CHAPTER 150

The hours stretched on, each minute crawling by as I sat in the cold, sterile waiting area of the hospital. Midnight had long passed, and still, there was no sign of Leon. My uncle George had come by earlier, offering to take me back to his place so I wouldn’t have to wait alone, but I had refused. I couldn’t leave, not without seeing Leon, not without knowing where he was.

“I’ll be fine, Uncle George,” I had insisted, trying to sound more confident than I felt. “He said he’d come back soon, and I want to be here when he does.”

He had looked at me with concern, his brows knitting together, but eventually, he nodded and left me to wait. Now, as the hours continued to slip away, that confidence was starting to erode, replaced by a gnawing worry that grew stronger with every tick of the clock.

I must have dozed off at some point, because the next thing I knew, I was being gently shaken awake. I blinked, disoriented, and looked up to see Letty standing over me, her face a mix of confusion