Chapter 9 - THE MORNING THE MONITORS CHANGED
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On Monday, Anya kissed Maksim's forehead before the medical team wheeled him away. He held a toy boat in one hand and asked whether Nikolai would teach him to steer a real one someday.
"Only after you learn to swim," Nikolai said.
Maksim considered that. "And Misha comes."
"Misha comes."
Then the doors closed, and Anya was left staring at the place where her son had disappeared.
The hours that followed were the longest of her life. She drank cold coffee, walked the corridor, and checked the clock so often the numbers seemed to blur. Nikolai remained nearby but did not crowd her. When she wanted silence, he gave it. When she wanted to talk, he listened.
She told him about Maksim's father, a musician who left before the child turned two. She described working nights, selling her grandmother's jewelry, and learning to recognize the difference between an ordinary cough and the kind that meant a hospital visit. Nikolai told her about Boris teaching him to repair engines and the first night after Viktor died, when he woke screaming and Boris sat beside him until dawn.
At last the surgeon arrived. The intervention had gone as planned, but Maksim would need close monitoring and a careful recovery. Anya pressed both hands over her mouth. Relief came in waves so strong she had to sit.
Nikolai did not call it a miracle. He thanked the medical team and let Anya go to her son.
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That night, Boris was discharged to a rehabilitation residence of his own choosing. He insisted Misha sleep beside his bed. A social worker helped restore access to his pension and benefits while the legal case proceeded.
As Anya watched Maksim sleeping, her phone vibrated with an unfamiliar number. A woman's voice said, "I am Ksenia Volkova. I owe you the truth about why I chose your son."
