Chapter 24 #24
Chapter 24
~ Shailyn ~
"What happened, Aunt Patricia?" I demanded, my panic making my voice sharp and desperate. "Please, just tell me!"
Aunt Patricia took a shuddering breath, finally managing to calm herself enough to speak coherently. "She lifted a finger! Your mother, she moved! She actually moved!"
For a moment, I just stared at her, not quite processing what she'd said.
"She... what?"
"She lifted her finger!" Aunt Patricia repeated, grabbing my hands now, tears still streaming down her face but her expression transformed from panic to something like joy. "This morning, when I was with her at the hospital. I was talking to her like I always do, and suddenly Shailyn, I saw her finger moved. Just a little bit, but it definitely moved!"
Relief crashed over me so intensely I nearly collapsed. My knees actually went weak, and I had to lean against the banister to stay upright.
"Oh my God," I whispered. "Oh my God, she moved."
I knew to most people, a finger moving might seem like nothing. A tiny, insignificant gesture. But for us, for me and Aunt Patricia who'd spent my entire life watching my mother lie motionless in that hospital bed, trapped in her own body it was everything.
My mother had been essentially catatonic since the stroke she'd suffered when I was born. Twenty-eight years of being unable to speak, unable to move voluntarily, unable to communicate except through her eyes. Twenty-eight years of being locked inside her own mind.
And now she'd moved a finger.
It was a miracle. A genuine, honest-to-God miracle.
Tears were streaming down my face now, matching Aunt Patricia's. I felt hands on my back, Dante had come downstairs and was standing beside me, his palm resting on my lower back, rubbing gentle circles as a form of comfort.
"Is she okay?" Dante asked quietly. "Your mother?"
"She moved," I managed through my tears. "She actually moved. After all these years."
"That's incredible," Dante said, and he actually sounded sincere. "That's really incredible, baby."
I turned to Aunt Patricia, wiping at my eyes. "I need to see her. I need to be there."
"Yes, yes of course," Aunt Patricia nodded eagerly. "That's why I came. I knew you'd want to know right away."
"Give me just a few minutes to get dressed," I said, already turning toward the stairs. "Then we'll go to the hospital together. I just need to…"
"Shailyn, wait."
Aunt Patricia's hand on my arm stopped me. When I turned back, her expression had shifted slightly. There was still concern there, still that emotional intensity, but now there was something else too. Something that made my stomach tighten uncomfortably.
"Before you go," she said, pulling me a few steps away from where Dante was standing. She lowered her voice to barely above a whisper. "We need to talk about the money situation."
"The... what?"
"The hospital bills," Aunt Patricia explained, still speaking in that urgent whisper. "They're piling up, Shailyn. The treatments, the medications, the round-the-clock care. It's so expensive. And now with this improvement, they're going to want to do more tests, more therapies. We need funds."
"Oh, I'm sorry…" I started.
"I've been trying to reach you for weeks," she continued, her grip on my arm tightening. "I didn't even know where you were living. I had to hunt down the address of this place." Her eyes darted around the opulent foyer, taking in the marble floors, the crystal chandelier, the obvious wealth on display. "I mean, you had access to this kind of money and yet…"
"Aunt Patricia, please…"
"I'm not trying to be difficult," she said, but there was an edge to her voice now. "But your mother needs care. Good care. And that costs money. A lot of money. More than I can provide on my own. So I need you to help. I need you to give me what we need to take care of her properly." She turned to Dante who was looking at us, looking a bit confused like he didn’t know that my mother’s stay in the hospital required money.
I felt my face flush with embarrassment. Here we were, standing in the Belmar manor, and my aunt was essentially begging me for money.
Why the fuck did I not have that much money if I was married to my billionaire husband, Dante. That is just so awkwardly strange.
I turned to Dante, who had now drifted away from us, in a phone call. That was so disappointing.
"I understand," I said quietly. "I'll figure something out. I promise."
"When?" Aunt Patricia pressed. "Because the hospital is already sending collection notices. They're threatening to transfer her to a state facility if we can't…"
"How much does she need?"
The voice came from behind us. I turned to find Dwayne standing at the entrance to the sitting room, his arms crossed, his expression unreadable. How long had he been standing there? How much had he heard?
Aunt Patricia's eyes widened. "I... uh…"
"I'm Dwayne Belmar," he said simply. "Dante's brother. And I couldn't help but overhear that Shailyn's mother needs medical care that isn't currently being funded."
"Dwayne, you don't have to…" I started.
"How much?" he repeated, looking at Aunt Patricia.
She stammered for a moment, clearly caught off guard. "The current bills are around fifty thousand. But that's just what's already accumulated. Going forward, with the new treatments they're recommending…"
"My accountant will reach out to you," Dwayne said, pulling out his phone. "Give me your contact information. We'll set up a direct payment system to the hospital. Whatever your mother needs, it'll be covered."
I felt my face burn even hotter. This was humiliating. Having Dwayne, essentially a stranger offer to pay my mother's medical bills because I couldn't.
"That's very generous," Aunt Patricia said, fumbling for her phone. "Very generous indeed. I just need to…"
"Stop."