was stopped by a burly male nurse.
“Are you Janie Cole?” he asked.
“Yes.” The second I said ‘yes’ I was aware I’d made a grave mistake. Duh.
“Sorry, no visitors for Mr. Glass, right now.”
“No visitors, or is it that just me you don’t want visiting?”
“I’m sorry, the patient is in no condition to see anyone, he’s—”
“Has he awoken from his coma?”
“I’m not at liberty to divulge—”
“Please!” I yelled. “Can’t you just give me that? Tell me he’s okay?” My eyes were brimming with tears, heat rushing to my face in a flaring rage.
“Yes,” the nurse conceded, his expression a little kinder now, although he stepped his large frame into my personal space, so I was forced to retreat. “He is stable, but Miss, I’m sorry, you cannot enter.” He crossed his hairy arms with deliberation. A human barricade.
“He’ll want to see me. Ask him. Ask him if he wants to see me! Daniel?” I shouted out. “Daniel, can you hear me in there?”
The nurse laid his hands on my shoulders and pushed me away from the door. “He’s awake but not aware. I’m afraid Mr. Glass is not in a fit state to make decisions right now. Please leave, Miss, before I call security.”
I stomped off, my ears hot with fury. I needed to get something to eat, my stomach rumbling with hunger, my head dizzy. I’d been neglectful with my supplements—obviously hadn’t had them at hand while I was locked up, and had stupidly forgotten to take them last night with my meal. I called Elodie, wondering if Kristin had stabbed Daniel with yet another syringe to make him go gaga, or if he really was “unaware,” and just needed time to come to.
“What’s Sophie’s number?” I asked Elodie, without even saying hello. “I need to get the okay from the neurologist she procured so I can be allowed to visit Daniel.”
I could hear a long sigh coming down the line. “I’m so sorry, Janie, I was about to call you. Dr. Nadil’s been called away on an emergency. Some senator’s son has been in a car crash and the family has summoned him. He’s a close friend, apparently. He said he felt completely assured that Daniel was okay, and that Dr. Jürgen had behaved in a very professional manner. He refuses to stick around, even though he was offered silly money by my mother to stay.”
“So this whole thing has been a waste of energy, money, and time?”
“No, not at all. Daniel’s alive, isn’t he? He’s stable. Things could be so much worse. And all this will be noted in his medical file now, having been overseen by a third party: Dr. Nadil. We just need to find a safe way to get Daniel out of there as soon as possible.”
I leaned against the wall to steady myself. Every time we seemed to be making progress another jagged obstacle was thrown in our path. I wondered how much more I could take of this. “Where’s your mom?” I spat out, secretly blaming Sophie for all this, although logically I knew it wasn’t her fault; she’d tried her best, she really had.
“She left for Paris. I’m sorry, Janie, but this whole Natasha Jürgen thing has opened up a can of worms between her and her wife. Maman says she’s done all she can for Daniel. Not that she doesn’t care about him, but her focus was, and still is, on Alessandra and the animals. I feel badly for you, but the ‘rescue mission avenue’ has been exhausted, we can’t rely on my mom for anything more. We need to work out something ourselves. I have money, but I’m not sure what good that will do at this point. The medical world is very cliquey, very protected.”
“You need to get in to see him, Elodie. They won’t let me, I was barred from entering his room.”
“Um, not so simple.”
“What do you mean?”
“My mom had a big argument with Dr. Nadil, right in front of Kristin. Kristin got wind of the whole thing, and although she’s all smiles with Dr. Nadil—she has to be because he’s so respected—she doesn’t want me, or anyone connected with us, hanging around. She worked out pretty fast that me and my nurse’s uniform were bogus.”
“But she doesn’t get to tell everyone what to do! She isn’t Daniel’s wife like she was pretending.”
“I’m afraid she does.”
Fear rushed to my veins again—had they discovered she’d married Daniel, after all? “Does what?”
“Does get to boss everyone around,” Elodie said.