chapter Three
1053 Words
Aunt Nessarose couldn’t believe her eyes. Damian had always been violent and abusive, but this… this was beyond anything she had ever imagined.
He wanted her dead, and it was clear in his bloodshot eyes.
Her body froze as her gaze fell on Sydney…. barely breathing, her fragile body covered in bruises and cuts. For a moment, Nessarose felt rooted to the spot, unable to move, unable to breathe.
The room exploded with noise as the police rushed in, pulling Damian away from Sydney. They barked their usual lines, reciting procedures and rights, but Nessarose’s ears were deaf to it all. Her world was spinning, her thoughts stuck on Sydney’s shallow breaths.
Paramedics stormed in right after, probably arriving with the police. They lifted Sydney gently, placing her onto the stretcher. The sight of her pale, broken niece made tears blur Nessarose’s vision, but she followed closely, not sparing Damian a single glance.
Behind them, Damian fought like a wild animal. The officers restrained him, but he thrashed and cursed, spitting venom at anyone who dared touch him.
“You’ll regret this!” he roared. “You think you can treat me like this? Do you know who I am?”
His voice cracked with rage, his arrogance seeping through every word. When he refused to quiet down, one officer shocked him with a taser. Damian collapsed, groaning, but still glaring like a predator chained too tightly.
The drive to the police station was eerily quiet.
*********
Hospital.
The bright, sterile lights reflected on Sydney’s pale face as she was wheeled through the hospital doors. Nessarose chased after the stretcher, her legs weak from exhaustion. Twice she stumbled, crashing to the floor, but she forced herself up, her heart unwilling to let Sydney out of sight.
Just as they reached the emergency ward, the doors swung shut, cutting her off. Nessarose nearly threw herself against them, but a nurse caught her by the arm, stopping her.
“I’m sorry, ma’am. You can’t go in there.”
Her knees buckled, and she sank to the cold floor, pressing her trembling hands together in prayer. Her voice was barely a whisper, cracked and desperate:
“Please… please keep her safe. Please don’t take her away from me too.”
The sound of rushing footsteps, the beeping of machines, and muffled voices behind the doors filled the silence around her. Nessarose curled forward, rocking herself slowly, clinging to the only thing she had left—hope.
**********
Police Station
At the same time, Damian was dragged into the interrogation room. His hands were cuffed, his shirt torn from the struggle, but his chin lifted with defiance.
Damian leaned back in the chair, smirking like the whole world was beneath him. His knuckles were still red from striking Sydney, but he didn’t flinch under the officer’s hard stare.The arrogance hadn’t left his eyes. He had woken up at some point during the drive to the station.
He sat down with a loud scrape of the chair, leaning back as though the room itself was beneath him.
“This is ridiculous,” he spat. “You people treat me like a criminal for disciplining my wife? She’s mine. What happens in my house is none of your damn business.”
The officer across from him slammed his hand against the metal table, making the junior officers behind the glass jump.
“None of our business? You nearly killed her, Mr. Wayne! That makes it very much our business.”
Damian scoffed, smirking.
“She provokes me. Always testing me, always questioning my authority. She deserved it. A woman should know her place.”
The officer leaned forward, disgust etched on his face.
“You call beating a woman into unconsciousness putting her in her place?”
For the first time, Damian faltered. His bravado cracked just slightly as he noticed the camera blinking in the corner. His jaw tightened, but he quickly masked it with another smirk and chuckled darkly, his eyes narrowing. “She’ll survive. She always does. And when I get out of here, she’ll come back to me. They always come back.”
“Besides, my family will have me out of here before nightfall. Do you have any idea the power of my name? You’re wasting your time.”
The officer didn’t flinch. Instead, he slid a file across the table. Damian frowned, opening it. His eyes landed on the photos inside—Sydney’s battered face, her bruised arms, her medical reports, and statements from neighbors who had heard her screams night after night.
“This…” Damian muttered, his confidence slipping.
“Oh yes,” the officer said quietly but firmly. “We know exactly who you are, Mr. Wayne. And tonight, the world is going to know too. Your name won’t save you this time.”
Damian’s smirk was gone. His face hardened as the weight of the evidence pressed against him. For the first time, he wasn’t in control.
************
Hospital – Midnight
Hours passed. Nessarose hadn’t moved from her place outside the emergency ward. The floor beneath her had grown colder, but she refused to leave, her eyes fixed on the doors that separated her from Sydney.
Finally, the doors opened. A doctor stepped out, pulling down his mask, his face weary. Nessarose staggered to her feet, her heart in her throat.
“How is she?” she whispered.
The doctor looked at her for a long moment before speaking.
“She’s alive… but she’s not out of danger yet.”
The words dropped like lead, weighing her down, her shoulders sagging from the news, but the doctor wasn't done.
“She suffered a reoccurrence of internal bleed and it could fatal.“
Nessarose slapped her the palm of her hands to her lips to suppress the loud sobs threatening to burst out.
“But s…she will be fine, ri..right? Just tell me that she will be fine “ this words were uttered with great difficulty as she almost choked on each one.
“We have to monitor for the night to be certain, we will try our best” the doctor said in the most comforting voice he could muster and Nessarose gave a hopeful nod and the doctor excused himself leaving her to pray incessantly for Sydney's safety.
- Writer
