Chapter 24 Chapter 0024
•CASSANDRA•
I sat on the couch with my phone pressed to my ear. My hands shook as I spoke to Dante.
“I made a terrible mistake,” I answered. My voice cracked on the last word. “Elena fainted at school today. I answered the call right before we started Mr. Harlan’s surgery. And then I left the theater without a proper handover, because I thought the team would handle everything, but they left a sponge inside him. He is stable now, but I am suspended until all investigations are done.”
Dante was silent for a moment. “Cass, take a breath. Will fix this, okay? The post will be taken down."
"I've ruined everything, Dante," I replied. "How am I going to make this right when someone almost died because of me?"
“You are a mother and a doctor,” Dante replied gently. “You did what any parent would do. I will speak with the director and make him understand you acted on your motherly instincts, and couldn't have ignored the message that Elena collapsed. Anything could've happened to her."
“That is not the worst part," I breathed, wiping my tears. "Elena has been hiding something from me. She told me today that some kids at school have been bullying her. I didn’t even notice because I was too busy with work, and I was too tired when I got home. And now I messed up at the hospital too. I am failing her, Dante.”
My voice broke completely. Sobs shook my shoulders. I pressed my hand over my mouth to muffle the sound so Elena wouldn't hear.
“I am coming over,” Dante said immediately. “Stay right there. I will be there in twenty minutes.”
I hung up and curled my arms around my knees. The tears came hard and fast.
I cried for Elena’s hurt feelings, for the patient I had endangered, and for the life I had tried so hard to build.
Everything felt like it was slipping through my fingers.
True to his word, Dante arrived quickly. He let himself in with the spare key and found me still sitting on the bed.
He sat beside me without speaking at first. He simply pulled me into his arms and held me while I cried against his shoulder.
“You're not failing anyone, Cass," he muttered when I stopped crying. "Elena is safe and loved. The patient will be okay. You shouldn't forget that you are human. You can't be perfect every moment of every day.”
“I should've seen the signs with Elena. I should've known she was struggling because I am her mother. What does it make me when I can't tell when my child is being abused?" The words stung. "She's not human, Dante, and I can't even tell her that. I fear she will feel even more different and judged. That's not the future I wanted for her. Why is this happening to us? Why am I being punished?"
"You're not being punished," Dante replied as he pulled me back into his chest. "We will deal with this just as we have dealt with everything else before. We will find a new school for Elena where she will feel safe and not criticized for being different from the other kids."
"How? We won't find a school in California for kids like her." I pulled away and wiped my tears.
"We will figure something out," he replied, and I nodded.
I knew he meant every word he said. He had been with me throughout my pregnancy and got me through the first year with ease.
I couldn't imagine how things would've been if he hadn't been there.
The next morning, I took Elena shopping for her new school supplies.
We had found a new private school with smaller classes and a kind principal who promised to watch out for any bullying.
Elena seemed excited about the change. We walked through the store aisles, picking out drawing and coloring books, crayons, and a new backpack. She gripped my hand.
We turned a corner near the checkout and nearly collided with Amelia Hart.
She stood with a shopping basket on her arm, dressed in a crisp blazer and heels. Her eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed with satisfaction.
“Well, if it is not Dr. Frost,” she scoffed. “I heard about your suspension. Such a shame. I always knew you could never handle the pressure. People might have believed you were some kind of miracle doctor, but mistakes like that prove the truth. You are not cut out for it.”
I straightened my shoulders. “This is not the place, Amelia.”
She glanced down at Elena, who clung to my leg. “And this must be the little one who caused all the trouble. You really should have stayed focused, Cassandra. One phone call and you nearly killed a patient.”
Elena looked up at Amelia. “Don’t talk to my mommy like that. She is the best doctor ever.”
Amelia’s smile widened. “Oh, sweetie. Before you defend your mommy so fiercely, maybe you should ask her who your father really is. Some things are better left unsaid.”
She walked away without another word, leaving a heavy silence behind her.
Elena looked up at me with wide eyes. “Who is she, Mama?”
“Just someone from work,” I answered. "Don't worry about her."
I took her hand and led her to the checkout. My heart pounded the entire way home.
That evening after dinner, Elena sat on the couch beside me with her new backpack on her lap. She traced the zipper with her finger for a long time before she spoke.
“Mama?”
“Yes, baby?”
She looked up at me. “Who is my daddy?”
I took a slow breath. The question I had always known would come someday had finally arrived. I pulled her onto my lap and held her close.
“That is a big question,” I muttered. “Your daddy was someone I loved very much a long time ago. We had you together, but then things changed, and we couldn't stay together. He's not part of our lives now.”
Elena rested her head on my shoulder. “Does he know about me?”
“Yes,” I answered. “He knows about you.”
She was quiet for a moment. “Does he love me?”
I closed my eyes. “I believe he does, in his own way. But sometimes grown-ups make choices that keep them apart from the people they love. That does not mean you are not loved. You are loved so much by me, by Uncle D, and by everyone who knows you.”
Elena nodded slowly. “I love you too, Mama.”
I kissed the top of her head. “And I love you more than anything in the world.”
We sat together until she fell asleep in my arms. I carried her to bed and tucked her in.
As I turned off the light, I stood in the doorway and watched her sleep. She looked so small and peaceful.
Amelia’s words echoed in my mind. The truth about Mason was a secret I had kept for Elena’s protection.
But she was growing up, and questions like this would only become more frequent.