His Organs Gave Him Away

As the heir to a bloodline of diagnostic empaths, I was born with an extraordinary gift. The instant my fingers made contact with a patient’s skin, I could hear every organ speak its mind. When I examined a drunkard, his liver had screamed from inside him, “Half a bottle of whiskey and two beers every day! Look at me! I’m so dark and shriveled, I practically look like beef jerky soaked in bourbon!” When I examined a woman who had been struggling to conceive, her uterus had lamented, “Her husband’s swimmers can barely move, yet he has the nerve to blame me for not doing my job?” One night, after returning from a business trip, I accidentally touched Andy Croft’s wrist while pulling the blanket over him. A weak voice immediately came from his kidneys. “I’m running on fumes here. Three times a day, every day, for two straight weeks. Even a machine would have broken down by now!” His heart chimed in right after. “Every time he receives a check-in call, I start pounding so hard from panic that I feel like I could break through his ribs!” His skin was even more indignant. “That awful woman really went wild with her nails! His back looks like he lost a fight with a wildcat. She even bit him on the shoulder. Does she have a thing for biting?” My hands shook as I pulled back Andy’s collar. A fresh bite mark stood out clearly on his shoulder. That same night, I called a number I had not dialed in years. “You once made me an offer long ago. I accept.” Chapter 1 In the dim light, I stared blankly at the ring of teeth marks on Andy Croft’s shoulder. Fresh red scratches from a woman’s nails ran down Andy’s back. It hurt to look at them. Just then, the phone on the nightstand lit up. I instinctively glanced over. A flood of photos appeared in a message thread from someone saved as “Rach”. In front of the crystal-clear waters of the Celestial Isles, Andy had an arm around Rachel Walser’s shoulders. He was grinning without a care in the world. I remembered the day Andy proposed to me. He had dropped to one knee on the beach and said, “Olivia, when I can afford it, I’ll give you a grand proposal ceremony again in the Celestial Isles.” Three years had passed since then. I scrolled through the photos. Each one sent a fresh stab of pain through my chest. Three months earlier, when I was running a free medical outreach clinic in a remote mountain community, Andy was embracing and kissing Rachel beneath the snow-covered peaks of Wintermere. I remembered how fiercely the blizzard had raged that night. I had braved the freezing cold and climbed halfway up the mountain to a communications tower just to call and tell him I was safe. With nothing but a lightweight shell jacket to protect me, my fingers had gone completely numb. His belated text finally arrived well after midnight. “Olivia, I’m away on business. The reception here is terrible.” Every landmark in those photos was a place we had once pinned together on the map on our phones. Yet, he had taken another woman to every destination we had dreamed of visiting together. By the time I reached the final photo, the last ounce of my strength seemed to leave my body. In front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, Andy stood in a bathrobe with Rachel wrapped in his arms. Reflected in the mirror behind them was our engagement portrait hanging on the wall. I spotted the date. My eyes immediately began to burn. December 5. That was the day I had miscarried from sheer exhaustion and lay in a hospital bed after undergoing a D&C. Through the phone, Andy’s voice had been thick with tears. “Oli, I’m so sorry. I couldn’t be by your side when you needed me the most.” However, he had been right across town and sleeping with his ex-girlfriend in our home. I clapped a hand over my mouth, but my tears caught in my throat and sent me into a fit of coughing. Andy suddenly rolled over and habitually wrapped an arm around me. A wave of nausea surged through me. I instinctively tried to pull free from his embrace. His breath reeked of alcohol. He murmured drowsily, “Rach, stop.” My struggling hand froze. Andy’s hand rested on my waist. His thumb absently brushed over my lower abdomen. Ever since the D&C, the gesture had become a habit. It was just like all those countless nights when he had held me as we fell asleep. My fingertips grazed the scars along his arm. I closed my eyes as tears slipped from the corners. The memory of Andy carrying me out of the burning building was still painfully vivid. But deep down, I knew there was no going back for us. In the darkness, my phone vibrated with a new message. “This is wonderful news, Olivia! It would be our honor to have someone of your extraordinary gifts join us. It gives us hope that your rare healing legacy will live on. We’ll send a team to Southvale to pick you up three days later.” Chapter 2 I did not sleep at all that night. Morning came with the familiar aroma of freshly ground coffee. The other side of the bed dipped inward. “You’re awake? Why didn’t you tell me you were coming home last night? It wasn’t safe for you to be out alone that late.” Andy tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear with his left hand. Holding a cup of coffee in the other, he smiled at me. “Come on, sleepyhead. Go freshen up. Breakfast’s ready, and I made your favorite coffee.” I got out of bed, but when my gaze fell on the living room wall, I stopped cold. Our engagement portrait was gone. In its place hung a photograph of a couple strolling along the beach with their backs to the camera. The blue curtains had also been replaced with pink ones, a color I had always hated. Even the succulents I had nurtured for years had vanished from the coffee table, replaced by plush toys I had never liked. Every detail seemed to carry the same silent message that another woman had made herself at home there. Andy wrapped his arm around waist and pressed a kiss to the corner of my mouth. “Something came up at work, Olivia. I have to go. Be good and remember to eat breakfast.” As the sound of the front door clicking shut came from the entryway, the tablet on the sofa buzzed with a notification. Before I could stop myself, I opened Andy’s messages. A saccharine female voice filled the room. “Andy, remember to bring your photo ID. Apparently, that jeweler only allows each client to commission one signature engagement ring per lifetime. I’ll meet you at the boutique. I found the perfect one, and it’s on sale for just under fifteen thousand dollars. We can pay for it in full today!” Andy replied without the slightest hesitation, “Okay. Whatever you want.” Those words sliced through my heart like a blade. I looked down at the tarnished silver band on my ring finger. A dull ache spread through my chest. My ring cost fifteen dollars. Andy had picked it up on a whim from a jewelry kiosk. It was not even the right size. Still, I wore it every day for three years. Several times on our anniversary, I had asked if we could replace it with a proper engagement ring. Each time, he had brushed me off. “Olivia, we don’t need an expensive ring to prove our love. All that ceremonial nonsense means nothing.” Only then did I understand that people always made room in their budget for what truly mattered to them. I smiled bitterly as I slipped the silver ring from my finger and tossed it into the trash. The bitter taste of the coffee lingered on my tongue. My phone vibrated again. It was John Colman, our real estate agent. “Ms. Alonzi, I feel obligated to inform you of this. A colleague of mine saw your fiance paying cash for a thirteen-hundred-square-foot condo for another woman a few days ago. I know it’s a personal matter, and normally I’d stay out of it, but you’re the one making the nearly two-thousand-dollar monthly mortgage payments on the house the two of you were supposed to build your future in. I’d hate to see him take advantage of you. You cured my mother after years of chronic illness. I’ve never forgotten what you did for our family.” As soon as I ended the call, I called my best friend, Yasmin Marsan, who worked at the bank. “Could you please pull Andy’s bank transaction records for the past few years?” After several agonizing hours, more than a year’s worth of transfers to the same recipient appeared on my screen. Even Yasmin could not help but curse over the phone. “What kind of man does this? In barely a year, Andy has spent almost half a million dollars on that woman!” The sheer volume of charges felt suffocating. The earliest payment dated back to a hotel suite in Southvale a year ago. That day, my grandmother had been gravely ill. In her final moments, she had kept calling out his name. “Oli, where is Andy? Why isn’t he here yet? When I’m gone, he’ll be your only family.” I sobbed and begged her not to leave me while desperately praying that Andy would answer his phone. Unfortunately, every call went unanswered. My grandmother took her final breath without Andy ever showing up. My eyes burned, swollen from crying. At least I had learned the truth before it was too late. I had not yet trapped myself in a marriage with him. Chapter 3 I sent John a message. “Please list the house under my name for sale. I’m moving to another city to start over.” After packing the few belongings I planned to take with me, I made one final visit to the clinic where I used to work. Several patients who had come specifically to see me had checked in and were waiting for their appointments. When it was the last female patient’s turn, the woman kept her mask on and spoke with an irritated tone. “So, you’re the healer who can diagnose anything with a touch? Go ahead, then. Tell me what’s wrong with me.” I was accustomed to first-time patients treating my gift like some kind of sideshow. The instant my fingers made contact with her skin, I heard her uterus groan weakly. “Even being pregnant, they’re still sleeping together constantly! Do they even want this baby? Unbelievable. They couldn’t even restrain themselves in the fitting rooms at the mall. Are they really that desperate? At this rate, she’s going to lose the baby!” I withdrew my hand and gently said, “You’re pregnant. You need to avoid intimate relations for now and give your body time to recover. I’ll prescribe something to help support the pregnancy. Please take it exactly as directed.” The woman chuckled, as though she had already known what I would say. As she removed her mask, I froze. “Dr. Alonzi, I suppose you know perfectly well who the father is.” My hand froze over the prescription pad. The pen slipped from my fingers and clattered to the floor. Rachel leaned closer. Her expression was openly taunting. “You know, Dr. Alonzi, I almost feel sorry for you. I was with Andy the day you lost your baby. I was the one who begged him not to leave. If he had returned sooner, perhaps the complications wouldn’t have damaged your uterus and robbed you of the chance to ever become a mother.” My fingers clenched into tight fists. My nails dug deep into my palms. A ringing buzz filled my ears. It was the sound of a child’s desperate wailing, echoing over and over in my mind. Satisfied that she had gotten under my skin, Rachel continued to taunt me. “Oh, there’s one more thing. Andy has always wanted children. He said that when we have our baby, we’re going to call her Sunny.” The name struck a wound buried deep inside me. That was the name Andy had chosen for the baby I lost. After the D&C, he had hugged me tightly. His eyes were swollen and red from crying. “Olivia, I’m so sorry. I should’ve taken better care of you and Sunny.” Yet, he had given the name of the child I lost to the baby another woman was carrying. I could no longer contain my rage. I pointed at the door and shouted, “Out! I want you out!” Rachel glanced at the surveillance camera in the corner and moved closer to me. The next second, she suddenly lunged forward and crashed into me. Her stiletto came down hard on my toes. Pain shot through my entire body, but Rachel screamed and threw herself backward. “Dr. Alonzi, why did you push me? You know I’m pregnant! Are you trying to kill my innocent baby?” She gripped me tightly and dragged me down until she dropped her full weight onto me. The back of my head struck the floor. A searing pain tore through my leg as though the bone had cracked. As my consciousness began to fade, Rachel’s twisted face filled my vision. “This is for stealing Andy from me. Now, I’m going to ruin your life!” When I opened my eyes, I rubbed my aching forehead. Andy was staring at me with a grim expression. “Olivia, how could you be so cruel? The baby was innocent. How could you bring yourself to do such a thing?” As soon as he finished, beside him, Rachel pointed at me with tears streaming down her face. “It was her! She killed my baby! She made me lose my child!” In a fit of agitation, Rachel grabbed the glass of water beside her and hurled it at me. Chapter 4 The scalding water ran down my neck and left the skin red and burning. Andy did not even seem to notice. He gripped Rachel by the shoulders and tried patiently to calm her. “Rach, take it easy. I know. I know how much pain you are in right now.” Rachel, however, was not finished. She propped her phone on the bedside table and started a livestream. “Everyone, meet the so-called compassionate doctor you all keep praising.” Rachel shoved the camera close to my face, broadcasting me at my weakest and most disheveled. “My name is Rachel Walser, and I’m publicly accusing Dr. Olivia Alonzi of deliberately knocking me down and causing my miscarriage. She did this out of jealousy because she’s been secretly trying to steal my boyfriend.” She even uploaded a deceptively edited version of the security footage, keeping only the moment when I lost my temper and ordered her to leave. The camera angle made it appear as though I had pushed her to the floor. Within minutes, strangers had uncovered my personal information and flooded the internet with abuse. [Oh my God, she is evil. Stealing another woman’s boyfriend wasn’t enough, so she used her position as a doctor to kill an innocent baby.] [People like her are worse than animals. She should be stripped of her medical license for life.] [I’ve memorized that face. I have nothing to lose, so if I ever see her, I’ll make sure she pays for what she did. Consider it my service to the public.] Rachel was the one who had come between Andy and me. They were the ones who had been carrying on behind my back. I had been the victim. Andy remained silent as thousands of people condemned me online. An explanation from him would have been enough to prove my innocence. Though from beginning to end, he said nothing in my defense. I finally understood. Whenever Andy had to choose between us, he would always choose Rachel. I pulled out my phone and posted the video of Andy proposing to me, along with a caption. [Everyone, this is the truth. I’m not the other woman who broke up a relationship.] Unfortunately, before the post could gain any traction, Andy snatched the phone from my hand and deleted it. “Olivia, you’re the one in the wrong here. You owe Rach this. You know firsthand what it’s like to lose a baby, so can’t you show her some compassion? How could you be this cruel? Just because you can never carry another child, does that mean you want to take motherhood away from everyone else too?” His words tore open a wound that had barely begun to heal. When Andy noticed the tears gathering in my eyes, he seemed to realize he had gone too far. He sat beside my hospital bed and softened his voice. “Olivia, the doctors said Rachel is extremely distressed after losing the baby. What happens if she becomes severely depressed and tries to hurt herself? I promise that once I have everything sorted out, I’ll give you the explanation you deserve.” Even at that moment, Andy was dressing up his betrayal as though he were doing something noble. Rachel cast me a triumphant look, but when she spoke, her voice was thick with grief. “Andy, our baby is gone! I don’t care what it takes, I want her to pay! She has to pay for what she did!” The comments on the livestream echoed her outrage. [She absolutely deserves to pay. Imagine calling yourself a doctor while killing innocent lives. Someone like her deserves every terrible thing coming her way!] The hatred closed in around me as one vicious comment after another raced across the screen. I curled up in the corner of the hospital bed, feeling helpless beneath the relentless accusations and abuse. “It wasn’t me! I didn’t hurt her or kill her baby!” In the midst of my humiliation, the ward door suddenly swung open. A man in a long midnight-blue overcoat strode into the room. “Andy, looks like all of you have been thoroughly deceived. That pregnancy was never viable. She just wanted Olivia to be blamed for the miscarriage. More importantly, that baby was never even yours to begin with.”