Page 90 of Girl Lost
“How did you get in here?” Trinity’s voice trembled. “Are you with ...them?”
“We’re not with anyone but you.” Corbin began unbuckling the leather restraints on Trinity’s wrists. “We’re getting you out of here.”
Summer worked to remove the ankle restraints.
Trinity sat up. Swayed.
“Easy, there.” Luna steadied her by the shoulders. “Have you been drugged?”
“They didn’t give me anything,” she said. “Not this time. Dr. Forest said he was keeping me here to ... to keep me clean. He was mad that I ... I have an addiction. Pills. It started after my heart transplant.”
“I know.” Luna stroked Trinity’s hair. “You’ve been through a lot.”
Summer stepped forward, holding a tablet Luna hadn’t seen before. “Let me check your records. See if they gave you anything.”
Corbin asked, “How’d you get into that thing?”
“It’s a long story.” Summer smiled. “One involving some minor computer skills.”
“You hacked into their system?” Trinity was clearly impressed.
“Let’s just say I have a way with computers.” Summer glanced at Luna. “You guys aren’t the only ones with hidden talents.”
Corbin looked over Summer’s shoulder. “What’s it say?”
“She had a transplant, all right,” Summer said. “But it’s not what we thought.”
Luna felt a chill. “What do you mean?”
“The heart.” Summer’s wide eyes met Luna’s, then she looked at Trinity. “The heart they gave you ... it’s bioprinted.”
They stared at Trinity. A bioprinted heart. Not a human heart.
Trinity’s face paled. “What? What does that mean?”
“It means...” Luna struggled to find the words. The truth, so cold, so unreal. “It means they didn’t give you a human heart from a donor. They gave you a ... a man-made one. Grown in a lab.” Probably this one.
“But ... but that’s not possible. They told me it was a real heart. From someone who died in an accident. They told me I’d be okay.” Trinity’s words frayed like a girl unraveling one thread at a time.
“Hey, let’s try to stay calm.” Luna reached for Trinity’s hand. It was cold, clammy. Fragile, like it might break under her touch. Her chest tightened as she fought the urge to pull her hand away and shield her own heart. But she couldn’t. Not when her daughter needed her most.
“You’re going to be okay. We’re getting you out of here.” The words felt too small, too insufficient for the magnitude of this moment.
“No!” Trinity shook her head, her eyes wide with terror. “I don’t want a fake heart. What if it stops working? What if I die?”
Wet trails marked Trinity’s face as she cried. Her body trembled like a leaf caught in a storm. Luna’s breath hitched as she pulled her close, wrapping her arms around the girl she’d lost so long ago. She wasn’t just holding a scared, trembling teen. She was holding the baby she’d kissed goodbye, the little girl she’d dreamed of a thousand nights, now alive in her arms.
“You have to stay calm, Trinity,” Luna said. She gently rocked her as if soothing a child, stroking her hair. “Getting upset won’t be good for you in this condition.” She’d almost said “your heart”but caught herself. Trinity was frightened enough without her adding to it.
Summer handed the tablet to Corbin and moved beside Trinity. “You’ve been doing great all this time. Most likely you don’t feel good because you’re going through withdrawals. I think you’ll be fine once you get your strength back.”
Corbin stood silently beside her with his gaze fixed on the tablet. Luna nudged him, and he turned the screen toward her.
“Her blood type,” he whispered. “It’s AB negative.”
AB negative. Luna was O positive. Corbin was O negative.
They couldn’t be Trinity’s parents.
