The Kidney I Wouldn’t Give

Toby needed a new kidney. The uremia was destroying his body, and my husband insisted I be the one to give up a part of mine to save him.

On the day of the transplant, I turned off my phone and completely vanished. My entire family went absolutely feral trying to track me down. It took four full hours before I finally showed my face.

Because of my absence, Toby missed the critical window for surgery. He didn't make it.

My relatives branded me a cold blooded monster. They stirred up a media frenzy, spinning a narrative that I didn't deserve to be called a mother.

I just sat there, slowly taking a sip of my dark roast coffee. "His father is still breathing, isn't he? Why didn't he go under the knife?"

...

I was touching up my lipstick in the bathroom when Jeff's call finally came through.

His voice was frantic, breathless. "Serena, where the hell are you? They are rolling Toby into the operating room right now. Where are you!"

"I am at home." My tone was dead flat.

Jeff snapped. "Are you out of your mind? Look at the time. Get your ass over here!"

I hung up on him without a second thought, picked up my mascara, and looked at my reflection.

I was not in a rush. In my past life, I had been exactly like him. When I first heard about Toby's failing organs, my heart shattered. Jeff relentlessly pressured me to donate, and I caved. The surgery ruined me. My health deteriorated rapidly, and I ultimately died of kidney failure.

Thinking about it now, it was utterly absurd. We were both his parents. Why was Jeff completely exempt from the sacrifice?

I had autoimmune issues. I was never the ideal candidate. Yet Jeff pushed, and Toby wept, begging me to save him. Blinded by maternal instinct, I gave up my kidney without a second thought. My body never recovered.

Looking back, Jeff had been way too eager. He was more desperate than the surgeons. I had originally planned to find a willing donor on the registry, even offering to cover all expenses out of my own pocket.

Jeff had violently opposed the idea. He pointed a finger in my face and yelled that other people had families too, that we couldn't just throw money around and act selfish. "He is our own flesh and blood, Serena! You are his mother. Why can't you make a sacrifice for once?"

From day one, he manipulated me into agreeing, and when the time came, he practically shoved me toward the scalpel.

I pulled out my phone and opened his Amazon account.

It wasn't paranoia. Jeff's behavior had been setting off alarm bells for weeks. His iMessage history was spotless, almost surgically scrubbed. But shopping apps tell a different story. I knew his passcode, and the moment I saw the recent chat logs with a third party seller, my blood turned to ice. A searing rage clawed its way up my throat.

I took screenshots of everything and forwarded them to my cousin, Marcus.

"Look into this. Dig up everything you can."

Then, I powered off my phone. I finished my makeup, took my sweet time eating a croissant at a downtown cafe, and did a little window shopping. It wasn't until eleven in the morning that I finally strolled through the hospital doors.

Jeff was pacing outside the surgical ward, his face twisted in pure rage. The moment he spotted me, he lunged. "Where the hell have you been! Our son has been waiting for you for hours!"

I looked at him with absolute indifference. "I thought about it, and I am backing out. My immune system is wrecked, and the specialists said I am high risk. You should do it."

Jeff recoiled as if I had slapped him. "How can I do it! I am the man of the house. If my body breaks down, who is going to provide?"

I stared deep into his eyes. My gaze was sharp enough to draw blood. Jeff realized he had slipped up and quickly shifted tactics.

"Serena, can you really bear to watch Toby suffer? He is on death's door, and he is only twelve. I am begging you. Save him. I will transfer every single asset I own into your name. Just please!"

Tears streamed down his face. He dropped to his knees right there on the linoleum floor.

Nurses, doctors, and passing families stopped to stare. A crowd was forming. Jeff's agonizing desperation clashed perfectly with my icy composure, painting me as the wicked stepmother straight out of a nightmare.

Just then, the double doors of the operating room swung open.

"The boy is crashing. What is the hold up!" the scrub nurse demanded.

Jeff grabbed my arm and shoved me toward her. "Take her! She is the mother!"

I shook him off and held up my hands. "Sorry. I had a heavy breakfast. I am not cleared for anesthesia."

Jeff looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel.

"You did this on purpose! That is your own flesh and blood, and you are letting him die! You are a monster!"

A wail echoed down the corridor as my mother-in-law, Martha, pushed through the crowd. "My poor, sweet grandson!" She locked eyes with me. "Do you have a heart of stone, Serena? That is your baby!"

Right behind Martha was a younger woman. Ruby. The live-in nanny Jeff had hired.

Ruby rushed forward and grabbed my hands. "Serena, please don't be mad. Toby's life is on the line. You have to save him!"

Ruby's face was deathly pale. Her panic looked incredibly genuine.

Jeff tugged at my sleeve. "Serena, I am begging you. Just go in there. I swear to God I will never do you wrong. Just do it!"

The wailing and begging echoed off the sterile hospital walls. The crowd was whispering, pointing fingers, casting disgusted glares my way.

I let out a heavy sigh, secretly pinching my own thigh hard enough to force tears into my eyes. "It is not that I don't want to help. I physically can't. You saw my blood work, Jeff. What if I don't wake up from the anesthesia?"

Martha practically jumped out of her shoes. "He is your son! How can you be so incredibly selfish!"

I shot her a freezing glare. "Jeff is his biological father. Why isn't he on the table?" I paused, letting the silence hang. "Besides, I already ate. If they put me under now, I could aspirate and die. Is that what you want, Martha? You want me dead on that table?"

Cornered, Martha spat out the first thing that came to her mind. "So what if you die? You are not as important as my son and my grandson!"

I just stared at her. The crowd gasped. Realizing she had exposed her true colors, Martha quickly tried to backtrack. "You promised him, and now you are backing out. You planned this, didn't you!"

Before I could tear her apart, the doctor pushed Toby's gurney out into the hall. "The patient's vitals are dropping. We don't have a donor kidney. We are taking him back to the ICU."

Toby weakly turned his head toward me, tears spilling down his hollow cheeks. "Mom, why won't you save me? Am I going to die?"

His lips were cracked and blue. His small, trembling hand reached for mine. "Please, Mom. Just help me."

It was a sight that would shatter any human heart.

And it shattered mine. In my previous life, seeing him ravaged by illness tore my soul to shreds.

And what was my reward? After the surgery wrecked my body, he never even bothered to step foot in my hospital room.

Everything made sickening sense now.

I gently patted Toby's frail hand. "I can't help you, baby. But your dad is right here. It is him. He is the one who refuses to give you his kidney."

I stood up and pointed right at Jeff. "He didn't make this child by himself. Since I am disqualified, it is his turn. Don't worry, Jeff. Once you donate, I will hire the best nurses to take care of you."

I grabbed Jeff's arm and physically shoved him toward the doctor. "He is my husband. His pre-op labs are flawless. He is the biological father. He is a perfect match!"

Jeff's face turned a nauseating shade of green. He dug his heels in. "No. I am not a match. I..."

I let out a dark chuckle. Right at that moment, my phone buzzed in my pocket. A text from Marcus.

I dropped Jeff's arm. He instantly cowered behind his mother, shooting me a look of pure, venomous hatred.

I glanced at the files Marcus had just sent. A chill ran down my spine. So that was the truth.

"What is the matter, Jeff? Are you scared?" I mocked him. "If you don't have the guts to do it, keep my name out of your mouth. Take him back to his room."

Toby gripped my fingers, refusing to let go. "Mom... am I really going to die?"

Looking at his chalky face, a cold light flickered in my eyes.

Martha started howling again. "Oh, Toby! Your mother refuses to save you. What are we going to do! What did our family do to deserve a curse like this woman?" She turned to her son. "I told you not to marry her, Jeff. We are not from the same world. She is venomous!"

Jeff dropped to his knees beside the gurney, clutching Toby's frail body. "I am so sorry, buddy. It is all Dad's fault. Dad is useless."

Meanwhile, Ruby, the faithful nanny, suddenly turned to the crowd, waving her hands. "Who are you people? Stop recording us!"

I glanced over. Several bystanders had their smartphones out, camera lenses aimed directly at my face.

"Everyone on TikTok needs to see this! This psycho is letting her own kid die!" one teenager yelled.

"What a cold blooded bitch."

"She doesn't even deserve to breathe."

The toxic whispers swarmed around me like flies.

I didn't utter a single word. I just stood there, completely still, watching the father and son put on their little theatrical performance. A faint, cynical smile touched my lips.

Ruby stepped up and grabbed my sleeve again. "Serena, please. He needs you. He can't survive without you."

I ripped my arm out of her grasp. "If you want him saved so badly, save him yourself. I am not doing it."

Toby looked at me, utterly betrayed. "Mom, what are you saying? You are my mother. Why won't you save me!"

"Because you are not solely my burden to carry. Your father is standing right there." I smoothed out the wrinkles in my tailored blazer. "I am done here, Jeff. If you want a savior, look in the mirror. I have a board meeting to catch."

"Stop right there!" Jeff roared, his voice bouncing off the walls. "Are you psychotic? Are you screwing someone else? This is your flesh and blood, and you are leaving him to die. You are out of your damn mind!"

He turned to the crowd, his eyes wild. "Look at her! This is Serena, the Director of Sales at Apex Global! She is throwing her own son in the trash!"

Jeff outing my corporate identity made things crystal clear.

This man was desperate. If he couldn't bully me into giving up my kidney, he was going to nuke my professional reputation.

What was his endgame?

My eyes drifted to Ruby. Why was a simple nanny injecting herself into family trauma, deliberately drawing the crowd's cameras toward me?

I hoisted my leather tote onto my shoulder and turned on my heel. Jeff lunged and grabbed my strap. "You are not leaving until you explain yourself!"

"There is nothing to explain. I have work to do. He is your problem now."

I shoved him backward and walked away. Jeff's voice chased me down the hall. "Serena! If you walk out that door, you are going to regret it for the rest of your life!"

I tuned him out entirely.

The second I stepped out of the automatic hospital doors, I sent a picture of Ruby to Marcus.

"Look up this woman for me too."

In my previous life, I had died way too fast. I never had the luxury of putting the pieces together. But looking at it now, none of these people made sense. Why was the nanny so frantic? Why was she directing the mob to film me? And Martha's slip of the tongue was the nail in the coffin.

While waiting for Marcus to work his magic, I headed to the office.

The moment I stepped onto the sales floor, the air shifted. I could feel the hostile stares burning into the back of my neck.

They weren't even trying to hide it. A few junior executives muttered loudly as I walked by.

"How does she even have the nerve to show up today?"

"Corporate shark. I guess you have to be dead inside to make it to Director."

"God, I feel sick for that poor kid."

I tightened my jaw. News traveled fast in the digital age.

I had barely sat down at my desk when the intercom buzzed. It was Mr. Gallagher, the CEO.

"Serena. I saw the viral clips. You need to get your personal life under control. Take a few days off. Go home."

My stomach dropped.

There were wolves in this company waiting for me to bleed. I had clawed my way to the Director's chair. If I walked out now, by the time I came back, my office would belong to someone else.

Women in corporate America already had targets on their backs. Being a high powered executive made me a prime target for resentment. Now, with my domestic drama plastered over the internet, my career was on the verge of going up in smoke.

"Mr. Gallagher, I promise you, I am being set up. You know my track record. Apex Global will not suffer from this."

"And..."

Before I could finish the sentence, the glass doors of the sales department violently swung open. Jeff stormed in, bypassing security.

"Are you happy now, Serena!" he screamed, his voice cracking with hysteria.

"Toby is dead!"

"Get your ass out here, you heartless bitch!"

Toby was dead?!