The waiting-room door clicked open.

Dr. Aris walked in holding a tablet, his face a professional mask that dropped my stomach through the floor.

Preston stood so fast his chair clattered back. “Well?”

Dr. Aris looked at the tablet, then up. “The typing is complete. As expected, you’re a haploidentical match. But because of the unique homozygous nature of the Waverly mutation on your side—”

“Speak English, Doctor,” Preston snapped.

Dr. Aris let a small, relieved smile break through. “You’re an incredibly rare, perfectly compatible donor, Mr. Waverly. Your marrow will save her life.