Chapter 3

I was a ghost.

Invisible. Weightless.

I followed Isabella and Julian out of my room.

They were heading for the elevators.

Then I saw her. Eleanor.

Isabella' s mother. My mother-in-law.

She looked frantic, her face pale.

"Isabella! Julian! Where is Ethan? What happened?"

Isabella rolled her eyes. "Mother, please. Ethan is fine. He' s just being dramatic, as usual."

"Dramatic? The hospital called me! They said it was serious!" Eleanor' s voice trembled.

She clutched her purse, her knuckles white.

"He had a little allergic reaction," Julian said, stepping in front of Isabella. "He' s resting now. Nothing to worry about."

Eleanor looked past him, at her daughter.

"Izzy, tell me the truth. Is he okay?"

Tears welled in her eyes. Eleanor always liked me. She saw something good in me, something her daughter apparently never did, or had forgotten.

"He' s an attention seeker, Mother," Isabella said, her voice cold. "He tried to ruin Julian' s very important business dinner."

"But his allergy... it' s life-threatening!" Eleanor cried. "You know that!"

"He should have been more careful then," Isabella said, shrugging. "Now, if you' ll excuse us, Julian has a slight headache. We need to get him some aspirin."

She tried to push past.

Eleanor blocked her way. "I want to see him."

"No," Isabella said.

"Why not?" Eleanor pleaded. "What are you hiding?"

Julian put a hand on Eleanor' s arm. "Dr. Hayes, please. You' re making a scene."

His smile was gone. His eyes were hard.

"Let me see my son-in-law," Eleanor insisted, her voice rising.

"He' s not your son-in-law anymore, Mother," Isabella said, her words like daggers. "I don' t even remember marrying him. As far as I' m concerned, he' s a stranger trying to take advantage of my condition."

Eleanor gasped, her hand flying to her mouth.

"How can you be so cruel?"

Isabella just stared at her.

I, a silent spirit, felt a rage I couldn' t express. I wanted to scream, to shake Isabella.

But I was nothing. Air.

Eleanor turned to Julian, desperation in her eyes.

"Julian, please. You' ve known Izzy since she was a child. You know Ethan is a good man. Help him. Please."

Julian' s expression softened, became sympathetic. It was an act. I knew it.

"Of course, Dr. Hayes," he said, his voice dripping with false concern. "I want to help Ethan. But the doctors... they said he needs a special treatment. Very expensive. The hospital here, even with your family' s influence, is hesitant."

Eleanor clutched her purse tighter. "How much?"

"They mentioned... about a hundred thousand dollars. For the medication and the specialist," Julian said, looking grave.

Eleanor didn' t hesitate. She opened her purse, pulled out a checkbook.

Her hands were shaking as she wrote.

"This is everything I have," she said, her voice thick with tears. "My savings. Take it. Just make sure he gets the best care."

She handed the check to Julian.

He took it, folded it, and put it in his pocket.

"I' ll see to it immediately, Dr. Hayes," he said, patting her shoulder. "You just wait here. I' ll talk to the administrators."

He gave Isabella a look. They both knew.

He turned and walked away, towards the administrative offices, but I knew he wasn' t going there.

Eleanor watched him go, a flicker of hope on her face.

Then Julian paused at the end of the hall, looked back, and winked at Isabella.

He mouthed the words, "Easy money."

Then he was gone.

Eleanor didn' t see. She just stood there, praying.

Isabella walked over to her.

"You shouldn' t have done that, Mother," she said, almost bored. "Julian will just waste it."

Then she walked away, leaving Eleanor alone in the hallway, her hope already turning to ash.