CHAPTER 509: THE LIGHT WE WAITED FOR (8)

As Rocky sobbed his heart out, his phone kept buzzing, but he was not in the mood to talk to anyone then. He pulled it out and tossed it far away from him. In the Wendover’s mansion, Angela and the other workers were really at their wits’ end, with Clara’s persistent questions,

"Have you reached my son yet? Is he still not picking up?" Clara asked successively, not even giving Angela time to respond to the first. Clara’s voice was a paper-thin whisper, trembling like dry leaves in the wind, which would have been strange to hear some time past, but not on this day. Her eyes, once sharp and commanding, were now sunken and hollow, clouded with something that went beyond age—something unnatural.

In the span of just one day, she had withered. If before it was only her face that looked like a crumpled portrait of a proud woman gone to rot, now her entire body bore the same withering curse. Her skin hung loose like empty cloth, her once-formidable posture bent and trembling. Even her voice no longer sounded like hers—it had shrivelled along with her frame; more ghost than woman now. Simply put, she had grown old unnaturally.

The mansion’s corridors had grown quiet in the wake of her sudden decay. That was what the workers referred to as what had happened to her. They whispered when they passed, heads low, eyes avoiding the withering mistress.

Madam Clara must have used something... something unnatural... like dark magic, they muttered behind closed doors. There was no other way to explain how a woman could age so drastically in mere hours. Even those who did not believe in such had no choice but to believe.

But even stranger than her gross transformation was her obsession. Her son, Rocky. She kept muttering his name, asking for him. But even stranger was that, earlier that very morning, she had knocked Rocky’s photo frame off the table, staring at it with suspicion and calling him "a stranger."

The crash had startled everyone in the room, but it was the look in her eyes that chilled them to the bone. She had not recognized him. The son that she so much longed to see was almost a stranger to her.

Angela, the only one brave enough to remain in Clara’s room, had been dialling Rocky’s number on repeat. Each call ended in the same void of silence.

Just when Angela thought all was lost, one of the workers burst into the room, panting.

"I think... I think we have hope!" he exclaimed, still catching his breath.

Angela turned to him, her brows lifted in confusion and desperation.

"The miss," the man continued, eyes wide. "Miss Shelby! She’s been spotted.... just now! In town. The whole island is talking about how they saw her and Master Ian at the hospital!"

There was a beat of stunned silence. And then, as if the name alone were a salve, Angela sprang into action.

"Oh, thank the heavens that Miss Shelby is okay. Let me try to call her instead because I can’t get to anyone!

Angela wasted no time and dialled.

Back in the room where Ava and the rest were, more than ever. Ian moved swiftly, catching Shelby before she hit the floor.

In the back, Currey still had a polite smile on his face, but made no move to allow the health professional in.

He watched from the corner of his eye as Ian picked up one of the vials and quickly fed Shelby with it.

A phone buzzed in his pocket, and he only took one look at it and shoved it back. Certain things could wait.

The sobs racked Rocky’s body so much that he wasn’t thinking straight and could not see the abnormalities going on in the room. Just as his sobs began to overtake him ....

The beeping sound changed. It was not all at once, nor was it dramatic; it was subtle.

Under the piercing flatline, another tone began to rise .... It was soft at first, like a whisper threading through static.

Rocky didn’t hear it right away. His forehead was still pressed against Ava’s arm, his shoulders shaking with grief, his voice reduced to broken gasps and unfinished pleas.

But then the machines, one by one, started to flicker. Something nudged him at the back of his mind to check on Shelby, but Rocky told himself that Ian was there to do that. His Ava needed him, then.

"With all due respect," a nurse shouted at Currey, even as her colleagues tried to pull her back, "the patient flatlined. We have to stabilize her..... t-"

"She is already stabilizing," Currey interrupted gently. He stepped aside just enough for them to see the bed.

Gasps filled the room. The heart monitor that had flatlined suddenly pulsed once. Then again.

The beep stuttered, as if something was fighting to be heard. Rocky’s head snapped up, confusion etched across his tear-streaked face. He stared at the screen. "What...?"

The long beep faltered. Then broke. One solitary beep. Then another. Then steady, rhythmic ones ... beep... beep... beep...

Rocky’s heart leapt into his throat. He turned frantically to his sister, who was in Ian’s arms, and his heart surged. WTH was going on with all of them? Shelby looked to be still unconscious!

He opened his mouth to speak, but then a sudden shudder rippled through the bed.

Ava moved. It was not much—just a twitch of her fingers and a flutter of her lashes.

But even this was enough to make his entire body jolt in disbelief.

"Wha—" he gasped, stumbling back from the bed, staring, not daring to hope, not daring to blink. This was one of the moments where everything felt too good to be true!

Ava let out a low, barely audible breath. She was conscious!

Rocky was crying openly, clutching her hand, whispering things too soft for anyone else to hear.

"But... how?" one doctor murmured, staring at the monitors. "Her vitals .... I mean... we had done everything! This .... this is impossible."

No one noticed Currey’s eyes flicked toward the unconscious Shelby in her husband’s arms.

It was only then that Currey stepped aside for the medical personnel. Even after that, they were hesitant... sharing a look between themselves before the head doctor of their team stepped around to go check on Ava.

"Check on the baby!" He harked out the command.

Ian took a seat and placed Shelby on his lap, worry marring his features,

"She’s coming back," Currey whispered over his shoulder as he noted Shelby’s eyes flutter open slightly

At that Rocky’s head snapped towards that direction, especially as the doctors shoved him aside to check on Ava and the baby

"Sis!" he shouted, leaping forward finally as he also took in her almost limp body, skin pale, breath ragged. Rocky was crouched by Ian and looked over at Shelby expectantly. He would also periodically look over at Ava to see what they were doing.

"No, no, no—don’t you dare do this now," he begged, reaching over Ian to stroke her carefully. "What did you do? What was that?!"

At this time, Rocky most definitely knew!

Shelby’s eyes fluttered open briefly, no longer glowing, but glassy and tired. Her lips moved, barely forming words.

"I... borrowed... too much," she rasped. "Don’t worry... Ava’s safe now..."

Rocky frowned. The words were clear, yet cryptic too. Ian remained quiet and kissed her forehead. His mannerisms conveyed his words without him having to say them. He had been scared shitless, but he was there to protect his wife in every single case.

"You didn’t have to ... why would you...." Rocky’s voice cracked, panicked and overwhelmed.

"Do you think that I could live knowing that you did something to yourself to save Ava?"

"You have to think of yourself and the baby. Am I not here to do such things?" Ian also added. He had, in fact, had such a plan, but Shelby had been impulsive. Knowing what had happened, Ian knew that Shelby would have done it no matter the scenario.

Shelby’s hand clutched Ian’s shirt weakly and turned to Rocky. "Ava’s family... too."

Just then, a sudden and sharp sound occurred from Ava’s side. It was as if she was coming up for air from being immersed in water for a while.

Her back arched ever so slightly as she inhaled sharply. That was enough for Rocky to whip his head toward her, barely breathing himself.

"Thanks Sissy for whatever you did! I love you!"

One of the nurses rolled her eyes, thinking that Rocky was being delusional.

Ava’s eyelids fluttered open ... heavy, unfocused, and for a moment, she just stared at the ceiling, confused. And then... her gaze found him. It was faint. Fuzzy. But real.

"Mmm... hey," she murmured weakly, a ghost of a smile touching her cracked lips.

Rocky’s breath hitched.

He laughed, or maybe it was half-cry, half-disbelief. He rushed to the bedside and cupped her face gently.... how he missed that voice!

"Hey," he breathed, tears flowing freely again, but this time with joy. "You came back to me."

Ava blinked slowly, her voice barely audible. "You look awful..."

Rocky laughed again, pressing his forehead to hers. "You have no idea."

The room was filled with a flurry of activities and happiness, but elsewhere on the island, things were not going as well for the people there, especially for one person.

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