"If you get the chance, talk to her. Don''t let her get blinded by hate."
Bailey and Hank stood by the door, both of them looking furious as the police led Grace out and pushed her into the back of the car.
"Dad, look at this!" Hank was so angry his chest was rising and falling fast. "This is all Reese''s doing. Taking the shares wasn''t enough. Now she''s sending Grace into the prison."
"Call Tyler." Bailey''s voice was cold and hard. "Tell him to stop the transfer of shares to Reese." He picked up his phone and dialed Reese''s number himself. "I want to hear from her mouth what exactly she thinks she''s doing."
***
In the quiet hospital room, Reese''s phone started ringing, Bailey''s name lighting up the screen. She nced at it, a sh of sarcasm in her eyes. So Grace had been taken away by Roman, and now Bailey was calling. She could guess he didn''t believe a word of Roman''s evidence. Even now, they were on Grace''s side, still thinking Reese was out for revenge.
Without thinking twice, Reese declined the call and switched her phone to silent. She didn''t have the energy for another pointless argument with those two. Grace had only herself to me for how things turned out.
Just then, the door opened quietly. n walked in, holding a little hand in his. Annie, dressed in a pink dress with her hair in two neat pigtails, still had tear stains on her cheeks. The second she saw the bed, she let go of n''s hand and ran straight over, throwing herself against the side of the bed, her voice shaking. "Daddy! Daddy, please wake up!"
Reese hurried over, kneeling beside Annie and gently holding her trembling shoulders. "Annie, it''s alright. Daddy''s just sleeping. He''ll wake up soon, I promise."
"Really?" Annie looked up with big, worried eyes. Her cheeks were wet with tears. "n said Daddy was really hurt. Is that true?"
Reese felt a sharp pain in her heart. She managed a soft smile. "Daddy did get hurt, but the doctors are working very hard to help him. As long as he rests, he''ll get better."
n came closer, letting out a tired sigh. "As soon as you called, I got in touch with Mr. Sanchez. He took it seriously. He''s already sent military doctors to help."
"Thank you, n." Reese nodded gratefully.
n rubbed the bridge of his nose, looking a little ufortable. He''d been hiding his connection with Matthew from Reese all this time.
"Auntie, if the army doctorse, will Daddy wake up?" Annie''s voice was tiny, hopeful.
Reese smoothed Annie''s hair, her fingers gentle and slow. For a moment, she hesitated, searching for the right words. "Your daddy has something different in his body, something that needs a special kind of stem cell to fix."
She saw confusion flicker in Annie''s
eyes, and after a long pause, she finally let out the words that had been weighing on her all night. "These stem cells have toe from family. Annie, would you be willing to donate some to help your daddy?"
She knew it was too much to ask of a child so young. Reese couldn''t even meet Annie''s eyes.
"But... I''m not Daddy''s real daughter." Annie''s tears started again as she clung to Reese''s sleeve, her voice choked. "Does that mean he won''t wake up?"
Reese wentpletely still, shock washing over her. Annie wasn''t Matthew''s biological daughter?
n stepped in, his voice gentle.
met
"Annie''s parents died in the war. Matthew was close friends with them. He adopted her because he gould bear to see her alone. He''s:
always treated her like his own and never exined it to anyone.
Cóntent
Reese''s mind spun. She remembered the first time she''d seen Matthew awkwardly trying toz fix Annie''s hair She''d thought he was a grieving widower, still learning how to be a single dad. She never imagined Annie wasn''t his
If she''d known, she never would have said those things and scared her.
After a few seconds, Reese forced herself to calm down. She hugged Annie
close, gently rocking her. "No, sweetheart, that''s not it at all. I will find another way to help your daddy. I promise."