Vance looked me straight in the eye.

“We have three weeks at most before the inflammation seriously threatens the wall of the organ.”

Three weeks, I thought.

“If it ruptures, we’re looking at a body-wide infection and emergency trauma surgery,” he said.

I touched my gold wedding band.

“I’ll get you that court order.”

“The moment you’re holding the paper with a judge’s signature on it, I’ll skip the standard line.”

Dr.