Chapter 126
When Dorothea picked up the phone, her mind went blank.
Linda glanced over, sensing something was wrong. “Dorothea, what is it p>
Snapping back to herself, Dorothea grabbed her car keys and darted out the door. “Please look after Garth. I’m not coming home tonight p>
Her hands shook on the steering wheel. The streetlights blurred past her, their halos spinning like the hand fan her grandmother used to cool her off as a child.
When her grandfather died, Dorothea felt like she’d lost everything. It was her grandmother who pulled her back from that darkness. Those two were her whole world. After she turned five, her grandparents were all she had left to call family. Whenever she saw other kids with loving parents, she’d remind herself—at least she still had Grandma and Grandpa.
But now Grandpa was gone. If she lost Grandma too p>
The light turned green. Dorothea swiped away her tears and sped toward the hospital.
She barely remembered parking. She ran straight for the emergency room. “Doctor, how’s my grandma p>
“You’re Pauline’s family, right? Here’s the surgery consent form, sign it quickly. She had a sudden cardiac arrest. We’re working on her now p>
Dorothea’s hand shook so badly she could hardly write her name. “Please, doctor, save my grandma. Please p>
The doctor took the form from her. “We’ll do everything we can. Please cooperate with us p>
Staring at the closed doors of the operating room, Dorothea felt completely lost. Just a few days ago, Grandma was fine. How did things go so wrong, so fast?
A voice called her name. “Dorothea p>
She looked up. The caregiver stood there, and Dorothea’s tears started flowing all over again. “How could Grandma get sick so suddenly p>
The caregiver bit her lip, hesitating. “Dorothea, your mom came by today. She brought a young girl with her to see your grandmother p>
The caregiver lowered her voice. “I think I overheard them talking about something… online bullying, maybe? Your grandma asked me to get my phone and read her some comments. They were under one of your Twitter posts. There were some really nasty ones. I think it upset her p>
Elise.
Of course. It was them again.
Dorothea’s jaw tightened. “Did the girl have long hair p>
“Yes. She did p>
So, her wonderful mother had brought Carola here to torment her grandmother.
The caregiver’s voice was thick with guilt. “I’m so sorry, Dorothea. I shouldn’t have read those comments, but Pauline insisted and I just… I didn’t think it through p>
“It’s not your fault,” Dorothea said quietly. “I’m too soft. That’s the problem.” She never expected Elise would still be stirring up trouble after all this time.
Four hours crawled by before the surgery ended.
As soon as the operating room
lights went off, Dorothea ran to the doors. The doctor came out. “Right now, Pauline’s vital signs are stable. But he heart was stopped for long. We really don’t know if she’ll
Wake up. You should be prepared for anything p>
They wheeled her grandmother out, covered in tubes. Dorothea’s tears spilled over. “Grandma, it’s me. It’s Dorothea. I’m here p>
A nurse gently guided her back. “Please give us space. Pauline will need to stay in the ICU for a few days. Once she’s stable, we’ll move her to a regular room p>
Dorothea watched as her
grandmother disappeared down the hall. Family couldn’t visit in the CU All she could do was watch from a distance during set video calls each day.
The caregiver hovered nearby. “Dorothea, you need to rest too. You’ve stayed up all
night. If you collapse, who’ll take care of Pauline p>
Dorothea took a shaky breath. She couldn’t fall apart.
“Thank you,” she told the caregiver. “You should rest too p>
All the panic inside her started to simmer down, replaced by something cold and sharp. She was in no state to drive, so she flagged down a taxi and headed straight for the Brown family’s house.
Elise hardly slept a wink that night. Her dreams were full of shadows and panic.
Layton noticed the dark circles under her eyes. “Rough night p>
Elise sighed. “Yeah. Yesterday I took Carola to see Pauline, hoping she’d help talk to Dorothea, but p>
She didn’t finish. The door burst open. Dorothea stormed in, eyes blazing. “Where’s Carola p>
Elise froze, taken aback by the fury pouring off her daughter. “Dorothea, what are you doing here p>
She glanced at Dorothea’s hand. “What… what are you holding p>
Was that a whip? Where did she even get something like that?
Dorothea’s gaze was icy. If they wouldn’t answer her, she’d find Carola herself.
Carola was still half asleep when her bedroom door flew open.
The crack of the whip echoed in the room as Dorothea lashed out, striking Carola even through the blanket.
Carola screamed. The sting burned right through the covers. When she saw who it was, anger flared on her face. “Dorothea, are you out of your mind p>
Dorothea looked at her with a chill that could freeze fire. She ripped the blanket away and struck her again.
“I’m not crazy. Tell me what you said to my grandmother yesterday. What did you do p>
Carola cowered, thrown off by the menace in Dorothea’s eyes. “I… I didn’t say anything p>
Dorothea’s laugh was cold. “You won’t talk? Fine. I’ll make you p>