His Lovely Ward

Chapter 20

Henry was in panic. “Don’t touch her,” he warned John Steward when the man tried to get hold of Angelica once again.

He lifted her in his arms and started for the door.

“Henry! We should wait for the ambulance!” Pamela shouted behind him.

He was not listening anymore. He couldn’t. All he wanted to hear that moment was Angelica’s voice telling him she would be okay. But she was unconscious now, lying limp in his arms. As he stepped out the doors, an ambulance siren was approaching and he ran to meet them.

“I think she’s poisoned,” he informed the paramedic.

They took her from his arms and strapped her to the stretcher.

“What did she eat?”

“A salad. I think it’s cyanide,” he informed them. He knew the effect of the chemical. “She was suddenly grasping for breath not a few minutes after taking her first bite.” He raked his fingers through his hair.

The men wheeled the stretcher inside the ambulance. He jumped after them and they were off. “Give her an antidote or something!” he shouted.

“We are,” the man said, searching inside the cabinet for some drugs.

“Will she be okay?” he asked anxiously.

The man looked at him with patience. “Her pulse is weak and she can still breathe on her own. But we still need to rush her to the hospital. We’re going to do some lavage and then we’ll have to monitor her status until tomorrow if…”

“If what?”

The paramedic looked at him straight in the eyes as he said, “If she survives this. If this is cyanide poisoning, it is serious.”

Henry nodded, took Angelica’s hand and squeezed it. “Just do everything that you can.”

  *****

They arrived in the emergency room not five minutes after the pick-up and the doctors and nurses immediately attended to her. Of course they would, they were her colleagues. Henry was not a prayerful man, but at that moment, as he waited anxiously outside, he made a silent one. He bargained what he could think of.

“Is Mr. Bell around?” A doctor came out and Henry jumped to his feet.

“Yes,” he uttered, his eyes full of questions.

The doctor smiled and said, “She’s asking…no, actually, she’s demanding to see you right now.”

Henry wasted no time and followed the doctor with swift strides. When the curtain was pushed aside, he saw Angelica’s pale face, a nasal cannula attached to her nostrils, and he sighed with relief after seeing her eyes flutter open. “Hey,” he croaked. “How are you feeling?”

“I shouldn’t have eaten after all,” she said, her voice dry.

He gave a weak laugh. “So you’re okay now? No complications?”

“She has to go back for a neurological check-up,” the doctor answered behind him.

He saw Angelica roll her eyes. “No, I don’t need to do that,” she said dryly.

“Yes, you do, Angelica. Cyanide poisoning can damage your brain.”

“I have a genius brain, Max, and if it is in anyway damaged, I would still be intelligent,” she bragged icily.

“But—”

“Yes, we will come back for the check-up,” Henry interrupted, squeezing her hand to shut her protest.