Chapter 2 - The Rising Fever
The absolute heartbreak in the little girl's voice shattered Marianne’s professional composure.
Marianne gently reached out and placed the back of her hand against Lucy’s forehead. The nurse gasped softly. The child's skin was radiating heat like a furnace. She was burning up with a dangerously high fever, far beyond a normal childhood flu.
"Nobody is going to die today," Marianne promised, her voice laced with fierce, motherly determination. "What’s your name, sweetheart?"
Lucy hugged her stuffed rabbit even tighter, fresh tears spilling down her flushed cheeks, soaking into the collar of her yellow sweater.
"Lucy," she whimpered, her breathing shallow and ragged. "My dad is out at sea."
Marianne’s head snapped up. She glared fiercely across the waiting room at the dismissive, overworked hospital staff chatting behind the reception desk. They had completely ignored a critically ill, unaccompanied minor.
"Hey!" Marianne shouted, her commanding voice slicing right through the noisy waiting room. "She's burning up! Get me a wheelchair right now!"
A receptionist jumped, startled by the veteran nurse's sudden, explosive authority, and quickly scrambled to fetch a chair.
As Marianne leaned back down to pick her up, Lucy weakly reached out her tiny hand and tugged on the sleeve of Marianne’s teal scrubs. The little girl's face was filled with pure, innocent panic.
"Please don't be mad at them," Lucy pleaded, her voice barely a whisper. "I'm not supposed to be a bother."
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Marianne’s heart physically ached. She gently lifted the little girl into the wheelchair. "You aren't a bother, Lucy. Do you have a phone so I can call your mother?"
👉 What horrifying secret is waiting for the nurse on the little girl's cell phone?
