Chapter 47: An Answer and an Ultimatum

A nurse came in and handed a file over to the doctor who then opened it and read the content.

He then closed the file and looked across the small office. "The tests are positive, Mr Avelino . You are a match. We can proceed with the transplant immediately."

Clancy’s gaze drifted to the other side of the glass where a helpless and fragile Diana laid.

She was now more pale, entirely motionless, and surrounded by a complex network of life-support machines.

The monitors flashed with warnings, tracking a fragile existence that was slipping away by the minute.

Diana was at death’s door, her body unable to fight any longer. What was he waiting for to do what he needed to?

"Let’s do it now," Clancy said, his voice flat but determined. "She does not have time to wait," he added.

"I just need to talk to Selen in private for a minute," he said to the doctor. The doctor excused himself and left them alone.

JK still stood there with his arms folded. Newton had taken the kids to the cafeteria in the hospital to avoid them from seeing Clancy.

"What is it?" Selen asked him. "I know that this may seem incredibly selfish and I know that the timing could not be worse but I have a condition" he said.

"What?" She asked, clearly baffled. "You selfish-" JK had begun saying before he was interrupted.

"My condition is that I want to be a part of the children’s lives. I want them to know me as their father. That is it" Clancy said.

Selen was silent. "Selen, you do not have to do this. We could find another match," JK said.

"But none this quickly," she said. "Fine," she agreed. "I will introduce you to them and to Diana after she wakes up," she said.

It was almost as if she did not give it any thought but that was the opposite.

Clancy had a small smile on his lips as he went to the nurse to let her know that he was ready.

"Selen?" JK called. "Not now, JK , please." she said and then went silent again as she watched Clancy walk away with the nurse.

"Okay, Mr Avelino , I will need you to sign these papers. And I will read out the side effects of the procedure you are about to undergo.

Clancy signed the papers as he listened to her.

"The side effects of this procedure include- hip and lower back pain or soreness, fatigue and temporary weakness.

Bruising or swelling at the needle insertion site on the pelvic bone, mild headache or muscle aches, nausea or a sore throat from anesthesia..." She continued to speak but Clancy had zoned out.

Was this the right thing to do? He felt like he had no choice. He preferred to get to his kids this way than through a judge.

It seemed selfish but he had the best intentions for her and the kids. And all he needed was a chance to prove it.

And if she was not going to give him that chance, he took it.

"Mr Avelino ? I was asking if I should go on?" The nurse asked him, breaking him out of his thoughts and he nodded, yes in response.

"Alright then, rare complications include- infection at the surgical collection site, excessive or prolonged bleeding,

Temporary nerve or muscle damage around the hip, Adverse reactions to general anesthesia..." hearing her read them out made him take his phone out to reach out to his assistant, just in case.

After the ultimatum he had just given Selen, he believed that she would not want to help him if he faced the side effects. He needed an emergency contact and it was definitely not going to be his family.

After that, the medical team moved quickly. In a matter of hours, Clancy was taken into the operating room for the harvest.

The surgeons positioned him on the table and prepared to extract the healthy tissue from his hip bones.

Because of the extreme urgency of Diana’s condition, the team needed to secure a large volume of cells on the first attempt.

Even under anesthesia, Clancy could feel a deep, heavy pressure vibrating through his lower body.

He remained completely still, forcing himself to breathe through the discomfort by focusing entirely on his memory of his daughter’s face.

He knew that every syringe filled with his marrow was a fraction of a second more time bought for Diana. Within a few hours, the surgeons had gathered enough healthy cells to give her a chance at survival.

Clancy was then moved to a recovery room, and the hospital laboratory rushed to process the donation. They had to clean and prepare the cells quickly, stripping away any components that Diana’s weak body might reject.

The clock was ticking for both of them

And by the late afternoon, the donation was ready.

Meanwhile, Selen was finally given a chance to see her daughter before she was taken into surgery.

The room was completely silent except for the sounds that came from the machines. A nurse stood by the bed, checking the labels on a thick plastic bag filled with dark fluid.

Selen sat down in the chair next to the mattress, her eyes fixed on Diana’s small, still form.

She reached through the rail of the bed and carefully held her daughter’s hand. It felt cold and fragile, like paper. "Keep fighting, Diana," she whispered against the steady beep of the cardiac monitor.

"Mummy is right here," she whispered to her and just sat down in the silence until the nurse excused her out of the room.

Clancy watched them from the glass part of the door, not going in. He could only imagine the kind of pain she must be going through, seeing her daughter in that state.

He turned around and limped back to his room with pride that he had helped his daughter. And the pain of officially meeting his daughter in that condition.