Chapter 5 - The Glass Doors
At 2:00 AM, Cole paced frantically through the snow-slicked parking lot of St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. He had tracked Lauren’s car location through their shared insurance app, his dark coat damp with melted snow and his eyes bloodshot with panic.
He slammed through the glass sliding doors of the emergency room, his eyes scanning the waiting area until he spotted Lauren standing near the discharge desk, holding a printed prescription packet.
"Lauren!" Cole screamed, rushing across the tiled floor toward her. "Lauren, thank God! Are the babies okay?! Why didn't you answer my calls?!"
Lauren turned around slowly. There were dark circles under her eyes, but her expression was devoid of fear, sorrow, or weakness. It was completely stone-cold.
"Do not step another foot closer to me, Cole," she warned quietly.
"Lauren, please! You have to listen to me!" Cole pleaded, dropping to his knees in front of the desk, reaching desperately for her coat hem. "The necklace... it was a business gift! Sierra is an executive assistant at our firm's biggest client account! It wasn't what it looked like! I was going to bring the fever medicine right after!"
"You left your daughter with a 103-degree fever to give a woman a pearl necklace in a hotel room," Lauren said, her voice echoing clearly across the silent waiting room. "You chose her over your children's breath."
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Before Cole could speak, two heavy-set hospital security guards stepped between them, pinning Cole’s arms behind his back as he began to shout hysterically.
👉 Read PART 6 to see what happened when Cole went to his office the next morning!
