Chapter 157

Third Person POV.

Amber sat in the hospital room, her eyes fixated on the machines surrounding Richard's bed. Tears welled in her eyes, but she fought against them, determined not to let her emotions get the best of her, not for her sake but for the baby's. Every fiber of her being was focused on Richard, and she continuously whispered silent prayers for his recovery.

As Amber held Richard's hands in hers, she could feel a slight chill in his touch. She squeezed his hands gently, offering whatever warmth she could muster. Her heart ached at the sight of him lying so vulnerable, hooked up to the monitors and all sorts of machines to keep him from dying.

The door to the room creaked open, interrupting Amber's thoughts. Her eyes darted towards the entrance, her gaze meeting Giovanni's. An awkward tension settled between them, a residue of their clash from the day before. Amber struggled to gauge his presence and intent, unsure of how to deal with the discomfort that lingered.

Giovanni, dressed in the same clothes as the day before, stepped into the room. His features were etched with weariness, and the intensity of his gaze softened as he looked at Richard lying in the hospital bed. He cleared his throat, breaking the silence.

"How is he doing? Have the doctors given any updates?" he asked.

Amber's eyes met Giovanni's, a hesitant expression on her face. She found herself taken aback by his unexpected composure in her presence, given their recent discord. But the well-being of Richard overshadowed any lingering tension between them. She took a deep breath before responding.

"The doctors haven't said anything yet," Amber admitted. "His condition seems stable, but there hasn't been any significant change."

Giovanni let out a heavy sigh, his weariness evident. They stayed silent for a while until Amber decided to ask Gio why he was still in the same outfit from the day before.

"No offense, Giovanni, but why didn't you change your clothes? You went home last night, didn't you?"

Giovanni's gaze held a distant intensity as he met Amber's eyes. He sighed, his voice tinged with exhaustion. "I didn't go home," he responded. "I had to handle something important. And speaking of that, you should expect a call soon."

Amber's brow furrowed, confusion etched across her face. "A call? From who? What are you talking about?"

Giovanni's expression remained calm, his features unchanged. His voice carried an air of nonchalance as he delivered the shocking news. "Congratulations, Amber; your sister is dead. And since you're her closest relative who's not in jail, you should expect a call informing you of her death."

Amber's mouth fell open in shock, her eyes widening in disbelief. Time seemed to stand still as her mind grappled with the seriousness of Giovanni's words. The room spun around her, amplifying the pounding of her heart. Her voice trembled as she sought confirmation, needing to hear those words spoken again. "Wait, what? Marlene... she's dead?"

Giovanni turned to face her, a hint of indifference resting on his features. His eyes met Amber's with a cool detachment, seemingly unaffected by the seriousness of his words. "Yes. She's dead."

Amber's voice quivered as she struggled to find words, her gaze fixed on Giovanni's steady countenance. "I... I can't believe it. Is this some kind of joke? Are you being serious?"

Giovanni folded his arms across his chest, his posture relaxed. His voice held a touch of irritation as he responded, "I obviously wouldn't make such a joke, Amber. Marlene is dead. And I can't help but remember your words about how you would be happy if she were gone. Did you suddenly change your mind? Are you sad?"

"I didn't expect you to react like this, Amber," Giovanni muttered. "I thought you'd be happier to hear that she was gone. I didn't think you'd have a problem..."

Amber cut him off. "No, Giovanni. I don't have a problem with it. In fact, it would be a relief. But it's hard for me to believe that it's true. It sounds almost unbelievable."

Meanwhile, Amber's mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions as she struggled to come to terms with the news. On one hand, she couldn't shake the overwhelming sense of happiness she felt inside her at the thought of Marlene's death. After all the pain and suffering Marlene had inflicted on her, the idea of her finally being out of the picture was nothing short of a blessing. But on the other hand, she found it difficult to believe that Marlene was really gone. It all seemed too surreal, too good to be true.

As she mulled over Giovanni's words, she also couldn't help but wonder how he had managed to get rid of Marlene in less than twenty-four hours, just as he said he would.

“How were you able to get rid of her so quickly?” she asked.

Giovanni sighed heavily. "I don't like to waste time, Amber," he stated simply. "So I had people take care of Marlene quickly before the press found out she was arrested for a second time. That would have made getting rid of her a lot harder.”

Amber's curiosity piqued at Giovanni's explanation, her gaze narrowing in on him. Attempting to gather her thoughts, her voice wavered as she posed the question that was gnawing at her. "Giovanni, can you... can you tell me the cause of Marlene's death? And... will there be an investigation? I mean, it is a murder case, isn't it?"

Giovanni winced at the mention of murder, his face contorting uncomfortably. He vehemently shook his head, dismissing the notion.

"Amber, I don't like the sound of that," he interjected sharply. "Calling it murder makes it sound like I did something wrong."

He paused for a moment, taking a deep breath to compose himself, before continuing in a more measured tone. "Your sibling was simply punished for shooting mine," he explained. "And as for your concerns about the police, you don't need to worry. Marlene's death will be ruled a suicide, plain and simple.”

As Amber's mind raced with questions about how Marlene's death would supposedly be ruled a suicide, the room suddenly erupted into chaos. Richard's body began to convulse violently on the bed, sending the cardiac monitor into a frenzy of beeps and alarms.

The previously steady rhythm of the machine now indicated imminent danger, each blip sending a shiver down Amber's spine.

In a swift motion, Giovanni's hand slammed down on the button, summoning the medical team for assistance. In barely a minute, the medical team flooded into the room, urging Giovanni and Amber to step aside and leave.

Amber's eyes darted from Richard's thrashing form to the doctors and nurses. Fear paralyzed her, her every instinct screaming to stay by Richard's side to understand what was happening.

But Giovanni's firm grip on her arm caught her off guard. He pulled her away from the room; his words were rushed and desperate. "We need to let the doctors do their job, Amber. We can't be in the way right now." His voice trembled with a mix of concern and anxiety.

Amber's reluctance grew as she resisted Giovanni's pull. Her eyes remained glued to the room, and her mind was frantically searching for answers amidst the chaos. She longed to understand what was happening to her husband and to be with him at this critical moment so he would know that he wasn't alone.

When Giovanni managed to drag her out, Amber's body froze, her entire being consumed by shock and fear. She stood at the door, her eyes fixed on the transparent part, her heart willing Richard to be safe and to overcome this sudden crisis.

She wished with every fiber of her being that nothing bad would happen, but a bad feeling settled on her, discordant and suffocating.

Amber held her breath as she witnessed the doctors' frantic attempts to stabilize Richard. Their movements were swift, but there was an edge of desperation underlying their every action. Fear crept into Amber's heart, slowly chipping away at the optimism that had once burned brightly in her.

Her body seemed rooted to the spot, and her senses were dulled by the magnitude of the moment. Time slowed down as her mind grappled with the possibility of losing Richard. A sudden feeling of heaviness settled on her, barricading her thoughts and obscuring her vision.

The sounds from the room began to blur into a dissonant sound, killing Amber's fragile hope. And then the dreaded sound pierced the air—the deafening flatline that signaled the cessation of Richard's heartbeat.

A wrenching sob tore through Amber's chest, her body trembling with grief and shock. The world around her seemed to crumble, and she felt as though her heart had shattered into a million pieces. Tears streamed down her face as her legs weakened along with the echoing beeps of the monitor.

The agonizing sobs racked her body as she clung to the feeble hope that the flatline on the monitor could be reversed and that the doctors would persist. Through her anguish, she strained to hear the words from the doctors.

In the depths of her despair, the doctor's voice pierced through the haze of grief. The sound was barely audible, but the words it carried were loud enough to be Amber's final blow.

"Patient’s time of death, 10:21 a.m...”