Alec and I wake up to incessant knocking, and before we realize someone’s at the door, Lucian and Sofia walk in. Alec sits up, startled, the sheets falling to his waist. He nudges me gently and wraps me in the blankets as I sit up, covering as much of myself as I can.
“I’m sorry, my darlings,” Sofia says. “We wouldn’t have walked in, but we had no other choice. Neither one of you picked up the phone, and you were so fast asleep the knocking didn’t wake you either.”
“What is it, Mother?” Alec asks, his arm wrapped around me.
“Elena… it’s your mother,” she says carefully. My heart drops and Alec tightens his grip on me, both of us bracing for the worst.
“I—the doctor asked us to come to the hospital. He was unclear about what’s wrong. He didn’t say. We need to go.”
I nod and move to get out of bed mindlessly, but Alec grabs me and wraps me in his arms, sheets and all.
“Clothes, Buttercup?”
I nod and glance at Lucian, panic rendering me useless. He walks into our wardrobe and returns a minute later with outfits for both Alec and me. Then he presses a kiss on top of my head and turns to leave. “I’ll wait for you downstairs,” he says, and I nod.
Alec and I get ready in record time and by the time we’re down, everyone is ready to go.
We’re all tense as we make our way to the facility my mother is in.
I walk toward her room with dread, my heart beating out of my chest. Alec holds my hand and Lucian is right behind me, but not even their presence sets me at ease. I’m scared of what I’ll find when I walk through my mother’s door.
Dr. Taylor jumps up anxiously when I enter. “Elena,” he says, sounding breathless.
He points to my mother’s bed, and to my surprise, my mother is staring back at me, her lips turned up at the corners in a small smile. I rush up to her and grab her hand, surprised to find her finger moving slightly against mine. I stare at her in disbelief, feeling lightheaded from the shock.
“E… E…”
“She’s been saying that since she woke up. I didn’t want to give you false hope in case she fell back into a coma by the time you got here, but she’s been awake for about forty-five minutes now.”
He inhales deeply and looks at me with a grave expression. “I put her through weeks’ worth of tests, but it was worth it. There were trace amounts of propofol in her blood. We’d been keeping her on the medication her last hospital provided—and they mislabeled the propofol they sent us. I’ve had all drugs tested. There’s no doubt… there was foul play here.”
“What is propofol?” I ask, my hand around my mother’s.
“It’s a drug used to keep someone in an artificial coma. I can’t imagine why that would be in her blood. I ran all tests three times, thinking it must be a mistake somehow, but it wasn’t. I slowly phased it out of her system until she eventually woke up naturally.”
I feel sick at the mere thought of someone doing this to my mother. Alec throws his arms around me while Lucian wipes away the tears I didn’t realize had fallen.
“Hi, Sarah,” Lucian says, sounding as emotional as I feel.
My mother’s eyes move to Lucian’s and I could swear I saw a twinkle in them.
“L…” she murmurs, and Alec frowns.
“I think she’s trying to say your names,” he says, shocked. “She’s not just awake, she’s aware of her surroundings too.”
I start crying in earnest and place my head against my mother’s shoulder. “Oh God, Mom. I can’t believe it. I knew it. I knew you’d wake up one day.”
I sob my heart out, and before long my mother’s eyes are filled with tears too, her cheeks wet. Lucian grabs a tissue and carefully wipes her face while Alec wipes mine.
“Your mother doesn’t seem to have any muscle contraction. She must have been given regular Botox injections to prevent it, and I suspect she received regular physical therapy to stretch her body too. It doesn’t quite add up. You wouldn’t do that for a person you’re knowingly keeping in a coma.”
I nod. “The Botox injections and stretching are two things I insisted on and paid through the roof for,” I tell him. I knew she’d need that if she were to walk after her coma. “They did it, because I was paying for it.”
Alec gently grabs her hand like I’ve seen him do before, and presses a kiss to the back of her hand. “I don’t think you remember me, but I’m so glad you woke up,” he whispers softly.
Her eyes move to his, and another tear rolls down her face. “A…” she croaks, her respirator inhabiting her speech.
His eyes widen, and he looks at me. “She recognizes me, Buttercup.”
I tighten my hold on her hand and turn toward the doctor. “Why can’t she speak? What will happen now?”
Dr. Taylor smiles at me. “She only just woke up and has been on a respirator for years. We can’t just take it off all of a sudden. I did a full checkup, and there’s nothing wrong with her vocal cords. She hasn’t spoken in years though, so it’ll take some time for her to speak the way she used to. She’s still drugged too. I suspect she’ll be just fine once all the unnecessary drugs are out of her body. I’ll have to check her joints in about 24 hours, to see if they’ve frozen up. If they have, she’ll need some surgery, but I don’t suspect that that’s the case. If all goes well and she can remain conscious for long periods of time, she should be able to go home in about three weeks, provided that she still receives full medical care.”
Alec nods and smiles at me gently. “We can get a hospital bed set up in our house. We’ll get whatever Dr. Taylor thinks he needs, so in a few weeks we can move her home. We’ll keep him on staff to oversee her recovery.”
I nod, my mind a mess. I stare at my mother’s closed eyes and turn to the doctor in a panic, but he merely shakes his head. “She’s tired and overstimulated. I suggest we let her rest. Most patients aren’t able to stay conscious for more than a few minutes after they first wake up. Give it time, Elena.”
I nod, and though it kills me to do it, I let Alec take me back home so my mother can rest. “You’ll take me back tomorrow morning?” I ask. Alec nods. “Of course, but we have to let the doctor do his job tonight.”
My mind is a mess the entire ride home, fury coursing through my veins. “I’ll murder whoever did this to my mother. We need to look into how this could have happened. Do you think my father had anything to do with it?” I shake my head, my thoughts whirling. “It must’ve been my stepmother. She must have isolated me on purpose. She knew I’d never find out about what she did because I didn’t have enough resources at my disposal.” Alec nods and wraps me into his arms. “I’ll murder her. I’ll wring her ugly fat neck.”
He sighs and tightens his hold on me, his hand stroking my arm. “I’d never let you get your hands dirty, baby,” he says, sounding as upset as I feel.
“Tell me you’ll find out for me, Alec. Promise me.”
Alec lifts me onto his lap and looks into my eyes. “My love, I’m way ahead of you. Aiden is looking into this as we speak. It might take a few days or even a few weeks, but we’ll get to the bottom of this.”
I nod, wiping away the tears that just won’t stop falling.
“You promise?”
Alec nods, his eyes blazing with sincerity. “I promise.”
With him by my side, there’s no way the truth will remain hidden.
