Chapter 128 At Death's Door
Benjamin thought of his daughter lying in that room, and grief cut through him like a knife.
He'd already lost one daughter. He couldn't survive losing another.
Isla's voice sliced through the air, cold and sharp. "William didn't do anything wrong."
All three of them turned to stare at her.
Benjamin couldn't believe what he was hearing. He looked at his wife like she was a stranger.
William was equally surprised. He hadn't expected Isla to defend him.
Isla continued, her tone dismissive. "It's just an old house. Who cares if he tore it down? She's making a scene over nothing. Trying to get attention. I hope she dies in there and never comes out."
Benjamin's eyes blazed. "Isla, that's our daughter in there. She's badly hurt. She might not make it. How can you say something so cruel?"
Isla's voice was ice. "I don't have a daughter like that. She should be dead. Fate is finally doing what I couldn't."
William's frown deepened. If he'd known it would come to this, he never would have touched that house.
"I'm disappointed in you right now."
"Oh, so you want me to die instead? Then you can be with your precious daughter."
The ER doors swung open. A doctor stepped out, his expression grim.
"The family needs to stop fighting. The patient is critical. She's lost vital signs, and she has no will to live. We need someone to encourage her, to wake up that survival instinct. Someone needs to go in there."
William moved forward instinctively, but Benjamin was already rushing toward the doctor.
"I'm her father. Let me in."
Isla grabbed his arm, yanking him back. "Don't you dare go in there! I won't let you save that woman. This is what she wants—to trick you into going in there, to steal you away from me."
Benjamin turned to look at her, exhausted in a way he'd never felt before. He was so tired. He wished he was the one lying in that room instead of his daughter.
His daughter was dying, and his wife was trying to stop him from saving her. His heart felt frozen solid.
"Isla, please. Not now. We'll talk when I come out."
"No! If you go in there, I'll jump out a window. Try me."
Isla spun around and rushed down the hallway. Benjamin chased after her.
He loved them both. He couldn't choose. Why was fate forcing him to make this kind of choice?
"Isla, Isabella is dying!"
"Then either she dies today, or I do."
There was no room for negotiation in her voice. The doctor could only shake his head.
William turned to him, his jaw tight. "What's her condition?"
The doctor sighed. "Extremely critical. We're not sure if we can save her. She has no will to live. If we can't reach her… she won't make it."
William clenched his fists and started forward, but Juniper blocked his path.
"William, do you really want to go in there? You just destroyed her grandmother's house. If she hears your voice, she'll probably give up completely."
The words hit him like a punch. Juniper was right. He was the last person Isabella would want to see right now.
And with Isla threatening to jump and Benjamin unable to leave her, there was no one who could go in.
Juniper felt a flicker of satisfaction. If no one went in, Isabella would die.
The doctor heard the urgent beeping from inside and turned back, his voice sharp with panic. "Mr. Spencer, we're running out of time. If we don't do something now, her heart will stop. And once that happens, there's nothing we can do."
Isabella was slipping away. William's chest tightened. He couldn't let her die.
He looked back at Isla, still struggling, and made a decision. "Sedate her. Now."
Right now, the only person who could reach Isabella was Benjamin.
The doctor nodded and signaled to the nurses. They held Isla down while one of them injected the sedative into her arm. Her body went slack, her eyelids heavy.
Before she lost consciousness, she glared at Benjamin, her eyes full of warning.
Benjamin's mind was only on Isabella. He asked Juniper to watch over Isla, then followed the doctor to scrub in and change into sterile gear.
Inside the ER, even from behind the privacy screen, he could see over a dozen doctors crowded around the operating table.
The sharp scent of blood and disinfectant hit him like a blow, stinging his eyes until tears ran down his face.
"Don't just stand there. Talk to her. Say things she wants to hear."
Benjamin took a shaky breath and forced his voice to steady. "Isabella. My little girl. I'm here."
The medical equipment hummed and beeped. Benjamin's heart hammered in his chest.
"Isabella, I'm so sorry. I've been thinking about you. Worrying about you. When you get better, I'll come see you all the time. Would you like that?
"I know you're a good kid. We've ignored you for too long. I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?
"Your grandmother told me you were smart and kind. The best child in the world. Isabella, you're so good-hearted. You wouldn't leave me, would you?
"I already lost your sister. Please don't make me lose you too. I'm begging you."
Benjamin's voice broke as he called her name, drowning in regret. He'd known she was suffering. He'd seen it. And he'd done nothing.
How was he any different from the people who'd hurt her? He'd just stood by and watched.
The monitor let out a long, piercing tone. It cut through him like a blade.
A doctor shouted, "She's flatlining! Charging paddles!"
The shock hit her chest, and Isabella's body arched off the table. Benjamin clutched his own chest, his voice rising. "Isabella! My daughter, please! Don't leave me. I can't lose you. Do you want me to die? Is that what you want?"
"Thirty… twenty-nine… twenty-eight…"
The defibrillator beeped again. The doctor counted down. "Again!"
Another shock. Isabella's body jerked upward. Blood splattered across the privacy screen. Benjamin collapsed to the floor.
But he forced himself back up. If he fell now, there'd be no one left to save her.
"Isabella, if you die, who's going to take care of me? You're a good daughter. You're supposed to be with me until the end. You have to live. I need you."
"Isabella, you have to survive this. I'm right here. I'm waiting for you."
Her body convulsed again and again. Through the haze, she thought she heard her father's voice.
Everything was white. She could see him in the distance, waving at her. And there—her sister was there too.
Isabella had always looked forward to summer vacation. Not because she could play, but because she got to see her father and her sister.