CHAPTER 2
991 Words
Clara had turned around and headed toward the hospital. She drove as fast as she could—not just to get there quickly, but to keep her mind from spiraling into thoughts about what the urgency might mean.
Pon pon pon—she honked at the car in front of her, but her eyes stayed locked ahead.
"Oh God, nothing should happen to my mummy, please God," Daniel kept repeating in his mind as he paced up and down, completely unsettled. "Maybe I shouldn't have said anything to her. Could that be the cause?"
A car rushed in and parked right in front of the main entrance. Daniel knew it was his elder sister. Her arrival didn’t help his nerves—it only made him more scared.
"Clara will be mad at me, I know," he said under his breath.
"Where is Mum?" Clara asked in a low tone, but her voice carried thunder.
Daniel hesitated. He was torn between telling her what happened and what was still happening.
"Where is—"
She cut herself off as she saw the doctor walking through the hallway.
"Good day, Miss Clara," the doctor greeted.
"Doctor, how is my mother?"
"Mrs. Clifford had a sudden heart failure and a critical spike in blood pressure, which led to a very unfortunate experience for a few minutes."
"Heart failure?" Clara gasped.
"Luckily, the team and I were able to stabilize her. Everything is back to normal now, Miss Clara."
"Okay, Doctor. Thank you very much. Can I see her?"
"The nurses will inform you when you can come in. Please hold on a short while," he said as he walked away.
Clara stood there, frozen as if she were still in conversation, her mind struggling to process that the doctor had already left.
"What did he say, sis?" Daniel asked, stepping closer.
"She’s fine... I think. She needs to rest. Or maybe the nurses..." Clara paused. "He said she’s okay. We just have to wait a bit before we can see her."
"I hope this doesn’t lead to more complications. The doctor said earlier that we must keep her from anything that would spike her adrenaline. I shouldn’t have said anything to her," he murmured.
"Daniel, Mum’s going to be fine, okay? We’ll all be just fine."
"Where have you been all this while? And what do you mean by—" Clara paused. "Said anything to her? What did you... Daniel! You told Mum about the arrest? Do you know what that could have caused? You're lucky she survived it."
"I’m sorry, sis. I just didn’t know how to lie to her. She asked how everyone was doing."
Clara calmed herself and pulled her brother into a soft embrace, even though she needed a shoulder to lean on herself.
"Hello! You can now access Miss Clifford’s room. We’re sorry for the delay," a nurse said with a smile, reminiscent of a kindergarten teacher.
"Very well then, Nurse Phoebe. Thank you."
Like babies starved of comfort, the siblings rushed toward their mother’s room.
"Clara," Mrs. Clifford managed to say.
"Hey Mum," Daniel replied, his voice already breaking.
"You both must be strong. You’re my strength now. The doctors are doing a good job," she said with a half-smile and tired eyes.
"What would you like to eat, Mum?" Clara asked.
"No, no, I’m alright. The nurses said I shouldn’t take anything until I feel more relieved."
"Excuse me," Daniel said, stepping out to take a call.
"Who could that be? One of his secret friends, I guess," their mother said with a weak smile.
"Or a girl he’s hiding from us. He’s probably afraid you’d chop off her head," Clara teased.
They laughed at the joke.
"Mum, you know Daniel has stopped all of that. He no longer associates with bad teenagers."
Mrs. Clifford coughed lightly. "Maybe that’s because he now has a teenage girl all to himself."
Another round of laughter filled the room.
Daniel walked back in, face heavy and sour.
"Oh my Danny, how much longer will you hide Patricia from us?" his mum teased.
"Four years," Daniel muttered.
They laughed, having no clue what he really meant.
"What is it, Daniel? Why the face? It’s all jokes—you know that."
"I’m talking about Dad, sis. I just spoke to the lawyer. The matter has been finalized... and Dad... four years, Mum." His voice cracked. "Four years imprisonment."
The room that had just moments ago been filled with joy and laughter was now swallowed by silence.
Clara forced herself to stay strong, for the sake of her mother’s health.
"Clara!" Daniel yelled.
She turned around, startled.
"Why haven’t you gone to meet the man Dad asked you to meet?"
"I’ll be heading to his house after here," she said, trying to offer him some hope.
But it didn’t work.
"Why did you wait until now? Why do you want to break us? Why did you do this to Dad?" Daniel’s words came from deep pain.
Clara backed away and rushed out of the room, keeping her head down to hide the tears that had begun to stream down her face.
Once she got to the car, she broke down and cried her heart out.
His words echoed: *Why did you wait until now? Why did you do this to Dad?*
She began to feel like the root of all their problems.
"How do I explain to Daniel that I've been to his house but couldn't meet with him, how do I tell him I was already close to Mr. Kane’s house when he called and insisted I come immediately?" she sobbed.
She wiped her tears and straightened her clothes.
*Maybe Dad wouldn’t have been imprisoned if I had gotten help from Mr. Kane already*, she thought, her head resting on the steering wheel.
She started the car and drove off, just as she spotted Daniel stepping out of the hospital entrance.
- Writer
