Chapter 2 - The Cold White CorridorThe sterile, fluorescent-lit corridors of Saint Jude Memorial Hospital smelled of rubbing alcohol and bleach, a sharp contrast to the rain-soaked asphalt where Douglas Reed’s entire life had just been unraveled.
He stood outside Trauma Bay 3, his heavy wool suit soaked through, blood from his cut palm smeared across his white shirt cuff. In his hand, he clutched the small, slightly damp photograph that had slipped from seven-year-old Nina’s pink backpack.
Monica.
His younger sister’s face stared back at him from the faded polaroid. She looked older, lines of exhaustion etched around her eyes, but the defiant, proud tilt of her chin remained unchanged. Seven years. Seven long years of silence, wealth-building, and absolute emotional exile.
“Mr. Reed?”
Douglas snapped his head up. Dr. Sarah Vance, the chief trauma surgeon, stepped out of the operating room, wiping her hands on a sterile paper towel. Her expression was grave.
“How is she?” Douglas asked, his voice cracking slightly. “How is my niece, Nina?”
Dr. Vance blinked in surprise. “Your niece? Mr. Reed, the child has a concussion, a fractured collarbone, and severe bruising, but she is stable. She’s currently resting in the pediatric wing. But...” The doctor’s voice trailed off heavily.
“But what?” Douglas demanded, stepping forward.
“Her father—David Vance, Monica’s husband—did not survive the impact,” Dr. Vance said quietly. “He was dead before the ambulance arrived.”
A heavy, suffocating silence dropped over the hallway. Douglas stumbled back a step, colliding against the cold tile wall. David was gone. Little Nina was an orphan in every way that mattered right now, and Monica... Monica was about to arrive at the hospital to face the worst tragedy of her life.
“Where is Monica?” Douglas whispered.
May you like
“She’s in the waiting room,” Dr. Vance replied. “She just arrived via police escort. She doesn't know about David yet.”
Douglas swallowed hard, his legs feeling like lead. He looked down at the photograph in his palm, took a deep breath, and walked toward the waiting room.
