Chapter 4

Hours later, the hospital doors swished open.

Eleanor swept in, Chloe trailing behind her like a pampered shadow.

Chloe was carrying several new designer shopping bags, a smirk playing on her lips until she saw our faces.

Eleanor looked around, her expression impatient. "Well? Where is he? What's this all about?"

Then she saw Dad' s face, Grandma' s tear-swollen eyes.

"Sam... he didn' t make it, Eleanor," Dad said, his voice flat, devoid of emotion.

Eleanor' s face crumpled. For a moment, I saw a flicker of genuine pain.

Then it vanished, replaced by her familiar mask of accusation.

Her eyes found me.

"You!" she shrieked, lunging at me. "This is your fault! You didn't watch him! You let this happen!"

She raised her hand to strike me, but Dad stepped between us.

"No, Eleanor," he said, his voice like steel. "This is not Lily' s fault. This is yours."

Eleanor recoiled as if struck. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying you were in Napa, enjoying wine and shopping while your son was dying," Dad said, his voice rising. "I begged you to come back. You refused. You chose Chloe over Sam."

Chloe stepped forward, her face a picture of false concern. "Uncle Mark, Mom was just..."

"Stay out of this, Chloe," Dad snapped, his gaze never leaving Eleanor.

"She was worried sick!" Chloe insisted, tears welling in her eyes. "She just didn't want to believe it was that bad because Lily always exaggerates..."

"Enough!" Grandpa' s voice boomed, cutting Chloe off. "We all heard the calls, Eleanor. We all saw the pictures. You prioritized a vacation."

Eleanor looked from Dad to Grandpa, her composure cracking.

"He' s my son too!" she cried. "How dare you accuse me!"

"A son you abandoned in his greatest hour of need," Grandma said, her voice trembling with cold fury.

Eleanor clung to Chloe, her eyes wild. "They' re turning against me, Chloe. Lily... Lily has poisoned them against me!"

Dad shook his head, a look of profound disgust on his face. "No, Eleanor. You did this to yourself."

He pulled out his phone. "The hospital staff confirmed the timeline. Sam needed you within a critical window. You were called repeatedly. You dismissed it. You chose to stay in Napa."

He showed her the call logs, the texts, the picture of her and Chloe smiling.

The evidence was irrefutable. Her negligence was laid bare.