All Chapters of The Algorithm of Her Heart: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Cameron cried. Again. For the fourth time in two hours.Vivian lay in bed staring at the ceiling, listening to her son's wails through the baby monitor. Every cell in her body screamed at her to ignore it, to let someone else handle it, to just make the noise stop.But the night nurse didn't start until tomorrow. Right now, it was just Vivian and a screaming infant at three in the morning.She dragged herself out of bed and walked to the nursery. Cameron was red-faced and furious in his bassinet, tiny fists waving. Vivian picked him up mechanically, checking his diaper. Wet again. That was the fifth diaper change since midnight.She changed him efficiently but without tenderness, her movements quick and irritated. Cameron kept crying through the entire process, his wails piercing straight through her exhausted brain."Please stop," Vivian said. "Please just stop crying."Cameron didn't stop.Vivian tried feeding him. He latched poorly, making the whole process painful and frustrating.

Elena cleaned her apartment three times before Lily's visit. She wiped down surfaces that were already spotless, rearranged pillows that didn't need rearranging, and checked Lily's room obsessively to make sure everything was perfect.Ms. Chen arrived first, at one forty-five, to observe the visit as required. "You seem nervous," the social worker said with a kind smile."I want everything to be right. I want Lily to feel comfortable here.""From what I saw during my inspection, you've created a wonderful space for her. Just relax and be yourself."At exactly two o'clock, the doorbell rang. Elena opened it to find Lily standing there with Marcus beside her. Her daughter looked small and uncertain, clutching her backpack."Hi, sweetheart," Elena said. "Come in."Lily stepped inside cautiously, looking around the living room. Marcus stayed in the doorway."I'll pick her up at four," Marcus said."Sounds good. Lily, say goodbye to your dad."Lily turned and waved. "Bye, Daddy."Marcus le

Elena was in a video conference with Dominic's Singapore team when her phone started buzzing insistently. She glanced at it and saw St. Mary's Academy on the caller ID.Her heart jumped. Schools didn't call unless something was wrong."Excuse me," Elena said, interrupting the presentation. "I need to take this. It's my daughter's school."She muted the video call and answered. "This is Elena Cordova.""Ms. Cordova, this is Nurse Martinez at St. Mary's Academy. I'm calling about Lily Ashford.""What's wrong? Is she hurt?""She's sick. High fever of one hundred three point two, vomiting, complaining of body aches. We need someone to pick her up immediately and potentially take her to see a doctor.""I'm on my way. Twenty minutes.""Thank you. I should mention, you're actually our third call. We tried Miss Sterling first per the emergency contact list, but she said she couldn't leave an event. Then we called Mr. Ashford, who said he's in meetings and would try to come within an hour or s

On the third morning, Lily was well enough to return to Marcus's house. Her fever had been gone for twenty-four hours, and while she was still tired, she was clearly on the mend.Elena packed Lily's things slowly, not wanting this time together to end. Two days of caring for her sick daughter had felt precious despite the worry and exhaustion. Being needed by Lily, being the person her daughter reached for in discomfort and fear, had reminded Elena why she was fighting so hard for custody."Do I have to go back today?" Lily asked quietly from her bed."Your father wants you home now that you're feeling better. And you need to rest in preparation for going back to school.""Can't I rest here?"Elena sat on the edge of Lily's bed. "I would love for you to stay longer. But we have to follow the custody arrangement. Your father has been patient about letting you stay here while you were sick.""He only visited once. For like fifteen minutes."Elena had no good response to that. Marcus had

Elena opened a new document on her laptop and titled it "Lily - Observations." She dated the entry and began typing.Week One, Saturday Visit:Lily arrived fifteen minutes late. Marcus apologized, said they'd had trouble getting out the door. Lily was quiet during the first thirty minutes of the visit, more withdrawn than usual. When I asked how her week was, she said "fine" but wouldn't make eye contact. While working on a puzzle, she knocked over a cup of water accidentally. Her reaction was extreme - immediate tears, repeated apologies, visible panic. I reassured her it was just water and accidents happen. She seemed shocked that I wasn't angry. Took her almost twenty minutes to fully calm down. Behavioral note: This level of anxiety over a minor accident is new and concerning.Elena saved the document and closed her laptop. She'd started keeping these notes three weeks ago when she first noticed something was off with Lily.At first, she'd thought maybe Lily was just tired or havi