Malcolm Crawford Romane & Geschichten

Another photo of him holding one of his children in his arms, his woman at his side… Nathan Lockwood and wife spotted at charity gala… and with them attended their little twins… Arina and Jacob, seen for the first time since birth at two years old. My stomach turned. There he was. In a tailored suit. Smiling for the cameras like he didn’t have blood on his hands or a past that meant anything. Like I didn’t exist. A mate that he chose to simply ignore and rather than reject, he couldn’t care less. Like she didn’t exist.

I command, my voice dropping into a low, resonant hum that vibrates through the tablet’s audio pick-up. Through the screen, the Council lords watch in utter silence as Malcolm Ashford—a man who ruled the Redgrave Territory mafia for thirty years—curls into a fetal position at my feet, weeping hysterically as Blue-Tint Syndrome creeps across his skin. He can't breathe. My proximity alone is depriving his blood of oxygen.

A hospital's medication error leaves me in a vegetative state. My father, a renowned medical expert, lies under oath to protect the hospital because the doctor responsible is the only son of his longtime mentor. When reporters confront him, he calmly declares, "My daughter has suffered from allergies since childhood. What happened to her is simply bad luck. The doctor did nothing wrong, and the hospital shouldn't be blamed for something beyond its control." The man who destroyed my life walks away without consequences. I lie helpless in my hospital bed, hearing every word. Unable to move anything but my eyes, I turn my gaze toward the euthanasia consent form in my mother's hands.