Chapter 8 - The Nurse Who Knew
Sadi stood.
Desmond raised a hand.
“Stay behind me.”
“You're doing that again.”
“What?”
“Trying to protect me by pretending you aren't scared.”
He looked at her.
“I am scared.”
She stopped.
It was the first time he'd admitted it.
The knock came again.
Desmond moved toward the door.
Sadi opened it.
An older woman stood in the hallway.
She looked exhausted.
“I was your nurse,” she said.
Desmond recognized her.
“Rebecca.”
She nodded.
“I shouldn't have come.”
“Then why did you?”
“Because I can't live with it anymore.”
She entered.
Rebecca placed a folder on the table.
“The night you were admitted, someone ordered me to change your medical records.”
“Who?”
She looked at Sadi.
Then at Desmond.
“Your father.”
Desmond's expression hardened.
“He wanted me to die?”
“No.”
Rebecca shook her head.
“He wanted everyone to believe you had suffered permanent damage beyond recovery.”
Sadi frowned.
“What?”
Rebecca opened the folder.
“There were neurological tests showing you retained more function than anyone knew.”
Desmond stared.
“You're saying I could have recovered?”
“Not completely.”
She looked at him.
“But there was potential.”
His hands trembled.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because your father threatened my family.”
Sadi looked at Desmond.
“He wanted you dependent.”
Rebecca nodded.
“He needed you isolated.”
The room fell silent.
Desmond looked down at his legs.
Six months.
Six months of believing there was no future.
Six months of refusing therapy because he believed it was pointless.
Then he looked at Sadi.
She had never treated him like he was finished.
She had forced him to stand with assistance.
She had pushed him to exercise.
She had argued with him.
She had never given up.
“Why did you hire me?” she asked.
Desmond smiled faintly.
“Because you were the only person who didn't look at me like I was broken.”
Rebecca stood.
“There is more.”
She opened the final page.
A signature appeared.
Adrian's.
“He helped me preserve the original records.”
Desmond stared.
“That's why he disappeared.”
“Yes.”
Rebecca looked toward the window.
“Your father knew.”
A sound came from outside.
A car door slammed.
Marcus looked out.
“They found us.”
The lights went out.
Sadi grabbed Desmond's hand.
Someone entered the hallway.
Footsteps approached.
Desmond whispered:
“Lock the door.”
Sadi did.
The footsteps stopped outside.
Then a man's voice spoke.
“Desmond.”
He recognized it.
May you like
His father's voice.
“It's time to finish what I started.”
