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ared, weeping streaks of gray. Alessandra Abbott sat alone on a leather sofa that cost more than most people's cars, but
Tick
ugh the thin layer of sanity she had left. She saw a small, pale
oak door c
the shoulders. He held a thin folder in his hands with the kind of reverence usually reserved for religious
ing the folder. As he did, a secondary do
caded onto
rator stammered, dropping to his knees. "C
ingers fumbling with the white sheets. Then her eyes caught a signa
us B
ame signature that was on her marriage license, on her p
ator reached
e sharp point of her stiletto pierce
administrator froze. A bead of sweat rolled down
ir. She pulled the paper free from her heel. There was a small tear where
a conse
Resource Alloca
stopped. The air left the room. The sound of
: Estella Brandt (Rena
n: L. Walton (Renal T
e Type O-Negative Kidney from
ucas Walton.
drowning out the manager's frantic apologies. It
lutching her side. Mommy, it hurts. My tummy hurts. The doctors had said a compa
y l
n himself and the woman standing like a statue in the center of the room. "Mr. Brandt authorized it personally. He said... he sai
sound. It was a dr
hispered. "He sold h
hest, squeezing it so hard the cardboard edges bit into her skin. It was cold. It c
d walked out
mething behind her, but he d
plastering her hair to her skull. She didn't feel the cold. S
g Darius hadn't bought or upgraded. She placed the folder on the passenger seat. Sh
she whispered. "
wipers slapped back and forth, fighti
on the dashboar
Deposit Receive
Darius
dentiality
a kidney. Five million dollars for a life. He had p
into the leather until they snapped, until she
d her foot
ement, kicking up a spray of mud and water. Sh
of steel and light against the black sky. The neon signs of Ma
security camera recognized her license plate. The guard in the booth stepped out to wave,
She unbuckled the folder, lifting it gen
rs. Fifty. Sixty. The pressure built in her head, a phy
i
ors sl
dimly lit. A pair of men's leather oxfo
ail of dark spots. She didn't call out. She didn't turn on the lights. She walked
lutching the proof of her d
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