Part 3

Underneath it was a smaller line:

PEDIATRIC CARDIAC TRANSPLANT PROGRAM.

He looked at the doctor.

“Why would my wife be involved in a pediatric transplant program?”

Dr. Mercer hesitated.

Then he looked at me.

“Nora, perhaps it’s time he knew.”

I felt tears sliding down my cheeks.

Luca opened the envelope.

Inside were several documents, a photograph of a little girl with dark curls, and a handwritten letter.

The photograph showed a child sitting in a hospital bed, holding a stuffed rabbit.

She couldn’t have been older than seven.

On the back, someone had written:

For Nora, who promised she would never forget me.

Luca stared at it.

“Who is she?”

I swallowed.

“Her name is Lily.”

“Your daughter?”

“No.”

“Your niece?”

I shook my head.

“She’s the daughter of my younger sister, Elena.”

Luca frowned.

“Elena? I thought you told me she died.”

“She did.”

His expression softened.

“Then who is this child?”

“My niece. The only family I have left.”

I explained everything.

My younger sister had died three years earlier after a sudden medical emergency. Lily had been diagnosed with a congenital heart condition when she was very young.

After Elena died, Lily had been placed with temporary guardians while the family court determined her long-term care.

I had tried to become her legal guardian.

But there had been complications.

My sister’s former partner had disappeared, and the hospital needed additional family authorization before proceeding with certain decisions.

For months, I’d been attending appointments, meeting lawyers, and fighting to keep Lily from being moved into another home.

I hadn’t told Luca because I wanted to resolve the situation before bringing another responsibility into a marriage that already felt empty.

But there was something else.

Something I hadn’t even told my closest friends.

“Lily needs a heart transplant,” I whispered.

Luca looked down at the photograph.

“And you’re the one organizing everything?”

I nodded.

“She’s terrified. Every time I visit, she asks whether I’ll come back.”

My voice broke.

“Yesterday was her birthday, too. I promised I’d visit after my appointment.”

Luca looked at the hospital wristband again.

Then at the photograph.

“Why does the wristband have your maiden name?”

“Because that’s the name on my medical records and the guardianship documents. I never changed all my records after we married.”

He looked confused.

“But why were you wearing a children’s hospital wristband?”

I hesitated.

Then I told him the truth.

“Because I fainted during my visit yesterday. They brought me into the emergency department. I didn’t want Lily to see how sick I was, so I told her I was only tired.”

Luca slowly lowered the photograph.

He had discovered two secrets in less than ten minutes.

His wife was seriously ill.

And the little girl she had been fighting to protect was waiting in a hospital for someone who might not be able to visit her again.

But that wasn’t the worst part.

The worst part was the final document inside the envelope.

A guardianship application.

My signature appeared at the bottom.

And beside it was a line indicating that the applicant had provided financial support for the child’s treatment.

Luca read the amount.

Then he read it again.

“Three million dollars?”

I looked away.

“That’s the amount I’ve committed to her treatment and long-term care.”