Chapter 52

Chapter 52:

The tiny apartment had barely any furniture, but it was spotless and neatly kept.

Still, an undeniable loneliness hung in the air, echoing Sadie’s mood. Shaking off the feeling, she headed to the kitchen and made a bowl of mac and cheese.

The dish was bland, and the sauce was dull, but consuming the warm meal slowly helped her feel slightly better.

Sadie reclined in her chair, one hand resting on her still-flat belly as a wry smile touched her lips.

The light outside began to fade as the night deepened.

Then, a sharp ringtone pierced her reverie.

It was the unique ringtone she had set for Laura.

Swiftly, Sadie picked up the call. “Hello, Grandma?”

Instead of Laura, an unfamiliar voice, urgent and slightly panicked, responded, “Is this a family member of Mrs. Stewart? She has suffered a sudden heart attack and is now in critical condition at the hospital. You need to come immediately!”

Sadie’s mind turned to white noise. The phone fell to the floor, landing with a soft thud.

Her grandma had a heart attack? How was that possible?

Moments later, Sadie snapped back to reality. She quickly picked up her phone, slipped into her shoes, and rushed out of her apartment.

On the way to the hospital, the doctor’s urgent message replayed incessantly in her head, constricting her heart like a vice, making it hard to catch her breath.

Laura was everything to her, her only family, her pillar in life. Nothing could happen to her, nothing at all!

Sadie’s high heels echoed sharply against the hospital’s polished floors as she raced through the corridors, her heartbeat thundering just as wildly.

“Grandma! Grandma!”

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She surged forward, gasping for air but not slowing down, and headed towards the nurse’s station. Grasping a nurse’s arm with shaking hands, her voice thick with tears, she pleaded, “Excuse me, my grandmother, Laura Stewart, was just brought in by ambulance. Where is she? I’m her granddaughter!”

The nurse, skilled in handling such crises, maintained a stoic expression, her voice even and professional as she responded with a slight furrow of her brow, “Please try to remain calm. Your grandmother is in critical care, and things aren’t looking great right now.”

As the nurse’s words sank in, Sadie’s vision blurred, each syllable like a hammer blow shattering the fragile hope she clung to.

Just then, the resuscitation room doors burst open, and a grave-looking doctor clad in a white coat stepped out, clutching a document. Sadie instantly knew what it was—a Critical Condition Notice. Darkness clouded her vision, and she nearly collapsed, but the alert nurse at her side caught her in time.

The doctor, his face somber as he lowered his mask, spoke with deep regret. “Your grandmother’s pre-existing health conditions compounded the severity of this attack. We’ve exhausted all our options…”

“Doctor, please, there must be something you can do to save her,” Sadie pleaded desperately, her hands clasping the doctor’s arm as if it were her last strand of hope. “I’ll cover any cost. Just please, save her!”

The doctor’s eyes softened with sympathy for a moment before he shook his head. “It’s not a question of money. She’s in a precarious state unless…”

He hesitated, searching for the right words. “If we could bring in a top specialist to attempt the surgery, there might still be hope.”

A top specialist.

Noah immediately sprang to mind.

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