Page 70 of Hacking His Code
Doctor:Is this Arinessa Sylvan?
Arinessa:Yeah.
Doctor:I’m Doctor Ryan. I’m going to have to ask you to come down to the hospital. There’s been a development regarding your mother.
Hunter
We takethe company helicopter across the city to where Arinessa’s mother is being treated. The entire ride, she refuses to meet my gaze.
There are risks going into any treatment, and Arinessa’s mother would have been told these when she signed the consent form with LaviTech Labs, but that doesn’t mean Ari will understand, and judging by her interactions with me, or lack thereof, she’s already assigned blame.
“I’m going to do everything in my power to see to her health,” I assure her, but all she does is blink at me in return.
Once the helicopter lands, we hop off and make our way to the ICU.
Cassius is standing outside of Ari’s mother’s room, looking in at the team seeing to her.
“What-what’s going on?” Arinessa manages to stutter out.
Cassius turns to Arinessa, a friendly expression on his face. “Ah, you must be Arinessa Sylvan,” he says with a wide, toothy grin. “My name is Cassius Lavinius—”
“I know who you are. Everyone does. How is my mother?”
Cassius spares me a glance before looking back to Ari. Formal introductions will have to come later.
“Sometime in the middle of the night, your mother’s vitals became worrisome.”
“Why didn’t someone call me?”
“She requested you not be notified.”
“Huh?”
“She didn’t want to worry you.”
Tears spill down Ari’s cheeks. “Why is she so stubborn!”
“This morning, we put her in a medically induced coma because of the pain—”
Arinessa’s hands fly to her mouth. “Oh my God—she’s in pain.”
“She was, but she’s not right now,” Cassius assures her. “We’re doing everything we can for her, and once we get a proper diagnosis, we’ll know how to best go forward.”
Ari looks hopelessly through the window at her mother lying in the hospital bed. I want nothing more than to hold her, but I have to respect her.
“In a moment, I’ll have one of my team members take you in,” Cassius offers.
“I should have been here…”
Cassius places a hand on her shoulder. “Trust me, this was by her design.”
Arinessa starts sobbing, and I feel helpless just watching her.
Cassius pushes a button, and a woman in a white lab coat steps from the room.
“This is Mrs. Sylvan’s daughter, Arinessa.”
“Hello, Arinessa, I’m Nurse Agnes.”
