The Billionaire's First-Born

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

My eyes fixated on the dextrose attached to him. I don't know and I don't even realize how many hours I've been staring at that thing. Since Marco was rushed to the hospital, my eyes have remained on that thing that they attached to him.

I could do nothing but take his hand and wrap it in my palm. I saw how his fingernails darkened a bit because of what happened a while ago. It seems like my parents had no idea that Marco was still sick yesterday. I don't know why he doesn't tell our parents about it, and I don't know when he has endured all the pain he has. All I know is that he doesn’t want to overthink our parents just because of him.

Marco is an unselfish kid. He's willing to sacrifice his own good for the others. Whenever he gets sick, he never tells our parents. It's either he just suppresses what he's feeling or he just asks for medicine for his pain. As long as he can hide his problem, he will hide it. I don't know why he behaves like that, and it disappoints me a bit.

What if his illness is serious?

He never told us the problem, and it bothered me a lot. Seeing him here lying in the hospital bed made me blame myself.

I was his older sister, but he never opened up about his problems to me. I'm his older sister, but I'm the one he can't approach whenever he needs something.

If I just always check on him, this thing won’t happen.

I caressed his pale hands. Just like his skin tone, the color of his fingernails is also dark now, and it seems like it's even darker compared to last night.

"Wake up, Marco. I'm just here waiting for you to wake up," I said, almost in a whisper, while looking at him, who is deep asleep now. "I promised you I would take care of you. Wake up and we'll have a lot more to do."

I felt the tears pooling in the corner of my eyes because of what happened. I felt like I had been traumatized when I saw him fainting earlier and completely lost consciousness. It’s a good thing that I caught him because if I hadn't, there’s a possibility that he would have had a head injury because of the way he fell earlier.

"We're still going to drink cranberry juice together, aren't we?" I said before I crouched in his bed while holding his hand.

My father wasn't here. He was outside with the doctor who had looked at Marco earlier. I don't know where Monique is, but I'm sure mom is going here too.

I stayed at my position for a long time. I leaned back in my seat when I heard the door where we were open a bit. The doctor slowly entered the room with my father. Dad's face was pale, so I couldn't help but feel confused.

"What's the result, doc?" I asked before I stood up from my seat.

The doctor gently bowed at me before he turned to look at my brother, who was now unconscious. He smiled a bit before the nurse handed him his patient's chart.

"How long has he been feeling stomach cramps?" he asked.

I secretly turned to look at my father when he did not speak. He just kept his eye on the doctor, who until now was waiting for what I could answer for him.

"He asked me for medicine last night for his stomach pain. That's when I noticed that he also had a high fever last night," I said.

My father hurriedly turned to look at me, but my eyes remained on the doctor, who until now was staring at the patient's chart he was holding.

"Based on the test we did earlier, your son has an atrial septal defect," he said, which made me slowly turn to look at my brother. I felt my tears slowly falling on my cheeks. "The stomach cramps he always feels are not caused by hunger, just like what you said a while ago." The doctor turned to look at my father. "The stomach cramps your child is feeling are caused by the distended abdomen, and it's the result of a hole in his heart."

"What do we n-need to do, doc?" I asked before I wiped my tears.

He smiled at me before he turned to look at my brother. "Don't worry because his illness will be treated sooner," he said, before he turned to look at us once again. "We found out that the size of the hole in his heart is already 10 mm, and I require your son to undergo surgery as soon as possible."

The doctor said something, but I was not able to listen to him because my attention remained with my brother. I repeatedly held his hand and squeezed it to somehow wake him up.

Seeing him lying here made my heart a bit bothered. I can't see him in this state while I and Monique are normal. If I could just pick up the ASD he had, I would have done it.

He's too young to undergo surgery, and I don't know if he can handle it even though he has a Tomophobia.

Mom hurriedly opened the door and immediately went to my side. I stood up in my seat to give her a way to hug Marco. I saw how her tears fell in her eyes while hugging her only son.

I turned my back on them and slowly left the room to get some fresh air. Some of the patients turned to look at me when I opened the door and let myself out of the room. It didn't take long for them to stare at me as I walked away from that corridor.

I know that my parents will stay there, and I should go home because it looks like Monique is also waiting for me to come home to cook her some dinner.

It was late at night when I decided to go home. I was almost surprised when I saw that until now the light in the living room was still not turned on, so I couldn't help but sighed heavily before I decided to go inside.

"Monique, I'm here," I called her while removing my shoes. "Have you had dinner yet? Do you want me to cook for you?" I asked but no one answered my call.

I felt my brows furrow a bit when no one greeted me. It's so unusual for me that Monique doesn't greet me even though she's the first to greet me whenever I go home.

"Monique!" I tried to call her but no one answered me. "I said, I'm already here! Do you want me to cook for you?"

I tried to open her room, but even though I hadn't touched the handle, I knew it was locked. I tried to go to the veranda, but I only saw the vegetables that Marco had harvested earlier. I shrugged and turned my back on them and went back to the kitchen where I was before.

I tried to text her when I was still in the hospital. I expected her to cook an egg before I even arrived, so I was almost shocked when I didn't see her here at home today.

I tried to search for her in every room, but I couldn't find her. The only room that I was not able to open was her room.

I know that she’s there, and she doesn’t want to talk to me because of what happened this morning, so I decided to shrug and let her do what she wanted to do.

A while ago, I heard some footsteps inside her room, so somehow I knew she was there. It seems like the yell I made to her friends last night was also effective, and they didn't plan to come back here just to fetch her again.

Is she mad at me for what I did to her friends, or does she have a problem to deal with?

If Monique has a problem with what I did last night to her friends, she will tell me. Among my siblings, Monique was the one I could say was close to me. I know that she will also tell me the truth regarding her problem when she has found a solution to her problem, so... yes, I know my siblings, and I am used to the attitude they have.

When I finished cooking, I decided to head to my room to check my savings. The doctor told us that Marco needs to undergo surgery, and it seems like I still don't have enough money for his surgery, and I know that somehow I will still be able to find a way with the little that we could spend for his surgery.

His surgery cost me more than P438,000.00, and my savings are P48,553.75. Spencer was there, and his parents were easy to please. I can borrow some money from them, and, in return, I will work in their business for longer than the contract they gave me.

That's right! I can also approach various charities to raise funds for his surgery. I can also ask for help from my former classmates and post on social media platforms to raise money for him.

I don't want to lose a sibling, so I will do everything for them.

It's been thirty minutes, but until now Monique still hasn't come out of the room. I couldn't do anything but worry for her. She had a problem last night, and based on her actions this morning, it looks like she has a big problem. I don't want to think of negativity, but... what if...

I slowly left my room and walked closer to her door. I tried to knock three times, but she didn't even open the door for me. I tried to stick my ears to the door, but I could hear no other sound but the creak of the ceiling, and that sound made me a bit suspicious.

"Monique, the dinner's ready," I said, but no one replied to me. "Do you want me to drag you out of your room or are you the one who voluntarily comes out of there?"

I tried to open her door, but it was locked. I could do nothing but pick up a knife and quickly insert its blade into the keyway. I didn't have a hard time opening it because when I rotated the knife, that's when I heard that it was unlocked from the inside.

When I entered, the lights were off. I slowly flicked the light switch on the side of her room and opened it.

"I fried some eggs, Monique. Have you eaten anything?"

Even before I could finish what I was saying, I already stiffened a bit in my posture when I turned to look at her bed and when I saw her hanging.

Her eyes and mouth are slightly open. It's as if she was trying to gasp for some air even on her last breath. The rope tied around her neck is too thick. The way she strangled it around her neck suggests that she was already determined to do so.

I slowly kneeled in front of her body, which until now was hanging high. Her face is slowly turning black, and it seems like I'm too late even if I try to revive her.

My tears slowly dripped down my cheeks. I want to hurt myself while looking at my sister's body.

Why did I let myself ignore my sister? Why did I let my sister drown in her own problems?

I just spent my time earlier watching the sunrise on the farm instead of asking my sister about the problem she was facing. If I could just get everything back to normal, I would.

I'm more than willing to spend my savings on Marco's surgery, but listening to my sister's problems and rants, I didn't even do.

Why didn't she tell me? Why didn’t I listen to her? Why did I let myself ignore her? Why did I set aside my sister?

I stared at her coffin full of white flowers from her classmates. Her school is holding a small event for her even before her funeral. Some of her friends are repeatedly crying and saying condolences that I just nod.

My mother wasn't here because she was in the hospital, but I know that even she is still grieving the loss of her daughter.

My father looked devastated while looking at her coffin, just like me. Some people approached him, but due to his silence, I was the one who just thanked and talked to them.

I stared at her classmates one last time before we left the campus. It seemed like my eyes were trying to look for someone. I knew that students had something to do with her problem, so even though dad invited me home, I still stayed on campus.

"I'm still waiting for someone," I said, sighing heavily and tapping my head.

I stayed on campus, just like I wanted to do. Some of her classmates know me. They smiled at me, and even though the smile I gave them was fake, I was still able to reciprocate that smile.

"Are you looking for someone, Solanna?" One of her classmates approached my seat. She sat next to me, so I couldn't help but smile at her. "Maybe I can help you with that."

"I'm just waiting for your adviser. She told me a while ago that she would give me the key to Monique's locker." She nods at me before she looks at her wristwatch. That's when I remember why I'm sitting here in the first place. "Do you know who Meriah is?"

"Meriah?"

I nod at her. "The girl who always with her before she took her life."

"Oh!" She covered her mouth before she looked at me with a shocked expression all over her face. "Meriah Saldivar? I don't know her that much, but I know a few things about her."

I neared her to show her that I was interested in knowing what she had to say.

"She often bullied Monique back then," she said. My brows furrowed a bit because of what she said. "I really don't know why Monique came with them even though I'm here."

She said a lot more, but it seems like my mind has stopped spinning at what she said.

She bullies my sister, but she even managed to get Monique to drink before that incident happened.

It seems there's something wrong that happened before they took Monique home.