Chapter 101 Chapter 101
Liana's Pov
The walls of the safe house were still, the silence between Serena and I thick and settling like dust. The TV played in the background, muted, casting flickers of color across their faces. Serena sat curled up on the couch, arms folded across her chest, eyes blank as she stared at the screen.I sat beside her, phone in hand, scrolling aimlessly. I wasn't really looking at anything, my mind was still processing the events of the past few days: Serena's close call, the hospital, the stalker, and everything in between.
Then my phone rang. My mother's name flashed across the screen and it made my heart jump. I hadn't checked on them. Immediately, already rising to my feet, I picked. "Mummy?"
“Liana,” she called out, her voice trembling slightly. “Where are you?”
I froze. “I’m with Serena. What’s wrong?”
There was a pause although it wasn't too long.
“It’s Lee.” She breathed and my heart dropped.
“What happened to her?”
“She’s sick. She fainted in school and they took her to the hospital.”
“What?” my voice cracked before I could put myself in check. “What’s wrong with her?”
“She’s weak, very weak. They ran some tests. It is something with her blood, but... the doctor will explain more. For now, just tidy up wherever you are and call me back, okay?”
I swallowed. “Is she awake?”
“She’s asleep now. Please, just call when you’re ready.”
The call ended. I stood in place, fingers trembling around the phone. My ears were ringing, and the walls of the room suddenly felt like they were closing in. Serena shifted beside her. “Everything okay?”
I looked down at her, eyes clouded with panic and indecision. “It’s Lee, my daughter.” I added in case she didn't remember. “She collapsed in school. She's in the hospital now and my mum said I should tidy things where I am and call her back.”
Serena sat up straighter. “Do you want to go?”
I couldn’t answer. Her chest ached with the weight of the decision clawing at me from both ends. I didn’t move until I felt Stanley’s presence behind me.
“You heard?” I asked without turning.
“I did,” he said softly. “You should go, Liana.”
“But Serena…”
“I’m here now,” Stanley said, stepping closer. “I’ll take care of her. She’s not alone anymore.”
I turned round, searching his face. “What if something happens while I’m gone?”
“And what if something happens to Lee while you’re not there?”
That did it. I closed my eyes and let out a breath that felt like it had been trapped for days.
“You’re right. I should go.”
A few minutes later, I packed what I could and rushed out. The drive to the hospital felt like a blur. My hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles were pale. All I could see in my miind was Lee’s face laughing, playing, eating cereal on the floor in front of the TV and then the image shifted to her tiny body lying limp on a hospital bed. The panic made my chest squeeze until I felt like I couldn't breathe.
When I walked into the hospital, my mother was already pacing outside the room.
“Mummy.” I rushed to her. My mother pulled me into a tight hug. “Thank God. She’s inside. Still asleep.”
I pulled away and looked through the small glass window of the door. Lee lay in bed, her skin pale, lips slightly parted. Her chest rose and fell gently beneath the sheets. I pressed a palm to the glass, blinking away the tears that suddenly stung my eyes.
“What did the doctors say?”
“They’ll come and talk to us soon. Come, come sit down.”
But I couldn’t sit. I paced instead, chewing the skin at the edge of my thumb. My eyes darted between the clock and the hallway until finally, a doctor appeared with a chart in hand.
He was a middle-aged man with tired eyes and a soft voice. “Good evening,” he greeted, glancing between Liana and her mother.
“Good evening, Doctor,” my mother replied quickly. “Please, how is my granddaughter?”
“She has a condition called aplastic anemia. It affects the bone marrow’s ability to produce blood cells. That’s why she fainted. Her red blood cells are dangerously low. She’ll need a blood transfusion as soon as possible.”
My hands flew to her mouth. “A transfusion?”
“Yes,” the doctor nodded. “We’ve already typed her blood. It’s a rare type… AB negative. We tried matching with you and her grandmother. Neither of you are a fit.”
I glanced at my mother, who looked equally stunned. “So what happens now?”
“We’ll need to test the father,” the doctor said gently. “It’s usually our next line when close family fails to match.”
I stood very still. The father. The words echoed in my head like a bell dropped in a cathedral.
“Is there any way we can source the blood without involving him?” I asked quietly.
The doctor sighed. “We’ll search the registry, of course, but with a rare blood type like hers, there’s no guarantee we’ll find a match in time. The fastest and most reliable route is the father.”
I felt the floor shift beneath me, my mind raced, flashing back to the night Lee was born, to all the decisions I made since then, to the years of silence and the man I had worked so hard to keep out of our lives. Why now?
“I’ll give you a moment,” the doctor said before walking away.
My mother reached for my hand. “You know what you have to do.”
I stared at her, my voice breaking. “I don’t know if I can.”
“This is your daughter’s life, Liana.”
“I know,” I said, tears sliding down my cheeks. “I know.”
I turned back to the window and stared at my baby, my precious, bright, silly little Lee hooked up to machines, lips pale and body still and the reality crashed over me like a tidal wave.
I didn’t have a choice. I had to call Dominic