Chapter 31

ELEANOR

I held my breath as the phone rang, gripping it tighter with each second.

When the nurse finally answered, my heart skipped a beat.

“Hello?” she said, her tone professional but slightly tired.

“Hello,” I replied, my voice shaky. “Am I speaking with Miss Annabelle?”

“Yes,” she answered. “Who am I speaking with?”

I felt a rush of excitement and relief, almost stumbling over my words. “I’m... I’m a sister to one of the patients under your care.”

There was a brief pause on the other end. “I have a lot of patients, dear,” she said. “You’ll need to be more specific. Can you tell me a bit more about which patient you’re referring to?”

My heart sank. How could she not remember? I hadn’t thought about how to describe myself or my sister in any other way.

I searched my mind, desperate to find something to help her recall. My mind spun with images of that night—running into the hospital, my sister barely able to breathe, the frantic doctors, the nurses rushing around. Then it hit me.