Chapter 3
The care center was way out in the suburbs, with hardly any streetlights and the iron gate locked up tight.
By the time I got there, it was already pitch black outside.
The guard only cracked the window open a bit. "What do you want?"
"I'm looking for Margaret Grant, the elderly lady who was brought in this afternoon," I said.
He flipped through the registry. "Yeah, she's here, but visiting hours are over. Come back tomorrow."
"No, she has Alzheimer's. She gets scared when she's in a new place. I have to see her."
The guard waved his hand impatiently. "People are sent here because they're sick. The staff know what they're doing. She'll be fine.
"The boss says no visitors at night."
The window slammed shut.
The wind whipped the rain into my face, the cold biting right through me.
I tried calling Edward again. His phone was still off.
I leaned against the freezing wall, slowly sinking down.
On the other side of the iron gate, I wondered if Grandma was searching for that old sofa. Was she still holding on to that photo of my parents, calling my name?
And the man who promised to take care of everything was now with another woman and her child, getting ready to start a brand new life together.
The rain just kept coming down harder and harder.
I waited outside the care center for a full four hours.
It wasn't until one in the morning that the iron gate suddenly swung open.
An ambulance, its piercing blue lights flashing, tore out of the gate with a deafening siren.
My heart dropped. I rushed over and stopped the guard just as he was about to close the gate. "Who was in that ambulance?"
The guard's face went pale, his eyes darting away. "I don't know. Some old lady had a sudden medical emergency."
I grabbed him by the collar, my voice so frantic that it even scared me. "Was it Margaret Grant? Was it my grandmother?"
He shoved me off. "So what if it was? She wouldn't sleep at night and kept trying to climb out the window. She fell, and that's on her."
My vision went black, and I nearly collapsed into the mud.
Grandma could barely walk, and she always needed help just to get out of bed.
How could she possibly climb out a window?
I dashed to the curb like I'd lost my mind, flagged down a car, and sped straight to the Central Hospital.
The lights in the ER hallway were harsh and sickly white.
I rushed up to the triage desk, my voice shaking. "Where's Margaret Grant, the old lady from the Southside Care Center?"
The nurse shot me a sympathetic look and pointed toward the emergency room. "She's got a huge brain bleed and a bunch of broken bones. It's not looking good.
"Are you family? You need to pay the deposit and sign the forms, quick."
I took the stack of forms, my hands shaking so badly that I could barely hold the pen.
I tried calling Edward again. His phone was still off.
I kept spamming him with voice messages, video calls, and texts. [Edward, pick up!]
[My grandma's in trouble. She's in the ER at the Central Hospital!]
[Get your ass over here and sign the papers!]
Still no reply.
The chat was so quiet, it felt like he was already dead.
I emptied my bank account, signed the emergency consent, and sat all by myself outside the emergency room.
The red light was still on.
Every second dragged by, tearing at me like a dull knife.
At three in the morning, Edward finally replied.
Not a call. Just a bunch of cold texts. [My phone was dead.]
[What are you losing it over now?]
[That care center knows what they're doing. Nothing's gonna happen.]
[Stop making up crap just to drag me back.]
[Leo's got an interview at eight tomorrow morning. Charlotte's freaking out, so I can't leave tonight.]
[Grow up, will you? Don't make a big deal out of nothing.]
I stared at the word "nothing". And just like that, my tears dried up.
It turned out that in my husband's eyes, my grandma's life was nothing.
Not even as important as Charlotte's kid's interview.
*****
At 4:30 in the morning, the operating room doors finally opened.
The doctor took off his mask, looking worn out as he shook his head. "I'm so sorry. She was elderly, and the injuries from the fall were just too much.
"We did everything we could."
I didn't make a sound as I cried.
All that remained was a sharp, high-pitched ringing in my ears.
I followed the nurse inside.
Grandma lay quietly on the hospital bed, her head swathed in thick bandages, blood already seeping through.
Her rigid hand was still clutching something with all her strength.
I gently pried her fingers open, one by one.
It was a photo, wrinkled and battered from being gripped so tightly.
It was a picture of my mom and dad together.
When they took my grandma away, she didn't have anything on her—just this photo clutched in her hand.
The nurse murmured to me, "When she was brought in, she kept crying that she wanted to go home."
I pressed the photo to my chest and squatted down by her bedside.
I was so sorry that I failed to protect my grandma.
I couldn't even save our home.
Suddenly, hurried footsteps echoed down the hallway.
Edward's voice rang out, frustrated and angry. "Where's Lucia? What's she throwing a fit about this time?"
The emergency room door swung open.
He stood in the doorway, immaculate in his suit, hair perfectly in place, like Charlotte had just made sure he looked flawless.
When he saw me squatting down by the bed, he frowned. "Lucia, what are you doing up at this hour? Didn't I tell you—"
Before he could finish, the nurse cut him off, her voice icy. "Are you family?
"Good. The elderly lady who was brought in earlier didn't make it. Her granddaughter has already confirmed it.
"Please proceed to the morgue to complete the formalities."
Edward stood frozen in place.
He stood there, hand still on the door, like a statue whose soul had just been sucked out.
The harsh, sickly white lights of the ER hit his face, and fear and disbelief slowly crept into his eyes.
"What... What did you say?" he stammered, staring at the nurse, his voice trembling. "Who died?"