Chapter 13
The next afternoon,
the quiet of the estate was shattered by a sudden medical emergency.
A nurse stationed at the house rushed into the living room,
her face pale with worry.
"Mr. Thorne,
the hospital just called,"
she gasped,
out of breath.
"The baby...
his oxygen levels dropped sharply,
and they are preparing an emergency procedure."
Khloe,
who was sitting on the sofa,
dropped her teacup,
the porcelain shattering against the hardwood floor.
She stood up instantly,
her body trembling violently,
her face drained of all color.
"No,
no,
no,"
she chanted,
her voice rising in panic.
Marcus was by her side in a split second,
catching her before her knees could buckle under the weight of the news.
"Get the car ready now!"
Marcus roared at the nearby staff,
his usual composure completely shattering.
He lifted Khloe into his arms,
ignoring her weak protests,
and sprinted down the front steps toward the waiting vehicle.
The drive to the hospital was a blur of high speed and tense,
suffocating silence.
Khloe was crying uncontrollably,
her hands gripping Marcus's coat as if it were her only lifeline in a storm.
"He can't die,
Marcus,
he can't,"
she sobbed,
her heart breaking into a million pieces.
Marcus held her tightly against his chest,
his own heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped animal.
He had no words of comfort,
no corporate strategies to fix this,
no wealth that could buy his son's breath.
For the first time in his adult life,
Marcus Thorne felt completely powerless,
and the feeling was absolutely agonizing.
When they arrived at the hospital,
they rushed through the doors,
ignoring the security guards who tried to slow them down.
They reached the NICU,
finding Dr. Cole surrounded by a team of medical professionals,
all working frantically over the small incubator.
"What is happening?"
Marcus demanded,
his voice cracking with a mixture of rage and fear.
"A minor lung collapse,"
Dr. Cole explained quickly,
not looking up from his work.
"It is common in premature infants,
but we are inserting a chest tube to re-inflate it now."
Khloe collapsed against the viewing glass,
her eyes wide with horror as she watched the medical team work on her tiny,
fragile boy.
Marcus stood behind her,
his arms wrapping around her waist,
pulling her close to his body,
sharing her pain,
sharing her terror.
They stood there together,
May you like
two broken parents watching their child fight for his life,
the world outside completely ceasing to exist.
