Chapter 6 - The Ghost in the Light
The room was dim, illuminated only by the soft blue glow of a heart monitor and the pale light of the rainy afternoon filtering through a high window. The rhythmic, slow beep... beep... beep... of the monitor filled the quiet space, echoing alongside the soft hiss of an oxygen line.
Lying in the narrow hospital bed was a woman.
Ethan stopped three feet inside the room. The breath caught in his throat, a sharp, painful lump forming in his chest.
She was so thin. Her collarbones stood out sharply against the hospital gown, her skin pale, translucent, and drawn tight over her cheekbones. Her dark brown hair, once thick and vibrant, was dull and brushed back from her forehead.
Yet, as Ethan stepped closer, his boots making no sound on the linoleum floor, he saw her face clearly under the blue light.
It was Olivia.
She opened her eyes slowly, as if the simple act of lifting her eyelids required an immense, exhausting effort. Her dark amber eyes—the exact same eyes Lucy possessed—searched the dim room, landing first on the little girl stepping up to the side of the bed.
"Lucy..." Olivia’s voice was a frail, dry whisper, barely louder than the hiss of the oxygen mask resting beside her pillow. "Baby... where did you go? The nurse... was looking for you..."
"Mommy," Lucy wept softly, reaching out to gently lay her cheek against Olivia’s thin arm. "I found him. I brought him back."
Olivia frowned slightly, her brow furrowing in confusion. She slowly turned her head on the pillow.
Her eyes met Ethan’s.
The room seemed to freeze. Twelve years of silence, twelve years of buried anger, grief, and forgotten memories collapsed into a single, breathless second.
Ethan dropped to his knees beside the hospital bed, exactly as he had dropped to his knees on the chapel floor an hour earlier. He reached out with his rough, calloused hands and gently, reverently took Olivia’s cold, thin hand in his own.
"Olivia," Ethan choked out, tears finally streaming down his cheeks, dropping onto the white hospital sheet. "Olivia... it's me."
Olivia stared at him. A slow, agonizing wave of recognition washed over her worn features. Her fingers twitched inside his grip, trying weakly to curl around his large hand.
"Ethan..." she breathed, her chest rising and falling in short, shallow gasps. "No... no, you shouldn't... be here. Victoria... she said..."
"I know," Ethan interrupted, his voice fiercely gentle as he brought her cold hand up to his lips, kissing her knuckles. "I know everything, Liv. Lucy brought the envelope. She brought the checks."
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Olivia’s eyes widened slightly, a tear slipping down her pale temple. "The checks... I didn't take her money, Ethan. I swear to God... I didn't take a single dime."
"I know," Ethan sobbed, burying his face against the edge of her mattress. "I know, Liv. I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry I wasn't there."
