The sirens split the afternoon just after Aileen's class let out.
Phones buzzed. Students murmured. A traffic alert popped up on the screens in the student center:
**BREAKING: Convoy Collision on Highway 12. Injured: Richard Lowe, CEO of Lowe Global.**
Aileen stared at the headline, numb.
Mina nudged her. “Isn't that… Paulina's father?"
“I think so."
“Yikes. Wonder if she even cares."
Aileen didn't answer.
Her own phone chimed. A number she didn't recognize.
**“We're reaching out from Midtown General. You registered as a rare blood donor—O Rh-null. We have a patient in critical condition. Can you come in immediately?"**
She didn't hesitate.
---
At the hospital, the air smelled like bleach and urgency. Aileen rolled up her sleeve as the nurse tapped her vein.
“Do I know who it'
