never have woken up.

Charlie, my second son, stood quietly to the side, adjusting his glasses with a composed demeanor. “Mom, please don’t be upset. We only want what’s best for Addilyn…”

“Be quiet!” I was shaking with anger. “You decided on your own to donate her organs while I wasn’t here, and now you’ve nearly killed her with an overdose. Is this your idea of what’s best?”

Emiliano, my third son, frowned, sounding hurt. “Mom, how can you think that of us? We’ve been taking turns caring for Addilyn, hardly getting any sleep. Donating organs was her choice; we tried to dissuade her but she insisted.”

I brushed off their excuses and pulled back Addilyn’s blanket, only to be horrified.

Her fingernails had been removed, her fingertips still bleeding. Judging by the wounds, they had been violently pried off.

“What kind of monsters are you?!” My voice shook with fury.

Zoya Riley, standing nearby, rolled up her sleeve to show scratches on her arm. “Professor, Addilyn has been very unstable lately. You see… I was just trying to clean her up last time when she scratched me badly.”

“We only wanted to prevent her from harming herself…”

“That's nonsense!” I cut her off sharply. “Addilyn doesn’t have the strength to lift her arms; how could she have scratched you?”

I struggled to control my anger, lifting Addilyn’s shirt to check for more injuries. There, I found a fresh incision on her abdomen. The stitching was crude, as if done in a hurry.

“What… what is this?” My eyes burned with rage. “Give me a rational explanation right now!”

The three boys exchanged anxious glances until Charlie finally spoke up. “Mom, we only took a tissue sample from her organs to better assess her condition.”

I laughed bitterly. “That’s a load of rubbish! You’re selling her samples for research, trying to get a good price, aren’t you?”

Addilyn’s condition was extremely rare, with fewer than a hundred cases worldwide. Such unique sample data would be highly sought after by research institutions.

“Professor Washington, I understand your feelings, but there’s no cure for Addilyn’s disease. Rather than let her suffer, contributing to medical science seems more meaningful!”

As soon as she finished speaking, I slapped her hard across the face. “How dare you decide my daughter’s fate? Why don’t you donate yourself?”

Zoya stepped back, holding her cheek, tears immediately welling up, her expression one of utmost grievance.

Seeing this, my three sons moved to defend her, turning on me instead:

“Mom! How could you hit Zoya? Was she wrong?”

“You haven’t been here. She’s been caring for Addilyn so compassionately. Isn’t that enough?”

“Compassionate?” I scoffed. “Then explain to me, who tore off Addilyn’s nails? Who left the incision on her abdomen?”

At that moment, an uneasy silence fell over the hospital room.

I couldn’t stand to argue any further. I quickly retrieved the newly developed medicine from my bag and administered it to Addilyn. My sons were alarmed:

“Mom! Don’t act rashly. This medicine hasn’t even been through clinical trials!”

“Be quiet!” I silenced them with a cold glare. “Are you even qualified to question me?”

As the medication slowly entered Addilyn’s body, everyone, including myself, held their breath.