I Give Up on Saving My Son's Life

My son, Tyler Youngblood, has a failing kidney. He needs a kidney transplant. My wife, Ruth Lister, asks me to donate one of mine. On the day of the surgery, I turn off my phone and disappear. My entire family frantically searches for me, and I don't show up until four hours later. Because of the delay, Tyler misses the optimal treatment window and tragically dies. My family accuses me of being heartless and stirs up public opinion against me, saying I am unfit to be a father. I leisurely sip my coffee and say, "It's not like his mother is dead. Why didn't she donate her kidney instead?" Chapter 1 I was in the bathroom when Ruth Lister, my wife, suddenly called me. "Flynn Youngblood! Why aren't you here yet? They've just taken Tyler into surgery. Where the hell are you?" "I'm still at home," I replied flatly. Ruth immediately lost her temper. "What are you still doing at home at this hour? Get here this instant!" I calmly hung up on her and stared blankly into the mirror. It had been exactly the same in my past life. I had been worried sick when I learned of my son Tyler Youngblood's illness. Ruth pressured me to donate a kidney to Tyler, which I promptly agreed to. In the end, my health deteriorated after the surgery, causing me to ultimately die of kidney failure. I couldn't help but wonder why Ruth didn't step up to donate her kidney in my past life, even though she was Tyler's mother. I was naturally prone to allergies and was far from the ideal match. Ruth was adamant about it, while Tyler kept pleading with me through his tears. I eventually agreed to the kidney donation without hesitation, driven by the paternal love surging within me. In the end, following the surgery, my health completely collapsed, leaving my body severely weakened. I eventually died of kidney failure. In retrospect, Ruth appeared overly impatient. She was in more of a hurry than the doctors at the hospital. I had intended to seek a voluntary donor, having even prepared the funds for it. Ruth was completely against it, though. She reproached me, snapping, "Those people have parents too, Flynn! How can we act so selfishly just because we have the money? Tyler is our son. How can you, as his father, not step up and make a sacrifice?" She did everything she could to get me to agree from the very beginning, and at that point, she was pushing me harder than ever to get the surgery. I took out my phone and opened her Amazon account. After all, I happened to possess her login credentials. It wasn't that I was being paranoid, but Ruth's behavior just didn't make sense. Ruth's WhatsApp was spotless, but it was a different story on her Amazon. I was stunned the moment I saw the messages on the screen, and a profound anger immediately took hold of me. I immediately sent the screenshots to Keith Greene, my cousin, and said, "Go look into this for me. Find out what the hell is going on here!" I turned my phone off and waited. I ate breakfast at a leisurely pace and even wandered around a bit while shopping. I then made my way to the hospital, arriving around 11:00 am. Ruth looked absolutely furious outside the OR. She snapped the moment she spotted me. "Where on earth have you been, Flynn? Tyler has been waiting for you for hours!" "I've thought it over for a long time, and I've decided not to donate," I said calmly. "I have pretty poor health, and the doctors said I'm not fit for it. I think you should do it instead, Ruth." Ruth immediately grew agitated. "How could I possibly do it? I'm a woman! What am I supposed to do if I go through with the donation and my health completely breaks down?" I fixed her with a piercing stare after hearing that. Ruth, realizing she had lost her composure, instantly shifted her expression. "Do you really have the heart to watch Tyler go through this? He's critically ill, even though he's only 12! I'm begging you, Flynn—please save Tyler! I'll sign all my assets over to you in the future if you do!" She broke down in tears and suddenly collapsed to her knees. In the busy hospital corridor, the crowd of onlookers kept growing. Ruth's anxious expression stood in sharp contrast to my calm composure, making it look as though I were some kind of wicked father in the family It was then that the OR door swung open. "Your child isn't going to make it much longer! What is going on out here?" Ruth forcefully pushed me forward, exclaiming, "Use his kidney! He's the child's father!" I shrugged my shoulders and said, "I'm sorry, but I had breakfast before coming here. I'm not cleared for surgery." Hearing this, Ruth flew into a rage. "You did that on purpose, Flynn! That is your own flesh and blood! How could you just sit there and let Tyler die? You're a pathetic excuse for a father!" In the midst of the sound of weeping, Demi Newell, my mother-in-law, barked, "That's my darling grandson inside! How could you be so heartless, Flynn? That's your son, for goodness sake!" There was another man with Demi, who turned out to be Ruth's assistant, Jacob Chapman. He immediately gripped my arm the moment he spotted me. "You should calm down first, Flynn," he said. "Tyler's life is on the line here! You have to get in there and save him right now!" Chapter 2 Jacob looked pale, his panic evidently genuine. Ruth grabbed me as well, yelling, "I'm begging you, Flynn. Please save Tyler!" In that instant, the scene was filled with nonstop crying and shouting, drawing everyone's attention as they pointed and whispered. I sighed and pinched my thigh, my eyes turning bloodshot. "It's not that I don't want to help. I simply can't. I mean, you've seen my medical report. What if I die on the operating table?" Demi practically jumped out of her skin with rage. "He's your biological son, Flynn! How can you be so utterly heartless as a father?" I rolled my eyes at Demi and asked, "Why can't Ruth step in when she's Tyler's mother? I already had breakfast earlier, so if you force me into that OR, you're basically asking for me to die on the operating table." Backed into the corner by my remarks, Demi instantly retorted, "Who cares if you die? You're not half as important as my daughter and my grandson!" She suddenly realized what she had just blurted out the moment I fixed my eyes on her. She immediately tried to salvage the situation, saying, "You agreed to do it in the first place, Flynn. How could you just back out now? You're clearly doing this on purpose!" I hadn't even had the chance to speak when the doctor wheeled Tyler out of the OR. "His condition isn't good, and since there's currently no available kidney, we'll take him back to the regular room for the time being." Tyler looked right at me as they wheeled him out, crying. "Why won't you save me, Dad? I'm going to die, aren't I? Please help me, Dad!" His lips were pale as he clutched my hand and wept bitterly. It was such a heartbreaking sight that anyone watching would have felt deeply sorry for him. I had felt that exact same way once. I couldn't bear to see Tyler suffer in my past life, and seeing him in agony broke my heart. In the end, my health was ruined after the surgery, and he didn't even dare to enter my hospital room to visit me. I looked back at it now and realized that everything had happened for a reason. I gently patted the back of Tyler's hand and said, "I can't help you, Tyler. You still have your mother, though she refuses to give you her kidney." I then turned to Ruth and said, "Tyler is not my child alone, Ruth. I might not be able to donate at the moment, but you certainly can. You can rest assured that I'll look after you once you've donated a kidney to Tyler." I dragged Ruth to the doctor as I said that. "She's my wife, and all her health indicators are completely normal. She's also the child's biological mother, so she's definitely a viable candidate." I started pushing Ruth toward the OR as I spoke, causing her to go completely pale. "I-I'm not the right person for this…" I couldn't help but sneer after seeing her reaction, and right then, Keith's message arrived. I released my grip, and Ruth instantly ducked behind Demi, glaring at me with pure malice. I trembled all over as I read through the files Keith sent me. I realized then that that was the reason behind everything. "Are you scared, Ruth?" I asked. "If you aren't willing to do it either, then leave me out of it! Tyler should return to his room first!" Tyler kept a tight grip on my hand and wouldn't let go. "Am I going to die, Dad?" I looked at how pale Tyler looked, and a shrewd gleam flickered in my eyes. Just then, Demi broke down in tears. "What can we do when your father doesn't want to save you, Tyler? What did the Lister family do to deserve this? I told you not to marry Flynn from the very beginning, Ruth! We're not the same kind of people—he's completely heartless!" Ruth dropped to her knees beside me and pulled Tyler into her arms. "You've been through so much, Tyler! It's all my fault for being so useless! I've failed you!" Jacob suddenly yelled from the side, "Who the hell are you guys? Stop filming this!" I turned and saw a few people pointing their phones right at me. "Come take a look, everyone! Here's the heartless man who refuses to save a dying child!" "What kind of person does that? He's a monster!" "How can a man like that even call himself a human being?" I could hear all kinds of nasty comments coming from all directions. Chapter 3 I stayed silent, just sitting there quietly and watching Ruth, Demi, and the others put on their show, offering only a calm smile in response. Jacob stepped forward at that moment, clutching my hand. "I'm begging you, Flynn. Please save Tyler! He can't survive without you!" I yanked my hand away. "You can save him yourselves if you want to. Either way, count me out!" Tyler stared at me in disbelief. "What are you saying, Dad? Why won't you save me? I'm your son, Dad! How can you not save me?" "I'm not the only one responsible for you, Tyler. Your mother is standing right there," I said with a calm smile. I then turned to Ruth and added, "I'm not going to save Tyler today, Ruth. You'll have to do it yourself!" I then straightened my clothes and said, "I'll be heading off now if there's nothing else." Ruth barked, "You'd better hold it right there! Have you completely lost your mind, Flynn, or are you having an affair? He's your own flesh and blood! How could you just let him die? How can you even say that? You've completely lost your mind!" She then turned to the growing crowd and said, "Do you guys see this? He's Flynn Youngblood, Sales Director of Pelagic International. He's turning his back on his own son!" Ruth exposed who I was, a move that only piqued my curiosity further. She was acting out of pure desperation. She resorted to exposing my identity since she couldn't force me to donate a kidney. I couldn't help but wonder what her angle was. I furrowed my brow, my thoughts immediately shifting to Jacob. Why on earth was that guy sticking his nose into our family business anyway? I was about to walk away when Ruth grabbed me. "You're not leaving until you explain everything!" I bellowed, "I have nothing to tell you! I have a meeting today, so Tyler is all yours!" I brushed her aside and walked away without looking back. "You'd better get back here this instant!" Ruth roared at my retreating figure. "You'll regret this if you walk out now!" I ignored everything and walked out of the hospital. I then sent Jacob's photo to Keith and said, "I need you to help me look into this guy, Keith." I had died too suddenly in my past life to really think about it, but looking back, something was off with all of them. Why was Jacob so desperate to involve himself in my family issues, going as far as encouraging the bystanders to film me? That, along with Demi's behavior today, made me highly suspicious. I headed to the office while waiting to hear back from Keith. I caught several people giving me odd looks as soon as I arrived, and when I looked back at them, they didn't even bother trying to hide it—they just openly trash-talked me right to my face. "How can he have the nerve to show up for work? How can he be so ruthless to his own kid?" "He's the sales director and part of the corporate elite. No wonder he's so cold-blooded!" "I feel so sorry for that kid for having him as a father!" I couldn't help but scowl at their comments, not expecting the news to travel so fast. I had barely made it into my office when the CEO, Roger Livingston, called me. "I take it you've seen what's online, Flynn. You need to get your family situation sorted out, so consider yourself on leave for the next few days. You're dismissed for today." I felt my heart sink after hearing that. After all, my role as sales director at Pelagic International was coveted by many, and with a scandal like this, I knew that if I walked out now, I'd probably return to find someone else sitting in my chair. I was already a high-level executive and often criticized, and now that my family matters had been exposed and used as leverage, my entire career was about to be destroyed. "I've done nothing wrong here, Mr. Livingston. I was targeted and set up in this whole situation. You can rest assured that Pelagic International won't be impacted by this. In addition—" A commotion at the entrance interrupted me, and that was when I saw Ruth stormed through the door. "Is this what you wanted, Flynn?" she shouted. "Tyler is dead! You bastard! You'd better come out here this instant!"