Chapter 16 - The Miracle of Light
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Three long days passed in a blur of sterile hospital corridors, fluorescent lights, and the beep of heart monitors.
Don Fernando never left the intensive care waiting room of St. Jude Hospital. He personally paid for a team of the nation’s top neurosurgeons and orthopedic specialists, who worked in shifts through a agonizing twelve-hour operation to repair Rosa’s shattered body.
On the fourth morning, the heavy double doors of the ICU opened.
Dr. Alistair Vance, the head of neurosurgery, stepped out, pulling down his surgical mask. He offered Fernando a tired, but warm smile.
"How is she, Doctor?" Fernando asked, jumping to his feet.
"It is nothing short of a miracle, Don Fernando," Dr. Vance replied. "The pressure on her brain has subsided completely. Her spine is intact. She will require months of intensive physical therapy to walk properly again, but she is out of danger. She just woke up."
Tears of overwhelming relief streamed down Fernando’s face. He sanitized his hands, put on a medical gown, and walked softly into the quiet room.
Doña Rosa lay in the center of the bed, wrapped in white bandages, her face pale, but her dark eyes open and alert.
When she saw Fernando walk in, her weak hand twitched against the bedsheet.
"Don... Don Fernando..." Rosa whispered, her voice raspy and frail. "The... the papers... in my apron... she stole..."
Fernando rushed to her side, gently taking her calloused hand in both of his.
"Shh, Rosita," Fernando whispered, kissing the back of her hand, his tears falling onto the bedsheet. "You don't need to worry about anything ever again. I saw everything. The police have the papers. The monster is behind bars."
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Rosa let out a long, ragged sigh of relief, her shoulders relaxing against the pillows. "The children... are they safe?"
"Thanks to you, every single penny she stole has been frozen and returned to the hospital," Fernando said softly. "You saved those children, Rosa. You saved them all."
