The crowd let out a short gasp, followed by silence. I knew they were curious about what was happening, especially that most of them may have heard about the incident with the signage. I held my chin up, watching a dumbfounded CEO!
I watched his brows knitting together in a scowl, but I didn't bat an eyelash. His lips moved to speak, but as he glanced unconsciously at the crowd, he drew in a deep breath and tried to soften his expression.
"Let's talk after this!" he muttered under his breath, making his voice as low as possible. Yet, he couldn't fool me--I saw the glints of threat beneath his quick glare.
However, the anger I had for him stripped off my last ounce of human fear. I ran my eyes over him, showing the full extent of my confidence. Showing him some act of mercy, I turned off the microphone closest to us.
"You already killed my father, yet you still have the guts to hurt a helpless child? I can let this pass if nothing happens to my brother, but if not-" I cut from there, challenging him to fill in the blank.
His face twisted into a deeper frown and confusion, convincing me for a moment of his innocence. Yet, an inner voice reminded me that men like them always live behind their masks.
"Wait for me outside!" he said, gritting his teeth.
I smirked and gave him one last look before I marched away. I then turned to my left, taking the closest exit. I still heard the crowd as they burst into a commotion, but I took no interest in them. My brother needed me at the moment. What's more important was that I had finally avenged the death of my father and the trauma of my brother. The slap may be just a simple matter, but the scene was enough to destroy him!
Just a few steps before the exit door, those men in badges arranged themselves into a human barricade.
"Miss, you need to follow us. Explain yourself at the police station," one of the guards told me.
"Go away if you don't want me to announce your boss' crime," I said, glaring at them, one at a time.
"Release her," a voice spoke behind me. I turned to look at the one who was giving the order, only to meet the CEO's scorching gaze.
I slammed the door close and went straight to Andy's room. I froze in horror when I saw Andy struggling against three ladies in a white uniform. His voice was already hoarse from screaming.
"What's happening here?" I snarled when I saw them strapping him; his right arms tucked at the side of his body.
"We're sorry, ma'am, but we have to extract blood for his laboratory tests," one of the nurses looked up, not stopping a second from what they were doing.
"You were drawing blood samples early this morning, and you are torturing him again?" I exclaimed stupidly, hurt by Andy's shrill but pitiful cry. He was looking at me with begging eyes, calling my name.
"Ma'am, we have to do this. We have to do further workup."
What the nurse said sounded like an alarm to my ear. "Andy has a serious problem?"
Without waiting for her answer, my whole body began to shiver. Tears started to stream down my face.
"Baby, it's alright. They need to do it so that you can have the right medication." I went to the other side of the bed and held Andy's hand before bending down to kiss his forehead.
"Are you the parent of Andy?" a voice floated from the doorway. I didn't bother to look up; I was too worried about my precious one.
"I'm his sister-and-parent at the same time," I answered with a weak smile, brushing my tears away.
"By the way, I am Dr. Simon. If you don't mind, Miss del Fierro, where are your parents? I need history to address the child's problem better."
"They're both gone. Mom, when she gave birth to Andy and dad--" I couldn't finish as well of emotion suddenly surged out from within.
I heard the doctor sighed, but she waited until I calmed down.
"Dad suffered a heart attack because somebody triggered it. I didn't know what happened inside the office, but after the suspect came out, daddy was found lifeless."
With this, I buried my face in my hands and sobbed louder. Gone was the tough woman a few minutes ago.
Someone came over and sat beside me, rubbing my back. I did not look up; I was too ashamed of my messy appearance.
"Doc, how's Andy?" I asked, wiping my tears away. No matter how I brushed them off, it wouldn't just stop. The kindhearted nurse who sat beside me handed me a handkerchief, and I gladly accepted it.
"Thank you," I mumbled, blowing my nose right away into the scented handkerchief. I still couldn't look at them.
"Before we'll go to Andy's condition, describe it to me first how and when does his fever start."
"We celebrated Andy's birthday three days ago. We went out swimming in Hacienda del Fierro. He was happy and fine until somebody shouted at us while we were dipping into the pool. He got so scared that he was already shivering with fever in the evening."
"Then why didn't you bring him right away for a check-up?" she asked, and I felt guilty. I couldn't look at her this time.
"I thought it was just a simple fever, but since Andy does not show any signs of improvement, I rushed him here."
"Miss del Fierro, I'm sorry, but I guess you are so late in bringing him here."
My eyes flew wide, my mouth hanging open. "What do you mean, please?"
"Miss del Fierro, Andy's platelet is already very low. His blood pressure has started to drop. That's why you see all these IV drips."
It was only at that moment that I saw machines at the bedside. The bubbling bottle of a humidifier attached to the oxygen tank told me Andy had been using it.
"Dear God," I exclaimed, biting my lips. Tears trickled down my face again.
"Miss del Fierro, you need to find a blood donor immediately. We need platelet transfusion by apheresis."
I started to sob again. "Doc, how can I do that? Andy's blood type is AB+."
The one who sat beside me and the one who gave me the handkerchief spoke. "I will donate."
The voice was a male, and to my horror, as I looked up, it was Mr. CEO!
.