Chapter 5 5

The emergency room at Lenox Hill Hospital smelled of antiseptic and fear. Adam burst through the sliding doors, his tie askew, sweat beading on his forehead. He scanned the waiting area frantically until he saw Eleanor, huddled in a plastic chair, sobbing into a silk handkerchief.

"Where is he?" Adam demanded, rushing over.

"They took him back," Eleanor wailed. "They had to intubate him, Adam! His throat closed up!"

Adam felt the blood drain from his face. "Intubate?" The word was heavy, mechanical, terrifying.

A doctor emerged from the double doors. Dr. Evans. He looked exhausted and angry. He pulled his mask down, his eyes locking onto Adam.

"Mr. Payne?"

"Yes. How is my son?"

"Stable. Barely," Dr. Evans said. His tone wasn't comforting; it was accusatory. "We administered epinephrine and steroids. He's breathing on his own now, but we're keeping him for observation."

Adam let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Thank God."

"Don't thank God," Dr. Evans snapped. He held up a clipboard. "Thank the paramedics who got there in four minutes. I need to know why a child with a severe piperine allergy didn't have an EpiPen on hand. That is parental negligence 101."

Adam flinched. "We... we couldn't find it. His mother usually handles that."

"His mother?" Dr. Evans flipped a page. "Mrs. Payne? Jessye? She's the one who set up the allergy protocol with this hospital three years ago. She updates his prescriptions like clockwork. Where was she?"

"She... wasn't there," Adam mumbled, shame burning his neck.

"Well, you're the father," Dr. Evans said, cutting him no slack. "You live in the same house. You should know where the life-saving medication is. Do you even know the dosage?"

Adam opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He didn't. He realized with a sickening jolt that he didn't know the name of Joshua's pediatrician, his blood type, or his shoe size.

"Can I see him?" Adam asked, his voice small.

"Briefly. He's asking for his mom."

Adam walked in to the dimly lit room. Joshua looked tiny in the hospital bed, wires and tubes snaking around his small body. His face was puffy, his eyes half-closed.

"Hey, buddy," Adam whispered, taking Joshua's hand. It felt cold.

Joshua blinked groggily. "Mommy?"

"It's Dad, Josh. I'm here."

Joshua pulled his hand away slightly. "Thirsty."

Adam spotted a pitcher of water on the bedside table. He poured a glass. "Here."

He held the straw to Joshua's lips. Joshua took a sip and immediately recoiled, coughing weakly. "Too cold! It hurts my throat!"

Adam panicked. "Sorry, sorry." He looked around. He tried to warm the cup with his hands, feeling utterly useless. He remembered suddenly-vividly-watching Jessye mix hot and cold water in a specific blue cup whenever Joshua had a sore throat. Lukewarm. 45 degrees. She had said it once. He had ignored it.

The door opened. High heels clicked on the linoleum.

"Oh, my poor baby!" Karly swept into the room, bringing a gust of strong floral perfume with her. She was clutching a massive bouquet of Stargazer lilies.

"Josh! Auntie Karly is here!" She leaned over the bed, thrusting the flowers toward his face.

Dr. Evans materialized in the doorway like an avenging angel. "Get those out! Now!"

Karly froze. "Excuse me? These are fifty-dollar lilies."

"The patient is in respiratory distress!" Dr. Evans shouted. "Lilies are high-pollen flowers. Are you trying to finish the job?"

Karly looked at the flowers, then at Adam. "I... I didn't know. I was just trying to be nice."

Adam looked at Karly. Really looked at her. He saw the vanity in her perfect makeup, the selfishness in her choice of gift. She didn't bring a toy. She didn't bring comfort. She brought a prop for her own performance of "caring."

"Get out," Adam said. His voice was low.

"Adam?" Karly blinked. "But I just got here."

"I said get out!" Adam roared. The sound startled Joshua, who started to cry.

Karly turned and fled, the lilies shedding pollen on the floor as she ran.

Adam sank into the chair beside the bed. He put his head in his hands. The silence of the room amplified the beeping of the monitor. Beep. Beep. Beep. It sounded like a countdown.

His phone vibrated. It was the General Counsel again.

Text: Stock is down 12%. Board is calling an emergency meeting. We need the Haley key. Now.

Adam stared at the screen. His life was burning down on two fronts. His business was locked, and his son was in a hospital bed because he didn't know how to be a father.

He needed Jessye. Not just for the patent. He needed her to tell him what to do. He needed her to make the water the right temperature.

He pulled up her contact. He dialed.

Straight to voicemail.

"Jessye," he said to the recording, his voice cracking. "Pick up. Please. Josh is hurt. I... I don't know where the red bag is. I don't know anything."

He hung up. Desperation clawed at him. He opened his banking app, thinking he could track her spending. Maybe she checked into a hotel.

He scrolled through the joint account. Nothing.

He checked the credit cards. Zero activity.

She was a ghost.

"Find her," Adam muttered to himself. He dialed the number of the most expensive Private Investigator in New York. "I don't care what it costs. Find my wife."

Meanwhile, in the sterile quiet of W.D. Labs, Jessye was looking through a microscope. The world under the lens was orderly. Predictable. Cells divided. Proteins folded. Cause and effect.

She stepped back, rubbing her eyes. Her phone, sitting on the lab bench, was lit up with notifications. Twelve missed calls from Adam. Four voicemails.

She didn't pick it up. She didn't listen to them. She knew the pattern. He would be angry, then demanding, then manipulative. She had broken the cycle.

Professor White walked in, holding a clipboard. "The Global Science Summit is tomorrow, Jessye. The organizers heard rumors of your return. They want you as the keynote mystery speaker. The slot after the lunch break."

Jessye hesitated. The Summit. It was the Davos of the scientific world. Adam would be there. He was a sponsor.

She looked at her reflection in the dark glass of the fume hood. She saw the tired eyes, but she also saw the steel in her spine.

"Will I be introduced as Mrs. Payne?" she asked.

"No," White smiled. "As Dr. Haley. Head of Project Daedalus."

Jessye nodded. She picked up a pipette, her hand steady. "Then tell them yes. It's time I introduced myself properly."

She didn't know about Joshua yet. She didn't know about the hospital. She only knew that for the first time in years, she was breathing oxygen that hadn't been filtered through Adam's ego. And she wasn't going to hold her breath ever again.