Chapter 2 - The Mistress Arrives
The agony of the next twenty-four hours was unspeakable. Leo failed the final brain death exam. Sarah had to sign the paperwork to turn off the machines that were breathing for her four-year-old baby.
As she walked out of the PICU, clutching a plastic bag containing Leo's clothes and his favorite stuffed bear, the elevator doors chimed open.
Out stepped Jessica Hayes, wearing designer sunglasses and holding a cup of premium coffee. Marcus was right behind her, looking disheveled and frantic.
"Marcus, I told you we shouldn't be here," Jessica was whining loudly, oblivious to the atmosphere of the ward. "Chloe is completely fine now, it was just a mild asthma flare-up. We need to go home, I'm exhausted."
Sarah stopped dead in the middle of the hallway.
Marcus saw her and completely froze. The color drained from his face. "Jessica, shut up," he hissed.
But Sarah was already moving. She didn't scream. She didn't act like a hysterical, grieving mother. She walked directly up to Jessica.
"A mild flare-up," Sarah repeated, her voice dead and flat.
"Look, Sarah, I know this is hard for you," Jessica started, trying to sound condescendingly sympathetic. "But Marcus is Chloe's father figure. He had to prioritize—"
Smack.
Sarah’s hand connected with Jessica’s cheek with such blinding force that the designer sunglasses flew across the hallway and the coffee splattered all over the walls. Jessica shrieked, stumbling backward.
Marcus lunged forward. "Sarah, stop it!"
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"He's dead," Sarah said, ignoring him, staring a hole through the mistress. "My son is dead because this man lied to a triage nurse for a mild asthma attack. Do you hear me? He traded my son's life for your convenience."
Nurses and doctors had stopped in their tracks. The horrific truth echoed down the corridor. Marcus looked around, realizing that his colleagues, the hospital staff, and the security guards were looking at him not with pity, but with absolute disgust.
