Home / Never In The Picture / Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

All Chapters of Never In The Picture: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

The postpartum nurse, Biance Goode, replaced my third soaked maternity pad. Her expression grew more worried with each change."Dr. Gibson, Ms. Winona's losing far too much blood, and her blood pressure keeps dropping. The patient in Bed Six has normal oxygen levels. Can we check on Ms. Winona first?"My mom, Marsha Gibson, was examining my adoptive sister with a stethoscope.Natalie Graham had given birth two hours before me. Her baby had been born prematurely and was now in the neonatal unit. She had been doing fine until the power went out, then she suddenly developed chest tightness and palpitations.When Natalie heard Bianca's concerns, she pushed herself up in bed. "Mom, go check on Winona. I'm fine. The nurse just said my oxygen levels were normal."Mom shot her a look and pulled her blanket up. "You've always been like this. You say you're fine no matter how you're feeling. You gave up your room and new clothes when you were little. Now you're even giving up medical care

Chapter 2

Around one a.m., my blood pressure had dropped to 76 over 48.Bianca stared at the readings for a moment, then wheeled a chair right up to my bed."Come on. If we make you wait any longer, you could die."When she helped me up, black spots were already dancing before my eyes. We had barely left the maternity ward when Mom came hurrying toward us from the other end of the hall."Where are you going?" Mom asked."I'm taking her for blood tests and a bedside ultrasound," Bianca replied.Mom's expression darkened when she saw the word "urgent" on the request form. "Who approved this?"Bianca was stunned by her question. "Her blood pressure is low enough to put her in shock. Who else needs to approve this?""Other patients don't, but Winona does." Mom took the form from Bianca. "Everyone knows she's my daughter. If I personally approve an urgent request for her now, all my efforts to avoid showing favoritism will have been for nothing."Bianca stared at her in disbelief. "Dr. Gibso

Chapter 3

Just before dawn, I passed out in my wheelchair.When I came to, Bianca was slapping my cheeks to wake me. "Ms. Winona, open your eyes. Look at me. Don't fall asleep!"While Mom wasn't looking, Bianca went to get the doctor on duty. He checked my pulse and took one look at my face before ordering someone to bring over the bedside ultrasound machine.Before the machine could arrive, Dad showed up. Two hospital administrators on duty followed him."Who ordered this scan?" Dad asked.The doctor on duty explained, "The patient briefly lost consciousness. I strongly suspect hemorrhagic shock. We need to find the source of the bleeding right away."Dad looked over the request form. Instead of finding out more about my condition, he asked, "Did just one doctor sign off on this?""One doctor's approval is enough in an emergency.""That may be enough for other patients, but not for her."Dad took out his pen and added a line to the form. "Any special treatment for a hospital director

Chapter 4

At eight p.m. that day, Natalie's final test results came back.Her heart ultrasound was normal, and her oxygen levels were fine. Her blood clotting showed no major problems, too. The doctor said she was just anxious after giving birth and was also anemic. All Natalie needed was some rest.Mom went over the test results three times before she finally smiled. "Thank goodness you're okay, Natalie. You scared me half to death."Natalie didn't smile. She kept glancing at my bed. "Mom, what about Winona? She still hasn't had her ultrasound, has she?"Mom followed her gaze.The maternity pad underneath me hadn't gotten wet again in quite some time.Mom came over and lifted the pad to check. She visibly relaxed."The bleeding has stopped. What else is there to check?"Bianca spoke up at once. "Ms. Winona still doesn't look right, and her abdomen started swelling again this afternoon. I recommend…"Mom cut her off, sounding much more relaxed now. "She barely ate anything, and she's

Chapter 5

When I became aware again, the pain was gone.I stood beside the hospital bed and watched Mom discuss the menu for the sip and see with Dad. Elijah was looking through photos of the baby.Then, Natalie frowned and glanced over at me."Winona?" she called out to me.There was no reply.Natalie panicked. She threw back the covers and tried to get out of bed. "Mom, come look at Winona! Why isn't she moving?"Mom laughed, thinking Natalie was just overreacting.Natalie grew frantic, and her voice rose. "No! She dropped her phone and didn't even pick it up!"Bianca rushed to my bedside.She checked my pulse for two seconds and then went deathly pale. Bianca spun around and shouted, "Hurry! Get the crash cart! Her heart has stopped!"The room erupted into chaos.Natalie's test results slipped from Mom's hands and fell to the floor. She froze for a while, then shoved past everyone and began chest compressions."Winona, can you hear me? Open your eyes!"Elijah went pale and rush

Chapter 6

The hospital set up an investigation team that night.Bianca turned over her notes from the entire shift.She had recorded everything in detail. Bianca wrote down when my blood pressure dropped to 80, when my third maternity pad was changed, and when an urgent scan was requested.She noted down when a blood transfusion was requested and when I briefly lost consciousness.The investigation team displayed the timeline on the conference room screen.At 9:40 p.m., my blood pressure first stayed dangerously low. Mom canceled the urgent request.At 10:20 p.m., Elijah wheeled the portable monitor over to Natalie instead.At 11:05 p.m., Dad crossed my name off the transfer list.At 1:20 a.m., two units of emergency red blood cells were given to Natalie.At 5:00 a.m., I lost consciousness for the first time.That was when Dad added the requirement for two signatures.The final entry was 8:47 p.m. I went into cardiac and respiratory arrest.In the conference room, no one spoke.Da

Chapter 7

The investigation results hadn't been officially released yet, but secretly recorded videos had already leaked.In the first clip, Dad crossed my name off the transfer list on camera.In the second, Mom withdrew the urgent request.In the third, Elijah personally wheeled the portable monitor away from my bed.Below the videos was a timeline of my final hours.At 9:00 p.m., my blood pressure began to drop.At 1:00 a.m., my blood pressure was 76 over 48.I lost consciousness at 5:00 a.m.Then I was pronounced dead at 8:47 p.m.The comment section, which had praised the hospital the day before for not giving anyone special treatment, turned against it completely.Someone asked, "Was making sure there was no favoritism really worth making your own daughter go through an extra step that a stranger wouldn't have to?"Another person posted a clip of Dad saying in an interview, "The closer someone is to you, the more careful you must be not to give them special treatment."The pers

Chapter 8

My funeral was small. Natalie chose not to sit with the family.Mom called her over twice, but Natalie shook her head both times."Please don't ask me to take Winona's place today."Tears filled Mom's eyes in an instant. "Natalie, we never wanted you to take her place."Natalie stared at her. "You've spent your whole lives treating me as Winona's replacement."After that, Mom didn't say another word.Elijah brought my belongings home one by one. While sorting through them, he found a folder on my computer called "Baby's First Month".It contained a hotel booking, a photography package, and a sheet of notes.The first line read, "Our baby".The second line read, "Natalie's baby".At the bottom was one more note."Take photos of both babies together. Take extra pictures of Natalie with Mom and Dad. She never says it, but she's most afraid that she doesn't belong with us."Elijah stared at the note for a long time.He had always thought I stayed quiet because I was jealous.

Chapter 9

Two months later, the hospital released its findings on who was responsible for the medical malpractice.The report was long, but the conclusion took only a few sentences.From the first clear signs that I was critically ill until my heart stopped, there had been at least four chances to save me.All four chances had been missed.It wasn't that there was no equipment at all. The hospital hadn't run out of blood, either. And it wasn't that no doctor had noticed something was wrong.It was just that every time it was my turn to get medical attention, someone decided I could wait a little longer.Dad was removed as hospital director and was held responsible for his role in managing the hospital.Mom faced severe disciplinary action for interfering with the triage and delaying my treatment. Her medical license was suspended pending further review.Elijah's department also disciplined him, and he submitted his resignation.The hospital also had to pay compensation.Dad looked at t

Chapter 10

A year later, Benji was walking.Elijah never returned to the hospital. He cared for Benji during the day and sometimes taught anesthesia safety at a medical training center.He never began his first lesson with medical techniques. He always started with one thing."Never assume a patient is exaggerating."Whenever he said that, he always paused for a moment."Especially when they're someone you know well."Dad never returned to hospital management, either.He used to care about what people thought of him the most. Now, he rarely stepped out of the house. He had taken down the newspaper photo on his study wall that praised his selflessness, leaving a lighter square on the wall.Mom later passed her review and regained a limited medical license, but she never returned to the front lines of obstetrics.She asked to be transferred to the patient safety department instead. Whenever she reviewed a case involving delayed emergency care, her first question was always the same."Why

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