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I want to apologize for bringing it up, but I know he wouldn't appreciate that. Vlad likes to pretend he's invincible, especially when it comes to matters of a more emotional nature, since he's not quite used to his feelings.

That doesn't mean he's still not human, with perfectly humane reactions. He just doesn't know how to deal with them.

We continue to look through each paper in part until Vlad finally comes across something interesting.

"What's that?" I ask as he removes a stack of folders from the bottom of the box.

He frowns as he spreads them out.

"Medical files," he says, reading the names of the people they belong to.

"I know those people," I immediately interject. "Everyone is from Sacre Coeur. Wait… does that mean there's one for me too?" I get up, quickly taking a seat next to him.

"Let's see," he shuffles through them until, surely enough, there is one with my name on it.

I grab it out of his hands, too curious to see what's inside.

"This doesn't make sense," I mumble as I go through all the lab results. Vlad leans in to read, his brows furrowing as he points at something.

"Sisi," he starts, and I can tell by his voice alone that it's something bad. "These are all tests that they do for organ compatibility."

"What do you mean?"

"Here." He takes the folder from me, pointing to one page. "This is a confirmation of compatibility for bone marrow." He continues to scan the information, but I'm having a hard time digesting what he just said.

"A bone marrow transplant. For me? But I don't remember being sick," I tell him.

"According to this file, you were three years and seven months old when this happened. And you weren't sick," he says grimly, and there's a hint of violence in his words, "you were the one whogavethe bone marrow. Fuck, Sisi…" He curses under his breath, quickly going back to the other files.

"This. All this," he says, opening each file and looking at the many lab results, "these are all compatibility results. Fuck." He closes his eyes, his fists clenched.

"Vlad, slow down." I touch his arm, a hint of panic swelling inside of me. "What's happening?"

"Illegal organ transplants. That was the missing piece. That's why everyone would be so willing to get involved, and that's why there are so many levels of corruption. Because what wouldn't people give for a new kidney, or a new lung, when through official channels you wait years for a new organ that may never come."

"Vlad." I take a deep breath, too overwhelmed by this. "Are you saying that they took bone marrow from me to sell to someone? Just like that?"

He nods grimly, the papers in his hand crackling under the pressure of his grip.

"Fuck, Sisi. I'm so sorry," he says, but I can't hear anything more.

I close my eyes, vaguely remembering the hospital visits when all the kids had been given candy after some procedure. I try hard to remember what had happened, but nothing comes to me.

"Who else? Who else donated?" My voice trembles slightly as I turn to Vlad, snatching the folders from his lap. "What did they donate?"

But as we go through each and every file, what we find out is horrifying. There are cases ofeveryorgan being taken from children.

Children!

And the more we delve into the other boxes, the more names we find from the other orphanages.

"It's an entire ring," I whisper. "And they've been doing this for decades. Decades, Vlad. And no one's found out?"

"But that's just the thing, hell girl. Everyone knew about it. They just protected their own interests because they knew they would, at some point, need these services too."

"So this is what Miles leveraged to get funding for his project. He'd set up the facilities for the transplants, and he'd provide medical personnel, right?"

"Yes. Exactly. And that means that Mother Superiorshouldknow where his headquarters are, since I bet he's housing all his procedures in the same place."