Cameron looked at me with her eyes widened in intense fear. “My dear, you can’t be seriously considering it! These organs, they are all harvested with illegal means!”
“Mom, that’s not what I meant. I’m just trying to figure out where Dad could be heading that’s all. Whatever leads he has right now, we have to discuss this matter together before deciding what to do.”
She nodded, but her body did not stop trembling.
When Cameron was calmer and more collected, she started to analyze the situation, “Your father had washed his hands off this business many years ago. But starting a few days ago, he’s been secretly contacting a few of his old buddies regarding this matter. I overheard from his conversations that the black market, as well as the operations, are only carried out in A City. So, your dad must be on his way to the airport to fly over there and meet with the dealer.”
Upon hearing which, I made another phone call to Ashton for him to intercept Zachary at the airport. I turned to Cameron and asked, “Who else knows about this?”
She shook her head. “Just the two of us. I didn’t want him to take the risk. If found out, our whole family will be done for.”
Sensing that my silence might mean otherwise, Cameron tried to probe, “Scarlett, tell me, if your father found both compatible bone marrow and kidney for Summer, would you have agreed to it?”
Her question was loaded with massive moral conundrums; my head was filled with many questions to which I didn’t have immediate answers. I lowered my head to look at my phone, at a loss for words.
Cameron grew more anxious as she grabbed onto my arm and said grievously, “My dear, listen to me, you can’t do this. Summer is such an adorable kid and we all love her dearly. But you can’t gamble your future with this matter. It would have been okay if this only involves me and your father, since we’ve had our share of lives at this age. But things are different for you and Ashton. You’re finally expecting another child and you still have a long way to go. As for Summer, we may just have to accept that this is her destiny. Please promise me you won’t make a rash decision on this.”
Cameron’s concerns were valid, and anyone with a sound logic should arrive at the same conclusion. However, I had long regarded Summer as my own daughter, so the only logical sense as a mother was to save my daughter by whatever means necessary.
I looked at her and sighed. “Mom, Summer is my daughter. There’s no way I’ll give up on her. If the dealer manages to find a donor from a clean source, why can’t we give Summer a chance to live?”
Cameron’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Are you out of your mind? There’s no way that kind of things will be clean!”
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