The Price of My Heart

There was a whiteboard in our house.

Written on it was my countdown.

"Days until Lily's estimated heart failure: 47."

Every morning, my mother would carefully erase yesterday's number and write a new one.

Like a grocery store counting down to a clearance sale.

Precise, cold, and full of anticipation.

My name is Lily Brooks. I am twelve years old.

I have congenital heart disease. The doctors said without surgery, I wouldn't live past six months.

The surgery costs three million dollars.

My father, Edward Brooks, is a real estate tycoon worth two billion dollars.