Chapter 7

Waiting outside the operating room, I felt for the first time how slowly a hospital clock could move.

Last night, the severe drop in oxygen, combined with Dad's existing heart condition, had triggered a high-risk cardiac emergency. The doctor said he needed surgery as soon as possible. Even if they saved his life, complications from the lack of oxygen and the surgery could leave him with permanent problems moving and speaking.

When I signed the consent form, the tip of my pen dug into the paper, leaving a small black dot.

My whole life, Dad had signed countless forms for me. Kindergarten field trips, driver's ed, my applications to study abroad. Now it was my turn to sign one consent form after another, and only then did I truly understand how heavy a signature could be.

Sophia brought me some hot soup, but I couldn't swallow a single mouthful.

Noah stood outside the surgical area. After paging through the thick stack of test results I was holding, he finally asked, "What's going on with Richard?"

I handed him the hospital's time-stamped records.

"The nurse found that someone had turned down the oxygen flow. His oxygen levels crashed. Your men held me in the hallway until the doctors started working on him. So let me ask you. Why wouldn't you tell your bodyguards to let me go?"

He read each page very slowly.

"I gave the order to get you out of the room. I admit that. But Claire may have just been trying to help and made a mistake. She's scared of hospitals as it is. She has no idea how medical equipment works."

I looked at him quietly. For a moment, I didn't know whether to be angry with him or pity him.

In the first few years of his business, Noah hit wall after wall in countless conference rooms. Dad always said it wasn't a bad thing for a young man to have pride, and he warned me never to let our help make Noah feel small. Together, we went everywhere looking for investors for him. When we stayed up late, he'd bring over three cups of instant coffee and solemnly promise that one day he'd pay us back.

Back then, he'd understood that trust was the most precious thing two people could share.

Now Dad was lying in the operating room, his life hanging in the balance, and Noah wouldn't even ask what Claire had actually done.

"Did you actually read the nurse's written notes?" I asked.

"Evelyn, I'm not saying you're lying."

"Then when are you going to start believing the evidence right in front of you?"

He didn't answer.

Sophia quietly suggested we release all the security footage to the public and let everyone see what Noah had done.

I shook my head.

"Giving the evidence to the police is enough. Right now, I don't want a crowd of reporters outside Dad's door."

Emily got there quickly and went with me to give the police more evidence. The nurse submitted records of the abnormal monitor readings, the hospital preserved the door access footage, and the bodyguards involved were called in to explain who gave the order to hold me back.

When the hospital confirmed the list of contacts authorized to receive information about Dad's condition, I removed both Noah and Claire from it.

Noah's expression changed when he saw his name wasn't on the list.

"Evelyn, I'm his son-in-law."

"On paper, yes. But what he needs right now isn't a title. It's someone who makes saving his life the priority."

He pressed his lips together, like he couldn't accept that I wasn't following his lead anymore.

I didn't explain any further. We hadn't set a date to leave. Everything depended on when the doctors decided Dad could be moved safely. That was exactly why I couldn't let Noah know any of our plans.

I texted Emily, "Keep the legal paperwork moving, but don't serve anything yet. Once Dad's condition is stable, we'll arrange the transfer out of state."

After I sent it, I closed my eyes.

There was still a hard road ahead, but at least this time, Dad was alive.