CHAPTER 36: LOCKED IN

"She’s awake?"

"Yes, ma’am. She woke up about an hour ago. She’s still a bit disoriented, but she’s conscious and asking for water."

My hands were shaking as I ended the call. Axel was watching me with concern.

"What’s wrong?" he asked, studying me.

"My mother," I said, barely able to get the words out. "She’s awake."

Axel’s expression softened immediately. "That’s wonderful news, Layla. You should take tomorrow off to see her."

"No," I said quickly, shaking my head. "I can’t wait that long. I need to go now."

"But visiting hours are probably over by now..."

"I don’t care about visiting hours," I interrupted, my voice rising with desperation. "What if she slips back into the coma? We’ll be quick, don’t worry. It’s not enough reason to miss a day at the office, as I have some pending tasks."

Axel studied my face for a moment, then nodded. "I understand. I’ll come with you."

I opened my mouth to object automatically, but stopped myself. For once, I didn’t want to push him away.

I realised I’d grown to accept his support, and that thought scared me initially, but I pushed it aside. This wasn’t the time for analysing my feelings.

"Okay," I said simply. "Thank you."

The drive to the hospital felt endless. Axel kept glancing at me as I fidgeted with my hands, checking the time on my phone every few minutes.

"She’s going to be okay," he said softly.

"You don’t know that," I replied, staring out the window. "Nobody knows that."

When we arrived at the hospital, the receptionist informed us that visiting hours had ended an hour ago.

"I’m sorry, but you’ll have to come back tomorrow," she said with a sympathetic smile.

I felt my composure cracking. "Please, I just found out my mother is awake. We won’t be long, just want to see her..."

Axel placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. "Let me handle this," he said, then turned to the receptionist with that commanding presence he used in business meetings. "You know me, right?"

She nodded quickly.

"Is Dr. Martinez on duty tonight?"

The receptionist’s eyes widened slightly. "Yes, sir. Let me call him for you."

Within minutes, we were being escorted through the hospital corridors. I marvelled at how easily Axel’s influence opened doors that would have remained closed to me.

"I want to have a better understanding of her condition," I told him as we walked. "But I don’t know who to see about it. My family would naturally not tell me anything."

"How were you informed about her waking up?" Axel asked.

I stuttered slightly. "It was... it was a nurse."

He raised an eyebrow. "A nurse calling you after hours? That seems unusual."

"She just got off her shift for the day," I said quickly, hoping he wouldn’t press further.

Axel nodded, though I could tell he wasn’t entirely convinced. "I’ll see what I can do about getting you more information. Let me find Dr. Martinez and see if he can update us on her condition."

"Thank you," I said, feeling grateful and relieved.

"I’ll meet you back here in a few minutes," he said, squeezing my hand gently before heading down the corridor.

I made my way toward my mother’s room, my heart pounding with each step. But just as I reached for the door handle, someone grabbed my arm.

"What do you think you’re doing here?"

I turned to find Cassandra standing behind me, her face was twisted with anger and disgust.

"I’m not in the mood for whatever drama you’re trying to cause, Cass," I said, trying to pull my arm free. "Step aside so I can see our mother."

"You have a lot of nerve showing up here," she spat, not loosening her grip. "This is all your fault. Mom collapsed because of the stress you put her through with all your selfish decisions."

I stared at her in disbelief. "My fault? Are you serious right now?"

"If you hadn’t run off and got married to that man, if you hadn’t abandoned your family..."

"Abandoned? Have you forgotten that your daddy technically disowned me because of you? I... Don’t even want to talk. Just get out of my way," I said firmly, trying to move past her. But Cassandra blocked my path again.

I stepped back and looked through the blinds into the room, barely catching a glimpse of a figure in the bed before Cassandra moved to block my view entirely.

"Leave," she said coldly. "And never show your face here again unless it’s to apologise for all the shame you’ve brought to this family."

I felt my temper flare. "Shame I brought to the family? Really, Cass? Are we going to pretend you didn’t have an affair with my fiancé, get pregnant before marriage, and then steal my husband on my wedding day?"

Cassandra’s face flushed, but she held her ground. "That’s different..."

"Stop faking when it’s just us here," I continued, slightly raising my voice. "What made you so bold all of a sudden? Last I checked, you were the one skulking around behind everyone’s back."

For a moment, Cassandra looked genuinely taken aback. Then she sighed dramatically.

"Fine," she said. "I’ll take you to Mom. But you have to leave right after. Five minutes, that’s it. Follow me."

"Where’s she?"

"They had to move her; she’s not here."

I was suspicious of her sudden change in attitude, but I also couldn’t see anyone in the room anymore. Maybe they had moved her for some procedure.

"Lead the way," I said reluctantly.

Cassandra walked ahead of me down a dimly lit corridor I didn’t recognize. Not that I knew anywhere in the hospital. I frowned as we turned a corner, as the lights were dimmer here.

"This doesn’t look like the patient wing," I said in a suspicious tone. "Why would they move her here?"

"She was restless," Cassandra replied without even turning around. "The doctors thought it best to keep her somewhere quieter, away from the constant noise of the ward. Honestly, if you cared enough, you’d know how sensitive she is."

Her words stung, but I didn’t take my eyes off her back. Something didn’t feel right, but at the same time, I didn’t want to waste a chance at seeing my mother. Once I was sure she was okay, I’ll leave and be done with this toxic family of mine.

Just in case, I pulled out my phone and quickly texted Axel: Cass says Mom was moved. Taking me to another section now. I’ll keep you updated.

I hit send just as Cassandra stopped at a door. "She’s in here," she said, pushing it open.

The room was dark, and I could smell cleaning supplies.

"What kind of sick game are you playing? This isn’t..."

My phone vibrated in my hand. Expecting a text from Axel, I glanced down at my screen one last time, but Cassandra used that opportunity to shoved me forward. Hard.

"Hey...!"

I stumbled forward, my phone slipping from my hand as I tried to catch myself. It skidded across the hallway floor outside, just as the door slammed shut behind me.

I heard the click of a lock.

"Cassandra!" I shouted, pounding on the door. "Stop this! Let me out!"

"Sorry, sis," her muffled voice came through the door. "The door seems to be faulty. I’ll have to get maintenance to fix it tomorrow."

I could hear her footsteps retreating down the corridor.

"Cassandra! Get back here!" I screamed, banging on the door with both fists. "This isn’t funny!"

But this part of the hospital seemed secluded. One minute, two minutes, five minutes and no one came.

The darkness pressed in around me, and I could hear scratching sounds in the corners. My breathing became rapid and shallow as the space felt like it was closing in on me.

I could make out the shapes of shelves lined with supplies, but in the darkness, everything looked scary.

I saw movement in the corner and noticed small shapes scurrying. Oh my God... Rats.

I pressed myself against the door. One thing I hated was crawling insects, and rodents.

Suddenly, the room felt smaller than it actually was, and I couldn’t get enough air. I began to hyperventilate.

"Help!" I screamed as loudly as I could. "Someone help me! I’m trapped!"

I pounded on the door until my hands were raw, but no one came. My vision was starting to blur, and I felt dizzy from lack of oxygen. Just as I thought I might lose consciousness completely, I heard footsteps.

The door suddenly opened, and bright light flooded in. I could barely make out the silhouette of someone reaching for me, but my vision was too blurred to see who it was.

I felt strong arms lifting me as everything went black.