Chapter 4

Inside the hospital, the atmosphere was frantic. Bright lights and hurried voices filled the air as the medical team prepared to receive Laura. Nick was guided to a corner where he could observe but not interfere with what was happening.

"Come on, we need space!" a doctor shouted as he pushed a stretcher down the hallway. Laura was quickly taken into an emergency room, and Nick felt helpless, watching everything from afar.

"She’s going to be okay, right?" Nick asked a passing nurse, his voice barely a whisper.

"We're doing our best. She’s in good hands," the nurse replied, but the look on her face didn't convey the certainty Nick wanted.

As he waited, Nick sat on a bench, the pain in his broken arm feeling insignificant compared to his worry for Laura. He tried to process everything that had happened. How had they gotten to this point? The image of Laura being resuscitated echoed in his mind, and he wondered if she would be able to overcome this nightmare.

After what felt like hours, a doctor came out of the emergency room and approached Nick. He was tall and serious, and Nick immediately stood up, his heart racing.

"Are you her husband?" the doctor asked.

"Yes! How is she? What happened?" Nick asked anxiously.

"She suffered a head injury and some complications from the fall. The resuscitation was successful, but we need to monitor her closely. We'll keep her under observation in the ICU for a few hours," the doctor explained.

"Can I see her?" Nick asked, his eyes filled with hope.

"Not right now. We need to stabilize her before you can go in. You can wait here," the doctor replied, kindly but firmly.

Hours had passed, and the phone started ringing with numerous missed calls from Nona and Fabian wanting to know where Laura was. Little Miran still needed to nurse and needed his mother nearby. Fearful, Nick decided to answer the call.

"Hello, Nona? Is something wrong?" he asked, trying to hide the worry in his voice.

"I’m trying to reach Laura, but she isn’t answering. I wanted to know if she’s with you. Miran is about to wake up to nurse."

"I only saw Laura this morning. She said she had some things to do and that she would meet me at the mall in the afternoon. She might already be there, and her phone could be dead."

"That could be it. We were starting to worry."

"Here’s what you do: get Miran ready, and I’ll come by to pick him up. Laura needs his nursing time."

"Okay, I’ll get him ready," Nona replied, feeling a mix of relief and anxiety as she hung up the phone.

Before leaving the hospital, Nick stopped by the reception to ask about Laura. The staff member, with a sympathetic look, informed him, "She’s heavily sedated and won’t wake up for a while. We need to keep her this way for some time to avoid further damage."

Nick felt a wave of worry wash over him, but he knew there was nothing he could do at the moment. He thanked her and left the hospital, taking a taxi to Nona's address. The journey felt longer than ever, with his restless mind thinking about Laura’s condition and little Miran waiting.

Nick got out of the car, trying to hide his broken arm with the jacket he bought along the way. Upon entering the house, he found Nona and Fabian with Miran.

"Where’s Laura?" Fabian asked, looking curious.

"She was supposed to meet me at the mall, but I had some work to take care of. She must already be there," Nick replied, trying to keep his voice calm.

Fabian frowned, intrigued, but didn’t suspect that Nick would lie using a child. Nick picked up Miran and his bag with the baby’s things and left the apartment, carefully descending since his arm was broken. He passed through the building's lobby and took a taxi, while Fabian watched from the window, noticing the moment he got into the taxi.

"Do you think Nick's car broke down?" she asked Nona.

"Why?"

"He got into the taxi with Miran; I thought that was strange."

"Maybe he took it for a wash, or it's in the shop."

"Could be."

"What’s wrong, Fabian?"

"Nothing, Nona, I’m just worried. Miran has never gone out like this without Laura, but I know Nick wouldn’t take him without her permission."

"I don’t like Nick for countless reasons, but Miran is his blood; he wouldn’t neglect him."

"Come on, let’s finish cutting these vegetables, or dinner will be late. Laura will be here with them soon."

Nona and Fabian sat in front of the TV until the emergency news theme started playing, reporting on the accident.

The tension in the room increased as Fabian and Nona watched the images of the accident on the screen. Nona's heart raced, and she exchanged worried glances with Fabian, who seemed frozen, hands still gripping the vegetable peeler.

"Fabian, did you hear that?" Nona asked, her voice trembling slightly.

"Yes," he replied, his expression closing off. "They mentioned Nick and Laura's names; how is that possible?"

Both fell silent, the sound of the TV blending with the sound of their hearts pounding. Nona felt a chill in her stomach. "What should we do? We need to find out what’s happening."

Fabian clenched his teeth, staring at the screen, where the images of the accident continued. "We can’t just sit here. We have to look for them."

"But wait, if the accident was at 5:00, Nick came at 6:20. Oh my God, where did he take Miran?" Nona said desperately.

They quickly got up, abandoning the vegetables, their anxiety propelling them.

As Nona grabbed her bag hurriedly, Fabian was already at the door, restless. "Come on, Nona! We need to find Laura before it’s too late. We don’t know why Nick didn’t tell us."

"Let’s go; I grabbed the bag. I’ll call the boys," Nona said.

On the way, Nona quickly dialed Owen’s number. "Owen, did you see the news? There’s been an accident, and they mentioned our names! We need to know if Laura is okay."

Owen's voice came hurriedly from the other end of the line. "I saw! I’m trying to find out what happened. I’ll call Daniel and see if he knows anything."

"Please call, my son. Nick went home to get Miran and didn’t say anything about what happened. I thought he seemed a little down, but I didn’t imagine."

"We’ll find them, Grandma; stay calm. I’ll hang up now, but I’ll call you back, and you let me know too."

"I will, my son."

Nona and Fabian headed to the hospital to see if they could find Laura.