Chapter 6 - The Call in the Dark
Two weeks later, the physical atmosphere around Maya had transformed completely.
The physical scar on her scalp had healed into a thin, neat line, concealed beneath her thick auburn hair. Her room at the hospital was no longer a cold, terrifying place filled with hostile family members, but a sanctuary. Her bedside table was covered in fresh flowers sent by former coworkers, college friends, and accounting clients who had learned of her situation and rallied around her.
It was 2:15 AM on a rainy Tuesday morning when the phone beside Maya’s bed began to ring.
She blinked awake, reaching out to tap the screen. It was an unknown number originating from the Cook County Department of Corrections.
Maya hesitated for a moment, then answered, putting it on speaker.
"You have a collect call from an inmate at Cook County Jail," an automated voice chimed. "To accept charges, press one."
Maya pressed one.
"Maya? Maya, is that you?!"
It was Richard's voice. But it didn't sound like the cold, commanding patriarch who had stood in front of her hospital door window blocking her cries for help. His voice was broken, raspy, and trembling with sheer, desperate panic.
"Dad," Maya said, her voice completely flat.
"Maya, oh God, thank God you answered!" Richard stammered, background noise of shouting inmates and echoing metal doors leaking through the line. "Maya, you have to help us! You have to talk to the prosecutor! They're treating us like monsters in here! Your mother... she's in the medical wing! Her blood pressure is through the roof, she's having panic attacks every night!"
Maya said nothing. She simply listened, holding the phone steady.
"And Connor... Maya, Connor got into a fight in the cafeteria yesterday," Richard sobbed. "They broke his nose, Maya! He’s just a boy! He can't survive in a place like this! The public defender told us that if this goes to trial with that video, your mother is looking at fifteen years in state prison! I'm looking at seven! Connor is looking at five!"
"Then I suggest you get a better lawyer," Maya replied calmly.
"With what money?!" Richard screamed, his composure shattering. "Your lawyer seized the house! They put a frozen lock on our joint bank accounts! Connor's shop was cleared out by his landlord! We don't have a dime left, Maya! Thomas backed out—he said he won't represent us because it's a conflict of interest and it's ruining his firm's reputation!"
"You had two hundred and fifty thousand dollars of my money five years ago," Maya noted softly. "You spent it on Connor’s luxury trips, your car payments, and Mom’s pearl earrings. You saw me as an endless supply of cash until my organs gave out. And even then, when I was dying, you brought transfer papers instead of medicine."
"We are your parents!" Richard begged, his voice breaking into ugly, ragged gasps. "We made mistakes! We were desperate! Connor was under so much pressure! Please, Maya, drop the charges! Tell the police it was an accident! We'll sign whatever you want! We'll leave you alone forever! Just don't send your mother to prison!"
Maya looked down at her right arm, at the small plastic bracelet that bore her name and medical record number. She remembered the feeling of her blood running down her jaw. She remembered her father taking three steps forward to block the window so no one could save her.
"Dad," Maya said softly.
"Yes! Yes, baby, I'm here!"
"When Mom raised that monitor over my head," Maya whispered, "you didn't look at me. You looked at the door. You didn't care if she killed me, as long as nobody saw."
"Maya, no—"
"I am not your daughter anymore," Maya said cleanly. "I am the witness for the State of Illinois. Do not call this number again."
She pressed the red end-call button.
She immediately opened her settings, blocked incoming calls from the county jail system, and set her phone back onto the charging pad.
May you like
Five minutes later, Dr. Chen, her transplant surgeon, stepped into the room, holding a silver tablet with a bright green notification flashing across the screen.
"Maya," Dr. Chen said, a broad, triumphant smile spreading across his face. "Get ready. We found a match. A donor kidney just arrived in Chicago."
