They pulled Hazel from the water. Her body was pale and trembling, her lips nearly blue. She’d swallowed so much water that she could barely breathe, but even then, she forced herself to speak, her voice shaking. “I did it… Now please… save my mom.”
Dominic frowned, pulling out his phone to make the call. But before he could finish dialing, Caroline let out a small, startled cry.
He turned immediately, only to see a thin line of blood running down her finger.
Without a second thought, he hung up the phone and rushed to her side.
“Dominic!” Hazel gasped, clutching at his pant leg. “Help my mother first—”
But he yanked his leg free, his voice cutting cold as ice. “Do you have any idea how severe Caroline’s blood phobia is? If anything happens to her, can you take responsibility?”
And with that, he left without looking back.
“But my mom—” Hazel’s voice broke as she tried to follow, but her body gave out. The room spun, her vision blurred, and then everything went dark.
Before she lost consciousness, she vaguely heard Dominic’s distant voice giving orders. “Send her to the hospital. And make sure the best doctors treat her mother. Don’t let anyone die.”
When Hazel woke up, she was lying in a hospital bed.
She ripped out the IV line, trying to get up, but just then, her phone rang.
The voice on the other end was calm, almost apologetic. “Are you Mrs. Rhodes’s family member? I’m sorry… but she didn’t make it. She passed away due to delayed treatment.”
For a moment, Hazel couldn’t breathe.
“No… no, that’s not possible. Dominic said he sent the best doctors! My mom—she can’t be dead!”
The doctor hesitated before sighing quietly. “There was a chance to save her. But just as we were about to begin surgery, Mr. Blake called all the specialists away since Miss Summers had an allergic reaction to her medication. He ordered every available doctor to treat her instead, and your mother received no care… so…”
His words were like a thunderclap. Hazel froze, her blood running cold. The phone slipped from her hand and hit the floor with a dull thud.
She didn’t remember how she got to her mother’s room. When she pushed open the door, a doctor was just pulling the white sheet over her mother’s face.
“Mom!”
She stumbled forward, tears streaming down her face, and fell to her knees beside the bed.
“Mom, please wake up! Don’t leave me, please!”