Chapter 46: Tristan's POV Cont.
The drive to the hospital feels like a lot longer than ten minutes. I can hear Lachy whispering to Senna as he holds her close.
“Why are you here?” I ask the detective.
“You said to protect her with my life. When your brother raced inside, gathered her up, and rushed through the front door, I followed. I don’t feel like dying today, nor do I feel like answering difficult questions because Senna was missing again.” The Detective says as we race into the car park at the hospital.
I barely remember pulling into the car park, let alone putting the car into park and racing out of it and into the emergency room.
“Alba Tora?” I ask the reception lady
“Go down this hallway and you will see the emergency room, she will be in room six,” the receptionist says as I race down the hallway, followed by the Detective as well as Lachy carrying Senna.
As I get to room six, I take a deep breath before opening the door and walking inside. There, I find doctors and nurses working on her.
“Leave, no family is permitted,” the Doctor snaps as he continues to work on Alba.
“How is she?” I ask as a nurse pushes me out the door.
“We got the bleeding on her neck under control, but we believe she has bleeding on her brain. We are currently taking her in for scans. We will be with you shortly.” The nurse says as she pushes me to the side, and they wheel Alba out of the room.
The nurse takes Senna in Lachy’s arms and motions to the bed in the hall.
“Let’s check this little one first and wait for the news regarding Alba,” the nurse says, motioning to another doctor to come over.
I watch in stunned silence as they quickly draw some blood as well as clean her wounds and dress them again. The doctor soon hooks up an IV they wipe her face, and places blankets on her. Watching Senna lie in the hospital bed, she looks almost as white as the hospital bedding.
“You said that she was given a sedative?” The doctor asks.
“Yes, after we found her, she was becoming hysterical, and the ambulance officer gave her a sedative as she couldn’t calm down,” I reply distractedly.
“The surgeon is coming,” The doctor says as we turn towards the double doors.
“Alba needs surgery; she has swelling and bleeding on the brain, which we need to relieve the pressure now,” The surgeon says.
Lachy signs the forms as I continue to look at the surgeon.
“How long?” I mutter
“Two possible, three hours. If there are any other issues, it could take longer,” The surgeon mutters back as he takes the paperwork and rushes off.
“Do you have any leads?” I ask the detective as he pulls up a chair beside Senna’s bed.
“No, the last text message from my officer stated that Ms Carter is still out and the medics have patched up our mystery man. Though we don’t have an ID on him yet,” The detective says.
“What happened out there?” I ask Lachy.
“When I found Alba she was fighting with Ms Carter, she had a few cuts and grazes, but Ms Carter wasn’t a match for Alba, so Alba was trying to detain her as much as possible when I got there I took over and zip-tied Ms Carter and then we started our track back here.
We were almost back to the house, and Alba was excited, eager to see Senna safe and sound. So, she took off ahead of me, basically racing down the uneven hill to get to the house. I was not more than thirty meters behind her, but just after she entered the thicket, she stopped. I moved quicker, trying to catch up. I watched as she turned left slightly before looking back at me, and that is when I noticed a shadow. Just as I was about to reach her, I saw a knife being held to her neck. She motioned that she was going to make a move, and I responded. Then, the next thing I knew, she slammed her head back into the person behind her, and I was already on the move. By the time I subdued him, I noticed Alba lying on the ground, and I rushed to her, calling you. I tried to stop the bleeding, and that is when you got there.” Lachy says.
“What did the man say? Why was he there?”
“He said something about getting what he paid for and that if he can’t have one, he will have the other,” Lachy growls as he turns to look back at Senna.
“That fits,” The Detective adds as both Lachy and I snap our heads in his direction.
“What fits?” I snap.
“There have been reports that the day care has been involved in some illegal things. From our investigation so far, we have found that several children have gone missing. While we were never able to link them with the current issues and evidence being discovered daily, I think what you said fits. They are involved in some things that no one should be involved in.” The Detective mutters.
“Mommy,” Senna groans as she slowly opens her eyes. “I want my mommy,” Senna cries out, turning her head towards me.
“Mommy is in surgery; she will be back with us shortly,” I say as I move closer to her bed.
“Is Mommy hurt? Did Ms Carter hurt Mommy?” Senna mumbles as she looks at us.
“Mommy will be back soon, poppet, so don’t worry.” The Detective says as he looks at both me and Lachy.
Eventually, Senna falls back to sleep, and we wait for Alba to come back from surgery. Just as the day was dawning and the sunlight crept in through the window, I heard the voices of the surgeon and the doctor.
Spinning around, I move towards them before I realise, I am moving.
“How is she?” I ask
“She has come through surgery fine. There was a bit more bleeding than we anticipated, but that has now been addressed. She will make a full recovery, but she will need to take it easy, and by easy, I mean absolutely nothing for the next three months. Once she is released from the hospital, she will need to engage in gentle exercise and maintain a healthy diet. We will continue to monitor her for the next six months. Weekly visits, then fortnightly, and then monthly to make sure there are no side effects.” The Surgeon and doctor say.
“Great, will do. When can we see her?” I ask
“She is in recovery and will be moved to her room shortly. I understand that her daughter has also been through an ordeal, so I have made sure that they will be in the same room,” The doctor says as he shakes my hand and walks away.