Page 390 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 2
"There," my dad said and pointed to a baby in the corner. I stared at my son through the glass. There were tubes attached to him everywhere. Tubes to help him breathe. Tubes to help him hold on. He had my dark hair. And my nose. But I felt nothing. Nothing except for a familiar itch in the back of my head. A feeling of emptiness. A desire to do anything to escape from numbness.
My son needed me. But I didn't need him. I took a step back from the glass. All I needed was my wife. And she was dying. I could almost feel it. Like a part of my own heart was failing. The side of my face twitched.
"He looks a lot like you," my dad said.
I shook my head. None of this felt real. The tubes and wires were the only things keeping him alive. He was so small. He'd probably fit in my hand. He was too young to be born. It wasn't right. None of this was right. He needed to be in his mother's arms. Not shut off from the world.Like me.
"What did they say when they told you about the baby?" I asked.
"That he has to stay in the NICU for awhile. He has anemia and they've already done one blood transfusion. But his lungs are fairly strong so he doesn't need a ventilator. Just that little machine over his mouth. A CPAP I believe they said. They also mentioned that skin to skin contact is good for preemies, if you want to hold him."
Preemies.I still felt nothing. "Is he going to live?"
"The doctors seem optimistic."
I nodded and turned away from the window. "What did they say about Penny?"
"That she's still in surgery."
"That's it?"
"And that they had to do an emergency C-section. That's all they said. Come say hello to her parents. They could use a familiar face."
I nodded and walked away from the window without looking back at my son.
"Daddy!" Scarlett yelled as she scrambled out of Mrs. Taylor's lap.
I lifted her into my arms without really looking at her.
Mrs. Taylor's face was pinched, like she had been crying and willed herself to stop. I didn't know what to say to her. Or to Penny's dad, who had just stood up.
But I didn't have to say a word. He just gave me a nod, clapped me on the back, and sat back down next to his wife.
I couldn't sit here with them. I couldn't comfort them in any way. My daughter squirmed in my arms. It was like she could sense I didn't want her there. Like she felt like a dead weight. Like she no longer belonged in my arms. I needed to be out of the hospital. What I really needed was a drink. I tried to hide the twitch of my eye.
Someone clearing their throat made me turn my head. A doctor I didn't recognize had just walked through the swinging doors. He looked exhausted. Like it was his own life hanging in the balance.
I put Scarlett down, even though she started to cry. "Someone take her," I snapped as I walked over to him.
The doctor eyed me curiously. "James Hunter?" he asked.
"Is my wife okay?" The desperation in my tone didn't even make him flinch. He was the complete opposite of my lawyer. Composed. Used to delivering bad news to families.
He looked over my shoulder at the whole waiting room coming over toward us. "We had no choice but to put her on life support." His eyes met mine again.
I heard Penny's mom start to cry.
"Mr. Hunter, we need to have a word in private." He nodded down the hall.
"What does that mean exactly?" I asked as I followed him. "Did some of her organs shut down? Is she breathing on her own?"
"There is no easy way to put this, so I'll be frank with you, Mr. Hunter," he said as he came to a stop, out of earshot of my family. "There were high levels of poison in her blood. We pumped her stomach, but we're not sure how long it's been in her system, or what the extent of the damage is. We sent some lab samples out. We should hear back shortly."
"Poison? What are you talking about? Did someone poison my wife? Why aren't the police here? Why aren't you telling them this?"
"Mr. Hunter," he said and put his hand on my shoulder. "Nine times out of ten this is an intentional thing."
I stared at him. "Exactly. Someone intentionally poisoned my wife. We need to call the police."
