chapter 2

Sophia's POV

The ambulance door slammed shut in front of me. For a second, all I could do was to stare at my father lying on the stretcher through the glass window.

His eyes were closed. An oxygen mask covered part of his face. Machines surrounded him.

People moved around, talked, some trying to help. But all I could think was that less than thirty minutes ago, he was standing in his office. Now he's been rushed to the hospital.

Fear settled heavily on my chest, the kind of fear that made it difficult to breathe.

The ambulance pulled away, it's sirens cut through the busy London traffic as it disappeared into the distance.

I stood frozen on the pavement, unable to move, unable to think.

“Miss Bennett” a voice snapped me back into reality.

I turned and saw Derek standing a few feet away. His usually neat appearance looked disheveled, his tie hung loose, his expression was grim.

“the doctors would take care of him”. He said, his both hands inside his pocket.

I nodded, but the gesture felt empty because right now, I was very worried about everything. My father, the company, the missing money, the reporters. Everything was falling apart at once, and I had no idea how to stop it. I proceeded in dressing up to meet my father at the hospital.

…………

The emergency room was crowded, nurses hurried through corridors. Doctors moved from patient to patient. Phones rang constantly. The entire place felt like organized chaos.

Hours passed, I was still sitting in the waiting area, tension coiled tightly in my chest.

My younger brother ‘Ethan’ finally arrived just after noon, the moment he spotted me, he threaded his way through the room and came straight over.

“What happened” he asked with a sharp, demanding voice.

I stood immediately “dad collapsed”

“I figured that much from your phone call” his jaw clenched “what aren't you telling me?”

I hesitated, then I told him everything… the missing money, the reporters, the argument, the financial crisis, every single detail. By the time I finished, Ethan looked ready to punch a wall.

“Eight hundred thousand pounds?” He exclaimed as his voice rose several octaves . “How does someone steal eight hundred thousand pounds?”

“I don't know” i said, spreading my palms.

“Who did it”

“How long has this been happening”

“I don't know”

The frustration in my voice must have surprised him. Because for the first time all day, he looked less angry and more worried.

Before Ethan could respond, a doctor emerged from the corridor. Both of us stood instantly.

The doctor offered a reassuring smile and said “your father is stable”

I heaved a huge sigh of relief, same with Ethan.

“He suffered a stress induced cardiac episode” the doctor continued. “Thankfully there doesn't appear to be any of lasting damage”

‘Thank God’…., the words echoed through my mind.

“But”, the doctor added “he needs rest. No work, no stress, no business meetings for now”.

Ethan almost laughed “good luck convincing him of that”

The doctor let out a polite smile “I'll leave that battle for you”.

………….

Dad was asleep when we entered his ward.

For the first time in my life, he looked old. Not elderly old, just… tired.

The sight hurt more than I expected. This was the man who had always seemed invincible. The man who fixed problems, the man everyone relied on.

Seeing him lying in a hospital bed felt wrong.

Ethan pulled a chair closer . I remained standing near the window, neither of us spoke. The silence wasn't awkward though, it was heavy.

A movement from the hospital bed pulled my attention. Dad stirred slightly before opening his eyes. For a moment, confusion flickered his face.

When he spotted us, a tired smile appeared. Relieve flooded through me so quickly because I hadn't realized how afraid I was until that moment.

“How are you feeling” I asked grabbing his palms.

“I feel like I've been hit by a bus” dad said trying not to laugh.

“Good”

His brows rose “good?”

“Yes it means you're awake enough to complain.”

A soft laugh slipped from his lips, instantly melting the tight knot of anxiety in my chest. For the next hour, we lost ourselves in conversation, leaving every thought of work behind.

For the first time since morning, the atmosphere felt lighter and a bit normal.

Yet every now and then, Dad’s smile would fade as he stared out the window. His mind was miles away, and every time it happened,a Strange feeling settled over me. Because I knew exactly where his mind was going.

He was drowning in thoughts of the company, the stolen cash, and the disaster waiting outside.

That evening, the doctor came back to check Dad's vitals. When he was done, he locked eyes with Ethan and I, looking dead serious. “Remember, no stress”

“I know, I didn't forget”

“Better” he said as he was about to leave the room.

He seemed satisfied. Dad, however, looked less impressed.

The moment the doctor left, he reached for the television remote with the determination of a man planning a prison escape.

“absolutely not” I said as I grabbed the remote from his hand.

“Sophia”

“No”

“I only wanted the news”

“That's exactly why you are not getting it.”

His face looked as though I had personally stabbed him in the back. For the first time all day, a laugh nearly escaped me.

But the truth was, I was terrified. My fear wasn’t about the crisis inside the hospital walls. It was about the chaos waiting outside.

The company was sinking under severe trouble. And for the first time ever, Dad wasn't there to fix it.

That heavy realization haunted me the entire evening. It trailed behind me when I walked downstairs to grab coffee. It sat with me as I watched the rain lash against the window. It followed me long after Ethan had drifted off to sleep in the armchair.

My phone buzzed with an urgent email from the office, panic gripped my stomach instantly.

The message was painfully brief. clients were demanding emergency meetings tomorrow morning over rumors about the company, and they requested Mr. Bennett’s presence.

My pulse raced. Dad was in no condition to go, leaving someone else to step in. Before I could process that, a second message popped up from Derek Lawson. “Sophia, we need to talk first thing tomorrow morning. The situation is getting worse.” Reading it three times over, a wave of tension swept through me, signalling a life-altering shift.

Outside, rain lashed at the hospital windows, inside, my father finally slept peacefully.

Sitting there in the darkness, staring at my phone, I realized something. Whether I was ready or not, saving Bennett Accounting might fall on me.