The fragile hope we had clung to through the long night shattered just after dawn. I was still sitting beside Dario’s bed, my hand wrapped around his, when the monitors suddenly erupted into a shrill, chaotic symphony. Alarms blared. Numbers on the screens plummeted. Nurses and doctors rushed in, pushing me and Victoria aside with urgent efficiency.
“Pressure dropping. He’s crashing again,” one doctor called out. “Get the crash cart!”
Victoria let out a choked sob and grabbed my arm. “Not again. Please, not my son.”
I stood frozen for a moment, watching in horror as they worked on Dario. His body jerked under their hands as they fought to restart his heart. The room filled with clipped medical commands and the sound of my own heartbeat thundering in my ears. I had tried so hard to be st
