Chapter 3 - The Waiting Room
Time in a hospital waiting room does not pass in minutes or hours; it passes in heartbeats and silent prayers. Sarah sat in a stiff, vinyl chair, her eyes fixed blindly on the flickering fluorescent light above the trauma bay doors. She hadn't spoken a word in over forty minutes.
Felix paced the length of the corridor like a caged predator. His tailored suit jacket was discarded on a nearby chair, his expensive silk tie ripped off and thrown aside. He looked completely unhinged, a far cry from the polished billionaire who had sat at the head of a boardroom table just two hours ago.
"I shouldn't have gone to that meeting," Sarah whispered suddenly, her voice cracking the heavy silence. "I shouldn't have let them bully me into leaving her."
Felix stopped pacing and walked over to her. He knelt on the unforgiving floor, taking both of her cold hands in his.
"You went to that meeting to secure her future," Felix said gently, his dark eyes locking onto hers. "You went to fight for what my mother and Celeste stole from you. This is not your fault, Sarah. Do not put this on yourself."
"She’s so careful, Felix," Sarah sobbed, her tears falling onto his hands. "She knows she can't have peanuts. She knows it could kill her. Why would she eat something she didn't know?"
Before Felix could answer, the heavy double doors of the trauma bay slowly pushed open. A weary-looking doctor in green scrubs stepped out, pulling down his surgical mask.
Sarah shot up from her chair, her heart hammering against her ribs so hard she thought it might break them.
"Is she...?" Sarah couldn't bring herself to finish the question.
"She is stable," the doctor said, offering a tired but genuine smile. "It was incredibly close, Ms. Marlowe. The anaphylaxis was incredibly aggressive, but the epinephrine finally took hold. We managed to avoid intubation by a very narrow margin. She is breathing on her own, though her throat is still quite swollen."
Sarah let out a fractured sob of relief, swaying slightly. Felix caught her, his strong arms wrapping around her shoulders.
"Can we see her?" Felix demanded, his voice thick with raw emotion.
"Yes, but she is heavily sedated," the doctor warned. "We are moving her to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit for observation. Whatever she ingested, it was a massive dose of the allergen."
The doctor looked down at his clipboard, his brow furrowing in confusion.
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"Ms. Marlowe, the school principal sent over the wrapper of what they believe caused the reaction. Did you pack a gourmet almond-butter cupcake in her lunch today?"
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