“What is propofol?” I ask, my hand around my mother’s.
“It’s a drug used to keep someone in an artificial coma. I can’t imagine why that would be in her blood. I ran all tests three times, thinking it must be a mistake somehow, but it wasn’t. I slowly phased it out of her system until she eventually woke up naturally.”
I feel sick at the mere thought of someone doing this to my mother. Alec throws his arms around me while Lucian wipes away the tears I didn’t realize had fallen.
“Hi, Sarah,” Lucian says, sounding as emotional as I feel.
My mother’s eyes move to Lucian’s and I could swear I saw a twinkle in them.
“L…” she murmurs, and Alec frowns.
“I think she’s trying to say your names,” he says, shocked. “She’s not just awake, she’s aware of her surroundings too.”
I start crying in earnest and place my head against my mother’s shoulder. “Oh God, Mom. I can’t believe it. I knew it. I knew you’d wake up one day.”
I sob my heart out, and before long my mother’s eyes are filled with tears too, her cheeks wet. Lucian grabs a tissue and carefully wipes her face while Alec wipes mine.
“Your mother doesn’t seem to have any muscle contraction. She must have been given regular Botox injections to prevent it, and I suspect she received regular physical therapy to stretch her body too. It doesn’t quite add up. You wouldn’t do that for a person you’re knowingly keeping in a coma.”
I nod. “The Botox injections and stretching are two things I insisted on and paid through the roof for,” I tell him. I knew she’d need that if she were to walk after her coma. “They did it, because I was paying for it.”
Alec gently grabs her hand like I’ve seen him do before, and presses a kiss to the back of her hand. “I don’t think you remember me, but I’m so glad you woke up,” he whispers softly.
Her eyes move to his, and another tear rolls down her face. “A…” she croaks, her respirator inhabiting her speech.
His eyes widen, and he looks at me. “She recognizes me, Buttercup.”
I tighten my hold on her hand and turn toward the doctor. “Why can’t she speak? What will happen now?”
Dr. Taylor smiles at me. “She only just woke up and has been on a respirator for years. We can’t just take it off all of a sudden. I did a full checkup, and there’s nothing wrong with her vocal cords. She hasn’t spoken in years though, so it’ll take some time for her to speak the way she used to. She’s still drugged too. I suspect she’ll be just fine once all the unnecessary drugs are out of her body. I’ll have to check her joints in about 24 hours, to see if they’ve frozen up. If they have, she’ll need some surgery, but I don’t suspect that that’s the case. If all goes well and she can remain conscious for long periods of time, she should be able to go home in about three weeks, provided that she still receives full medical care.”
Alec nods and smiles at me gently. “We can get a hospital bed set up in our house. We’ll get whatever Dr. Taylor thinks he needs, so in a few weeks we can move her home. We’ll keep him on staff to oversee her recovery.”
I nod, my mind a mess. I stare at my mother’s closed eyes and turn to the doctor in a panic, but he merely shakes his head. “She’s tired and overstimulated. I suggest we let her rest. Most patients aren’t able to stay conscious for more than a few minutes after they first wake up. Give it time, Elena.”
I nod, and though it kills me to do it, I let Alec take me back home so my mother can rest. “You’ll take me back tomorrow morning?” I ask. Alec nods. “Of course, but we have to let the doctor do his job tonight.”
My mind is a mess the entire ride home, fury coursing through my veins. “I’ll murder whoever did this to my mother. We need to look into how this could have happened. Do you think my father had anything to do with it?” I shake my head, my thoughts whirling. “It must’ve been my stepmother. She must have isolated me on purpose. She knew I’d never find out about what she did because I didn’t have enough resources at my disposal.” Alec nods and wraps me into his arms. “I’ll murder her. I’ll wring her ugly fat neck.”
He sighs and tightens his hold on me, his hand stroking my arm. “I’d never let you get your hands dirty, baby,” he says, sounding as upset as I feel.
“Tell me you’ll find out for me, Alec. Promise me.”
Alec lifts me onto his lap and looks into my eyes. “My love, I’m way ahead of you. Aiden is looking into this as we speak. It might take a few days or even a few weeks, but we’ll get to the bottom of this.”
I nod, wiping away the tears that just won’t stop falling.
“You promise?”
Alec nods, his eyes blazing with sincerity. “I promise.”
With him by my side, there’s no way the truth will remain hidden.
Chapter 45
E lena
I’m restless in the morning, eager to see my mother. Lucian, Sofia, and Alec all look as tired as I do, as though none of us managed to get any sleep.
“Mom is going to want to see Dad, isn’t she? How do I explain he isn’t here?”
It would devastate her to find out he not only left her, but that he has married someone else already. “Oh God, how do I explain to her that I can’t even take her home?”
My heart races, devastation and helplessness constricting my breathing. Alec walks up to me and cups my cheeks, keeping my eyes on his.
“Baby, breathe,” he says. “You’re fine. She’s awake now, and that’s all that matters. The rest we can deal with, one step at a time.”
Lucian rubs my back gently, his expression as torn as Alec’s. None of us know what the right thing to do is.
“She needs to be informed,” Sofia says. “But not now, honey.”
I nod at her, my heart aching for my mother. I’ve been wanting her to wake up for so long now, but I haven’t given much thought to what she’d be waking up to. Everything she had when she got into her car accident is gone now. Her husband, the home she built, and in so many ways, even her son.
“I need to call my brother,” I say, my phone in hand. I’m feeling conflicted. He’s worked so hard to get me to let her go. I don’t even know how he’ll respond to this news.
“Elena, no ,” Lucian says, his voice sharp.
I turn to look at him, my brows raised. He looks anguished as he grabs my shoulders. The way he struggles to meet my eyes makes my heart sink.
“There’s something I’ve been keeping from you,” he says, his voice soft. “Elliot… he was able to trace the digital footprint of your mother’s car. He managed to find the hacker who caused your mother to lose control over her car, and, well, he was able to trace the payments, too. From what he told me, it seems like it was Jade who contacted the hacker, but the payments… the payments came from Matthew. He tried his best to route them through as many countries as possible, but Elliot put his all into tracing them, and it was him, Elena. It was Matthew.”
I feel sick. I close my eyes in an effort to remain in control of my emotions, but my body won’t stop trembling. “Matthew?” I whisper. “That can’t be right. He’s an asshole, but he’s not… he’s not a murderer. He wouldn’t do that to his own mother.”