Chapter 252 Narrow Escape
"I'm her future husband!" Stefan's voice was hoarse with urgency.
"I'm her mother!"
"I'm her father!" Mabel and Robert immediately crowded around, too.
The doctor looked at the group of anxious people in front of him, nodded, and began to explain the situation in a heavy tone. "The patient was in critical condition when she arrived. Intracranial hemorrhage with moderate concussion. Also, a hairline fracture in her left arm. We performed emergency craniotomy surgery to remove the blood clot. The surgery went relatively smoothly..."
Hearing "smoothly," everyone instinctively breathed a sigh of relief.
But the doctor's next words made their hearts sink again.
"...However, the patient's head suffered a severe impact. Although we removed the blood clot, there's damage to the cerebral cortex nerves. When she wakes up, we can't say for sure right now. Maybe tomorrow, maybe a week, maybe..."
The doctor didn't voice the worst possibility, but everyone present understood what he meant.
Maybe she would never wake up.
"What do you mean?" Stefan's body swayed. He stared hard at the doctor, the bloodshot in his eyes even more frightening.
"What do you mean you can't say? You're doctors! You have to make her wake up! Money is no object! Use the best medicine in the world, get the best specialists in the world!"
His emotions were spiraling out of control, and his grip on the doctor's arm was so tight it contorted the man's face in pain.
"Sir, please calm down!" The doctor was scared. "Of course, we'll do everything we can! But the patient's condition... really depends on her own willpower. The next 48 hours are the critical observation period. If she gets through them smoothly, things will look much better. Right now, the patient needs to be transferred to the ICU for close monitoring."
As soon as he finished speaking, the operating room doors opened again, and several nurses wheeled out a hospital bed.
Cecilia lay on the bed, her face completely drained of color.
Her head was wrapped in thick bandages, an oxygen tube in her nose, an IV needle in the back of her hand, and various monitoring equipment wires connected to her body.
Amelia just lay there quietly, as if she were simply sleeping.
"Amelia!" Mabel cried out and tried to rush over, but Robert pulled her back.
Stefan looked at that pale face, his heart twisting in pain so intense he couldn't breathe.
He released the doctor and walked step by step to the bedside, reaching out a trembling hand to gently touch Cecilia's cold cheek.
"Amelia, I'm here." His voice was low and hoarse, filled with endless tenderness and pain. "Don't be afraid. Just sleep for a bit, and you'll be fine. I'll wait for you to wake up."
The nurses wheeled Cecilia into the ICU, where family members could only visit through a thick glass wall.
Stefan refused to leave, stubbornly standing outside the glass wall, motionless as he watched the person inside, wishing he could carve his own image into her dreams.
Robert and his wife stood nearby, crying their eyes out.
Dione's legs gave way completely, and she collapsed to the floor.
"It's all my fault... all my fault..." Dione muttered to herself, her eyes vacant, completely stripped of her usual spirit.
That night was a sleepless one for everyone.
The second day, the third day... time passed minute by minute, and Cecilia in the ICU still showed no signs of waking up.
Stefan didn't eat, didn't drink, didn't sleep, just kept watch at the ICU entrance. No one could persuade him otherwise. In just two days, he'd lost a lot of weight, stubble had grown on his chin, and the light in his eyes had gradually dimmed, leaving only stillness.
Garth watched Stefan in this state, anxious and frantic, yet helpless. All he could do was mobilize all of the Hensley family's resources to bring in the world's top neurosurgeons from around the globe for consultation.
Meanwhile, Anna and the Clark family were completely finished.
Not only had the company gone bankrupt and into liquidation, but Anna's father was also taken in for investigation on suspicion of multiple financial crimes. The once-glorious, wealthy family had fallen overnight, everyone scattering like monkeys when the tree falls.
But none of this could bring Cecilia back to consciousness.
On the morning of the fourth day, a miracle happened.
During rounds, the nurse discovered with delight that the patient's eyelids seemed to have moved.
This news lifted the spirits of everyone drowning in despair.
Stefan rushed to the glass wall, staring intently at Cecilia inside.
Under everyone's hopeful gaze, those eyes that had been shut tight for four days finally, slowly, opened a crack.
Light flooded in, a bit blinding. Cecilia instinctively blinked, and her vision gradually cleared from blurry.
She saw the white ceiling and smelled the scent of disinfectant.
Where was she?
She remembered being at the restaurant, Anna pushing Dione, her rushing over... and then everything spinning and sharp pain.
"Amelia! You're awake!"
A familiar voice, choked with tears, came through the intercom at her bedside.
Cecilia turned her stiff neck and, through the glass wall, saw those familiar faces outside, filled with worry and wild joy.
Her father, her mother, and... Stefan.
And standing beside them, looking haggard with tears streaming down her face, was Dione.
Seeing Cecilia awake, Dione could no longer control herself. She covered her mouth, crying tears of joy.
"It's truly a miracle. Ms. Martinez has very strong willpower." The doctor turned to the family members with a smile, his tone much more relaxed. "She's out of the danger period now, and her vital signs are stable. She can be transferred to a regular ward now. Family members can go in to stay with her, which will be good for her recovery."
Everyone let out a long breath of relief, feeling like they'd survived a disaster.
After being transferred to the VIP ward, Robert and Mabel stayed by Amelia's bedside, asking after her well-being, their hearts aching as tears fell.
Stefan held her uninjured hand, kissing it repeatedly, the fear and joy of having lost and found her again intertwined in his eyes, making even this usually reserved man tear up.
Cecilia looked at them and smiled weakly, indicating she was okay.
Just then, Dione, who had been standing awkwardly at the door, took a deep breath and finally mustered the tremendous courage to walk to the bedside.
She looked at Cecilia, still pale, and her eyes reddened.
Then, under everyone's shocked gaze, Dione bowed deeply to Cecilia, lying in the bed.
"Amelia, I'm sorry."