— The clinic will be temporarily closed until the investigation is over. All employees will be compensated for the forced downtime.
Marina left the ward on wobbly legs. In the corridor, she saw Vera Ivanovna. The old woman was standing by the wall with a bucket and mop, but she wasn’t working, just looking out the window. Marina approached her.
— Vera Ivanovna…
The old woman turned around. Her eyes were red, but there was a smile on her face.
— Did you see, Marinochka? They arrested them. The police believed my call. You saved not only me. You saved many people. God knows how many more victims there would have been if not for you.
Vera Ivanovna shook her head:
— We saved them together. You gave testimony, I made the call. We’re a team.
They hugged right there in the corridor. Two women brought together by life. One saved the other with money for medicine, the second saved the first from death. And now, together, they had stopped the criminals.
Marina walked home as if in a dream. On the bus, she looked out the window and couldn’t believe what had happened. Just yesterday, she was living in fear, and today, the danger was gone. The criminals were arrested. It was over.
Her father greeted her with anxiety:
— They showed on TV that the head doctor at the clinic where you work was arrested. They say there were some crimes there. Are you okay?
Marina sat down next to him on the bed and took his hand.
— Everything’s fine, Dad. It’s all over. I’m safe.
And for the first time in many days, she felt the tension release. Tears flowed on their own — tears of relief, exhaustion, freedom from fear. Pyotr Semyonovich stroked her head, like he did when she was a child, and quietly repeated:
— It’s okay, sweetie. Everything will be okay.
The following days were a whirlwind. Marina was called to the police station several times to give testimony. She told the investigators everything she had seen and heard in detail. Vera Ivanovna was also questioned, and the old woman honestly admitted that she had overheard the conversation and made an anonymous call. The investigator, the same middle-aged man who had come to the clinic, thanked them both:
— Without your help, we wouldn’t have been able to crack this case so quickly. You both showed great courage.
The “Medlife” clinic was sealed off. All employees were sent on forced leave with pay. Marina sat at home, not knowing what to do next. There was money for now, but what about later? Look for a new job? Where?
A week later, the investigator called and asked her to come to the station. Marina went and learned that the case was gaining momentum. During the search, documents confirming the illegal organ trafficking had been found. The head doctor, Oleg Viktorovich Krylov, the security guard Semyon, and four other accomplices from other cities were officially charged with organized criminal activity.
— As a witness and a victim, you are entitled to compensation, — the investigator said. — An attempted assassination on your life has been proven. Semyon confessed under the pressure of evidence that he received money from the head doctor to stage an accident. According to the law, the state pays compensation to victims of crimes.
Marina was silent, not fully understanding what he was talking about.
— The amount will be determined by the court, but preliminarily, we’re talking about two million, — the investigator continued. — Plus moral damages, plus compensation for loss of employment.
Two million. Marina couldn’t believe her ears. That was a huge amount of money for her. More than she had earned in the last five years.
The trial took place three months later. Marina sat in the courtroom with Vera Ivanovna and other witnesses. Head doctor Krylov looked older, grayer. He sat in the defendant’s dock with his head bowed and didn’t look up. The security guard Semyon also looked dejected. The prosecutor read the charges. The list of crimes was long: trafficking in human organs, organizing a criminal group, fraud, attempted murder. Over the past two years, more than 30 people had passed through the clinic, tricked into selling their organs. Some didn’t even realize what was happening to them; they were put to sleep under the guise of a routine operation.
Marina listened and felt anger rising inside her. How could anyone treat people like this? Turn them into commodities for money?
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