Chapter 5 - The Night Everything Collapsed
At 1:17 a.m., Atticus woke to the sound of glass breaking.
He reached for the gun in his nightstand.
Then stopped.
Cordelia wasn't beside him.
“Cordelia?”
No answer.
He found her in the bathroom.
A water glass lay shattered across the floor.
Cordelia was collapsed beside the sink.
“Cordelia!”
Atticus dropped to his knees.
Her skin was burning.
Her eyes barely opened.
“Atticus?”
“I'm here.”
“I don't feel good.”
His hands shook as he called emergency services.
The man who had remained calm while guns were pointed at his head could barely operate his phone.
“She's undergoing chemotherapy,” he told the dispatcher. “She has a fever. She's barely conscious.”
He lifted Cordelia carefully.
She whispered:
“Don't leave.”
“I won't.”
“Promise.”
Atticus pressed his forehead against hers.
“I promise.”
---
The hospital waiting room was silent.
Marcus arrived at 2:03.
“What happened?”
“Infection.”
Atticus sat forward, elbows on his knees.
“They said her immune system crashed.”
“She'll make it.”
Atticus looked at him.
“You don't know that.”
Marcus sat beside him.
“No.”
For hours, Atticus stared at the doors.
Finally Dr. Mercer appeared.
Atticus stood immediately.
“How is she?”
“Stable.”
His knees nearly gave out.
“But she's very sick.”
“Can I see her?”
“In a moment.”
“Is the treatment failing?”
Dr. Mercer hesitated.
“Her latest scans actually show something encouraging.”
Atticus stared.
“What?”
“The tumors have shrunk.”
“How much?”
“Substantially.”
He could barely process it.
“So it's working?”
“It appears to be.”
“Then why is she here?”
“Treatment can save someone and nearly break them at the same time.”
Atticus looked through the window toward Cordelia.
“Can she continue?”
“That decision belongs to her.”
He nodded.
For once, he understood immediately.
---
Cordelia woke hours later.
Atticus sat beside her.
“You look terrible,” she whispered.
He laughed quietly.
“You're one to talk.”
She smiled weakly.
“The scans?”
“Better.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Really?”
“Really.”
She squeezed his hand.
“Then I continue.”
Atticus nodded.
“Okay.”
“You're not going to argue?”
“No.”
“Who are you?”
“Apparently I'm experiencing personal growth.”
She laughed, then winced.
“Don't make me laugh.”
Atticus leaned closer.
“I've started dismantling the organization.”
Her expression changed.
“What?”
“Legitimate holdings stay. Everything else goes.”
“Because of me?”
“Because of us.”
“Atticus, I never asked—”
“I know.”
He looked down at their joined hands.
May you like
“That's why I'm doing it.”
---
