He''d heard the stories about how painful egg retrieval could be, all the risks that came with pregnancy, and how much recovery could take out of someone afterward. Thest thing he wanted was for Reese to go through any of that.
Now, it felt like the clouds in his life had finally parted with this sudden bit of good news, letting in a little sunlight.
"But it''s only a 92 percent match. Isn''t that still risky?" Reese took Matthew''s phone, her eyes scanning the message again and again.
She remembered what Dr. Brandon had said. The risk of rejection was already higher when the donor wasn''t a rtive. Even if the numbers looked good, there could still beplications after surgery-some of them serious, maybe even life- threatening.
"Any surgeryes with risks," Matthew said gently. He patted the back of her hand, his warmth calming her nerves just a bit. "Dr. Brandon told us, as long as the match is over ny percent, it''s worth a try."
"We''ll use the best anti-rejection meds, and the doctors will be watching over me the whole time. We''ll figure it out."
He understood how much she was worrying. Honestly, he was worried too. Still, right now, he just wanted her to breathe easy for a minute. She''d been through so much already.
"Don''t worry about it, okay?"
Matthew reached for his phone, taking it back from Reese. He was about to lock the screen when it buzzed with a new message. He opened it without thinking.
There was only one line, but it made his heart stop.
[Stay away from the Meyer family, or your donor will disappear.]
The words were cold, sending a chill straight through him. Matthew''s eyes darkened as he stared at the screen.
"What''s wrong?" Reese noticed the shift in his mood and looked at him with concern.
"It''s nothing," Matthew said, slipping the phone under his pillow and forcing a smile. "I''m just hungry."
Reese nced down at her watch. It was almost lunchtime.
"What do you feel like eating? I can have something ordered in."
Matthew thought for a second. "How about we eat from the hospital cafeteria today? I smelled the pork from the room next door yesterday. It made me jealous."
Reese grinned. "Alright, just wait here. I''ll go grab some for you." She picked up her phone and headed out of the room.
As soon as Reese got into the elevator, Matthew pulled his phone back out and called Patrick.
"Patrick, get in touch with West.
"He found a stem cell donor. I need you to go there yourself, take a team, and make sure nothing happens. The donor''s safetyes first."
He took screenshots of the threatening message and the number, then sent them to Patrick.
"Also, trace the source of that anonymous number. Keep a close eye on the Meyer family. I want updates on everything Bailey and Hank do."
"Understood, Sir," Patrick replied, his tone serious after seeing the message "I''ll take care of it now. I''ll get the tech team to track number and send out twenty bodyguards in four groups to keep the donor safe."
"I''ll also tell the guards at the hospital to step up security around your room."
After hanging up, Matthew stared at the message for a long time before finally deleting it.
***
Meanwhile, at the Meyer family''s vi, Hank sat at his desk, eyes fixed on a long
list of bank transactions scrolling across hisputer screen.
One transfer caught his attention. It''s a payment made a week before his mother''s car ident. Nearly ten million hadnded in Grace''s
personal ount from an overseas source.
The name on the ount was
Hank paused. That namet
sounded familiar. Wasn''t it the same as a distant cousin of Bailey''s assistant, Dous? fo
His heart started pounding, loud in the quiet room. He quickly pulled up Dous'' file and read through it carefully.
Dous had been with his father for years, starting as a driver before bing a trusted assistant. He''d always seemed loyal.
But if this money was really connected to him, then his mother''s ident was a lot moreplicated than anyone thought.
Hank''s fingers flew across the keyboard, the keys cking as he dug for more clues, hoping he''d finally find the truth.