No Strings Attached

Upon hearing these words, Brodie felt the tension that had been coiled tight within him ease slightly. His voice was urgent as he asked, "Who is it?"

"It's Mr. Hayes. Can you believe it? His liver is a near-perfect match for your mother, and they have the same blood type. You can rest easy now. The surgery should go off without a hitch."

Brodie's brow furrowed with concern. "But the man's just been through a burn injury, not fully recovered. Can he handle it?"

The doctor clapped him on the shoulder, with a gesture of reassurance. "Don't worry. It'll be fine. Mr. Hayes insisted I tell you that he's willing to endure anything if it means saving your mother. I'll start prepping for the surgery immediately. You just wait here."

Before long, lan was discreetly wheeled into the operating room.

For fear of any leaks, lan was registered under an alias. His head was swathed in bandages.

Only the chief surgeon was in the know.

Two hours later, the doors to the OR swung open.

The doctor appeared, looking weary yet with a hint of a smile tugging at his lips. "The surgery was a success. The patient should wake up by tomorrow."

An emotional Brodie clenched his fist, then asked, "And what about him? How's Mr. Hayes?"

come around once the anesthesia wears

was placed in the room next

his mother's pallid face, Brodie's heart ached

fingertips gently brushed a stray lock of hair from her

emotion. "Mom,

how many close calls they'd

the time he was a mere whisper of life

until his grandfather had found them and erased their tracks that they could finally lead a peaceful

watched over his

find the person behind all this, and I'll make sure

then, Teo entered the

he said with concern, "I'll watch over her. You get some rest. She won't wake up till tomorrow, and you can't go on like this." Brodie arched an eyebrow at him and asked in a deep voice, "Is

a little surgery like this is nothing to him.

check on

that, Brodie rose from his chair and headed out

genuine, but so was his

to face

could see that Teo had indeed been

had pulled out all the stops to