What was going on?
Could the lab have made a mistake when testing the blood?
Lory's surgery carried a risk of blood loss, which was why they needed her blood type in advance for a potential transfusion. If they got the blood type wrong, a transfusion could be fatal.
Riley immediately sprang up and rushed to the laboratory. She shoved the paper through the window. "Could you please check this? Is it possible the blood type is wrong?"
Lab technician: "Don't worry, we don't make mistakes like that."
"My genetic makeup is AA, and my husband's is BO. It's scientifically impossible for my daughter to be Type O. She's in surgery right now and might need a transfusion. We cannot afford any errors. Is it possible you were busy and mixed up the samples? Please, double-check."
Hearing this, the technician looked slightly panicked. A lab error during an ongoing surgery was no laughing matter. "Wait here a moment." He quickly got up to verify the results.
A few colleagues hurried over to help him.
If a sample had indeed been swapped, it meant at least two patients had the wrong results.
Riley stood at the window, burning with anxiety.
The testing windows temporarily halted operations. Several waiting patients gathered around, terrified that their own results might be compromised too.
A few minutes later, the technician returned and told Riley, "Everything is correct. All the tests are accurate, and there was no sample mix-up."
Riley instinctively shook her head. "No, that's impossible."
Lab technician: "We genuinely triple-checked everything. There's no error. If we had mixed up samples, your daughter wouldn't be the only one with an anomalous result."
The surrounding patients immediately began whispering among themselves.
"If the kid's test is fine, then the parents are the problem."
"Is the baby not her husband's?"
"She's the mother! Shouldn't she know who the father is? How does she have the nerve to come here and ask?"
"Her private life must be a total mess if she doesn't even know who got her pregnant."
Hearing the harsh whispers, Riley's face flushed red, then went stark white. This was an absolute trampling of her character. "What are you talking about?!" she snapped furiously. "I have nothing to hide! The child is my husband's!"
But remembering her daughter was still under the knife, she realized she had no time to argue with these people. She turned back to the technician. "Please communicate with the OR and run the test again. If something happens, none of us can bear the responsibility."
Seeing the absolute certainty in Riley's eyes, the technician nodded and accompanied her to the surgical wing.
They drew fresh blood and ran the test again. The technician personally handled Lory's sample the entire time. The final result: Type O.
Staring at the freshly printed report, Riley felt as if she had been struck by lightning. How could this be?
Why was this happening?
Aside from Pierce, she had never slept with another man.
Where did everything go wrong?


VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABEL
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Coldest Man in the Room Melted Only for Me