Page 182 of Broken Destiny

“The lady who came to see me before surgery,” Malaika continued. “And the lady who saved Michelle and me in the forest.”

My heart slammed painfully against my ribs.

“It’s her,” Malaika said confidently. “Aunty Nyah.”

Memory crashed into me so violently that I staggered backward.

The hospital hallway.

Jiya asking about Malaika.

The white thank-you card sitting on her dresser.

The blood donor.

I turned slowly toward Simon.

“The card you bought for the blood donor…” My voice came out rough. “You remember it?”

He nodded.

“What did it look like?”

“It was white with gold lettering.”

The same card.

A dull roaring filled my ears.

While my mother hated her…

While I blamed her…

While I accused her of destroying my life…

Jiya had still chosen to save them anyway.

“Guys,” I said quietly to the children. “Please excuse us. We have something important to discuss.”

They nodded and wandered back out of the room.

I turned to my mother again.

“For someone who hated Jiya so much,” I said quietly, “there’s something you should know.”

Fear flickered across her face.

“While you and Malaika were waiting for blood at the hospital… fighting for your lives… and we were running around trying to arrange donors…”I paused, letting the weight of the moment settle.“Would you like to guess who saved yours?”

Her eyes widened.

“The woman you spent years destroying… the woman you said wasn’t right for this family or me… the woman you lied about and keptme away from …” My voice shook. “It’s Jiya’s blood running through your veins right now.”

I stepped closer to her, every nerve in my body vibrating with rage.

My mother’s face crumpled completely.

A broken sob escaped her.