Chapter 4 · I Signed The Form, Now Watch Them Burn

The men tore through my home, kicking doors open and storming into the bedroom. I heard the closet door wrench open.

"Got her! She's in here," one of them shouted.

Anna's cries rang out from the bedroom. "Mommy! Mommy."

"Anna!" I screamed, lunging toward the hallway, but Charles caught my arm.

"Ms. Quinn, let's not make this difficult," he said.

I turned on him, glaring, and bit out every word. "Charles, you tell Michael that if he takes Anna today, I will make him regret it for the rest of his life."

Charles let out a short laugh. "Ms. Quinn, you're one woman. What could you possibly do to make Mr. Reed regret anything?"

I fell silent.

In the bedroom, Anna dangled from the bodyguard's grip like a rag doll, her face red and blotchy from crying. She reached her small hands toward me. "Mommy! Hug."

My heart shattered into a thousand pieces.

"Take her," Charles said. He released my arm, smoothed the front of his suit, and walked out.

Anna's voice grew fainter. "Mommy—!"

I gripped the doorframe so hard my nails dug into the wood, and blood welled up beneath them.

Charles paused in the doorway, as if he had forgotten something. He glanced back at me. "One more thing, Ms. Quinn. Mr. Reed wanted me to pass along a message.

"He said Ethan is waiting for a life-saving gift, and he hopes you can find it in your heart to understand.

"After all, he's her little brother. It's only right that Anna helps him.

"If you disagree, you can call the authorities.

"But Mr. Reed wanted me to remind you that the consent form for the bone marrow match was signed by Anna of her own free will."

My head snapped up. "Free will? Anna is five years old. She has no idea what that word means."

Charles smirked. "It's all right here in black and white, complete with your handwritten signature."

He pulled out a sheet of paper and held it up. My name was scrawled across the bottom, plain as day, but I had never written it.

"You faked my signature!" I yelled.

Charles tucked the paper back inside his jacket and shrugged. "Ms. Quinn, you're welcome to take us to court. But I should tell you, you won't win."

He climbed into the black van waiting at the curb. The door slid shut, and the van pulled away, leaving me standing alone.

I stood in the empty doorway, shaking from head to toe. A forged signature. A so-called voluntary donation. All of it wrapped up in neat legal language.

Michael, you thought of everything, didn't you? You even dressed up murder with paperwork.

I walked back inside and sank to the floor. My mind went completely blank.

What should I do? Calling the police was useless. They had that document.

Going after her myself was impossible. Michael's power was beyond anything I could touch.

What was I supposed to do?

Was I supposed to stand here and let them wheel Anna into that room, let them push that long needle into her spine, let them drain her dry until she was nothing but a cold body on a metal table?

No. Never. I did not come back in time to watch my daughter die twice.

I would save her. I had to.

But how?

I clenched my fists so tightly my nails bit into my palms. Blood beaded up and dripped onto the floor.

Then a wild thought struck me, sharp and sudden as lightning. The organ donation consent form.

What if Anna were no longer their legal donor? What if I could change her legal status before they made their move?

I jumped up, rushed into the study, and turned on my computer.

My hands trembled so badly I could hardly type the words into the search bar. [Organ donation registration process.]

[Organ donation laws for minors.]

[Legal validity of whole body donation.]

Results filled the screen, and my eyes flew across the text.

[Living organ donation is restricted to spouses, direct blood relatives, or collateral relatives within three generations...]

[Minors may only donate organs with written consent from a legal guardian...]

[Anatomical gifts require explicit consent from the donor before death. If the donor is deceased, all immediate family members must agree in writing...]

My eyes stopped on the last line. Anatomical gift.

If Anna were gone, her body would belong to me to decide over.

If I signed the donation papers while Anna was still alive, then Michael could not touch her.

Chapter 4

The men tore through my home, kicking doors open and storming into the bedroom. I heard the closet door wrench open.

"Got her! She's in here," one of them shouted.

Anna's cries rang out from the bedroom. "Mommy! Mommy."

"Anna!" I screamed, lunging toward the hallway, but Charles caught my arm.

"Ms. Quinn, let's not make this difficult," he said.

I turned on him, glaring, and bit out every word. "Charles, you tell Michael that if he takes Anna today, I will make him regret it for the rest of his life."

Charles let out a short laugh. "Ms. Quinn, you're one woman. What could you possibly do to make Mr. Reed regret anything?"

I fell silent.

In the bedroom, Anna dangled from the bodyguard's grip like a rag doll, her face red and blotchy from crying. She reached her small hands toward me. "Mommy! Hug."

My heart shattered into a thousand pieces.

"Take her," Charles said. He released my arm, smoothed the front of his suit, and walked out.

Anna's voice grew fainter. "Mommy—!"

I gripped the doorframe so hard my nails dug into the wood, and blood welled up beneath them.

Charles paused in the doorway, as if he had forgotten something. He glanced back at me. "One more thing, Ms. Quinn. Mr. Reed wanted me to pass along a message.

"He said Ethan is waiting for a life-saving gift, and he hopes you can find it in your heart to understand.

"After all, he's her little brother. It's only right that Anna helps him.

"If you disagree, you can call the authorities.

"But Mr. Reed wanted me to remind you that the consent form for the bone marrow match was signed by Anna of her own free will."

My head snapped up. "Free will? Anna is five years old. She has no idea what that word means."

Charles smirked. "It's all right here in black and white, complete with your handwritten signature."

He pulled out a sheet of paper and held it up. My name was scrawled across the bottom, plain as day, but I had never written it.

"You faked my signature!" I yelled.

Charles tucked the paper back inside his jacket and shrugged. "Ms. Quinn, you're welcome to take us to court. But I should tell you, you won't win."

He climbed into the black van waiting at the curb. The door slid shut, and the van pulled away, leaving me standing alone.

I stood in the empty doorway, shaking from head to toe. A forged signature. A so-called voluntary donation. All of it wrapped up in neat legal language.

Michael, you thought of everything, didn't you? You even dressed up murder with paperwork.

I walked back inside and sank to the floor. My mind went completely blank.

What should I do? Calling the police was useless. They had that document.

Going after her myself was impossible. Michael's power was beyond anything I could touch.

What was I supposed to do?

Was I supposed to stand here and let them wheel Anna into that room, let them push that long needle into her spine, let them drain her dry until she was nothing but a cold body on a metal table?

No. Never. I did not come back in time to watch my daughter die twice.

I would save her. I had to.

But how?

I clenched my fists so tightly my nails bit into my palms. Blood beaded up and dripped onto the floor.

Then a wild thought struck me, sharp and sudden as lightning. The organ donation consent form.

What if Anna were no longer their legal donor? What if I could change her legal status before they made their move?

I jumped up, rushed into the study, and turned on my computer.

My hands trembled so badly I could hardly type the words into the search bar. [Organ donation registration process.]

[Organ donation laws for minors.]

[Legal validity of whole body donation.]

Results filled the screen, and my eyes flew across the text.

[Living organ donation is restricted to spouses, direct blood relatives, or collateral relatives within three generations...]

[Minors may only donate organs with written consent from a legal guardian...]

[Anatomical gifts require explicit consent from the donor before death. If the donor is deceased, all immediate family members must agree in writing...]

My eyes stopped on the last line. Anatomical gift.

If Anna were gone, her body would belong to me to decide over.

If I signed the donation papers while Anna was still alive, then Michael could not touch her.