Chapter 3: The Letter Sarah Left Behind
“Give it to him,” I said.
Walter held the envelope against his chest.
“Not here.
Sarah’s letter mentions a doctor, and we need somewhere private.”
“You brought a sick boy across the country, stopped him in the middle of his dream game, and now you want patience?”
Ethan touched my sleeve.
“Grandpa, please.
Let him explain.”
The stadium employee led us to a small family room behind the first-aid station.
Walter placed the envelope on the table, but his fingers would not release it.
“I failed your mother,” he said.
“I won’t fail her son.”
“You don’t get to call him that as if you’ve been here,” I replied.
Ethan slid the envelope toward himself.
“Both of you, stop.
This is from Mom.”
He opened it carefully.
A folded letter and a yellowed medical report fell onto the table.
Ethan looked at me.
“Will you read it?”
My voice caught on the first line.
“Dear Ethan, if you are reading this, you are fifteen, and I have finally kept one promise to you.”
Walter sat down hard.
I continued.
“There is an illness in my family that doctors misunderstood for years.
Your grandmother was once told there was no treatment.
A specialist named Dr.
Miriam Shaw found a rare genetic marker and gave her three more years with us.”
Ethan leaned forward.
“Three years?”
Walter tapped the report.
“My wife was very ill, but the treatment worked.”
“Why didn’t you tell us before?” I demanded.
“I didn’t know where Ethan was.
Sarah changed her last name, moved twice, and stopped speaking to every relative who might tell me.”
I returned to the letter.
“If you ever become seriously ill, ask for a full molecular test.
Do not accept one doctor’s answer.
Dr.
Shaw promised she would review your case.”
Ethan’s face lost its color.
“My doctor said they already tested everything.”
Walter pulled out his phone.
“Then we ask Dr.
Shaw what everything means.”
“You know her?”
“She helped my wife.
She’s waiting for my call.”
He placed the phone on speaker.
A woman answered immediately.
“Walter?”
“I found him, Miriam.
I found Ethan.”
Dr.
Shaw’s breath trembled.
“Is he with you?”
“Yes,” Ethan said.
“My doctors told me there’s nothing else they can do.”
“Tell me the hospital and your doctor’s name.”
“St.
Matthew’s.
Dr.
Adrian Pike.”
Silence filled the room.
“Dr.
Shaw?” I asked.
“I reviewed research with Adrian Pike six years ago,” she said.
“He knows about your family’s marker.”
Walter unfolded the medical report.
A handwritten number appeared at the bottom.
“Can this help Ethan?” he asked.
“It could lead to a targeted treatment, but I need his biopsy report and genetic panel.
Ask the hospital to release both tonight.”
My phone rang before I could answer.
Dr.
Pike’s name appeared on the screen.
“That’s him,” Ethan whispered.
I accepted the call and put it on speaker.
“Mr.
Carter,” Dr.
Pike said, “I’ve heard someone approached Ethan at the stadium.
Do not let Walter Hayes discuss your grandson’s medical care.”
Walter rose from his chair.
“How do you know I’m here?”
Dr.
Pike ignored him.
“Bring Ethan back immediately,” he said.
“That man is offering false hope.”
Dr.
Shaw’s voice sharpened.
“Then release the molecular panel, Adrian.”
Another silence followed.
“What panel?” I asked.
Dr.
Shaw spoke before he could answer.
“The one his hospital performed eight months ago.”
