Chapter 18
‘Annabelle Bennett fainted? To them that’s a bigger catastrophe than the sky collapsing; of course they wouldn’t spare a thought for whether I lived or died,’ Elena reflected, her bitterness bone-deep.
Elena blinked; her eyes burned and ached, yet not a single tear would come.
Family?’ she scoffed inwardly. ‘I stopped having family a long time ago-what’s left to mourn?’
A nurse burst out, “Gastric hemorrhage! We need hemostasis now-blood loss is massive. Prep for surgery and get anesthesia started!”
“Dr. Harris, we can’t reach any relatives. Who’s going to sign the consent?” another nurse called anxiously.
Summoning every shred of will, Elena clutched a doctor’s sleeve and rasped, “I’ll sign it myself!”
Elena vowed, ‘I refuse to die. I will live-live long enough to watch them all pay.’
Biting back the pain, she gripped the pen and scrawled her signature in a crooked line.
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An hour later, the surgery finally ended.
The moment the doors swung open, Adaline rushed forward, panic etched across her face. “Why did my daughter’s gastroscopy take so long?”
Wheeling Elena out, the nurse rolled her eyes. “You forget we issued a critical notice earlier?”
Color drained from Adaline’s cheeks. “Elena! Doctor, how is she now? Is my daughter going to be all right?”.
“Relax, she’s out of immediate danger,” Dr. Harris said. “She suffered a gastric bleed during the scope. We tried contacting her relatives, but no one
answered.
“In the end, the patient signed her own consent. She’s dangerously weak now, so make sure she receives proper care.”
Adaline went pale. “What-gastric bleeding? Elena… she signed for herself?”
“What else were we supposed to do-wait another hour for you to come back and claim the body?” the nurse shot back.
Guilt flooded Adaline’s face.
Julian Bennett scowled. “Didn’t they just say she’s fine? What’s with the fuss? A Bennett’s life isn’t that fragile.”
“Shut your mouth, Julian! Your sister just stared death in the face-show Elena some respect,” Adaline snapped.
Back in the hospital room, Elena came fully awake. Opening her eyes, she found the entire family still encircling her bed.
Annabelle Bennett dabbed at her tears and exclaimed, “Elena! You’re finally awake–we were scared to death. It was all my fault earlier; I’m so worthless. If it hadn’t been for me, you wouldn’t have had to face that surgery alone.”
Elena’s gaze was glacial. “Annabelle, I hear you fainted. Tell me, what exactly made you swoon-starvation, poverty, or malnutrition?”
Annabelle bit her lower lip, her complexion bloodless. “Elena, you think I did it on purpose? I passed out only because the doctor’s words about you were too frightening. I was worried sick-how could you think so poorly of me?”
With that, Annabelle threw herself into Adaline’s arms and burst into aggrieved sobs.
Julian’s temper ignited. He stormed forward and yanked her off the bed. Elena crashed to the floor; fiery pain tore through her abdomen, veins bulging on her forehead as tremors wracked her body.
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