A Whole New World (Minnelli Family Series book 2)

Grief

Jean Paul Memorial Hospital
South of France

"Ooh yes bitch! We slayed that surgery!" Kevin high fives Missy after a morning emergency surgery.

"You so gay Kevin..." she chuckled. Alex was joining them a few minutes later.

They were halfway done with lunch in her office when an announcement was made over the PA system.

"Paging Dr. Dev, Dr. Williams, and Robins! To emergency surgery STAT!"

"Duty calls." The best surgery team in France finished their lunch on the run.

"What we got Matilda!"

"5 year old. Pool accident." The team pushed past everything. "Angelo Minnelli." She read off the chart. Missy's face paled. She swallowed nervously before suiting up. She left the area to find the family.

"Missy?" The entire Minnelli family stood over her in anguish.

"I don't have long. The surgery I'm about to perform is a high risk, 85% failure rate. But I'm going to try my best."

"Is there anything else you can do?" Amiri asked.

"Provided he comes out of this alive, you're 3 steps ahead."

"Dev! We gotta move!" Alex yelled down the hall. Dr. Devereaux ran down the hall without a second glance.

Six grueling hours later, Missy and her team emerged mortally wounded. They rushed the boy to ICU. He was responding well to preliminary tests. Missy left to inform the family when the nurse called her back in the frantic. The machines had flatlined in the seconds she had walked out. She shed a few tears and again left to inform the family.

"Mr. and Mrs. Minnelli, we've done all we could but your son is officially brain dead. He flatlined but we brought him back. Due to us bringing him back, he is now brain dead. I'm sorry." She explained. She stepped back and let the family grieve in privacy. Missy had never lost a patient since she was a surgeon. She scurried away from the family to get herself together. And mentally prepare for the next surgery.

A couple weeks later, Missy was doing her rounds for surgery patients. She was still shaken from losing Angelo but she had to bounce back. The family had opted to put him on life support.

"Antonio, I feel like I've met that woman before. Who is she?"

"That's his ex, Missy Devereaux." Sicilia sniffed.

"Damn I could've told her myself!" Antonio growled. Aries shot him a mean look.

"I want to meet her." Diane spoke with finality.

"For what?!" Sicilia yelled.

"Good afternoon everybody. I was just making my rounds." Missy stepped in the room as the family argued about her. She nodded to everybody individually and checked the boy's vitals.

"Uh, Dr. Devereaux, I would like to honor you." Diane stopped her from stepping out of the room.

"For?" She quirks an eyebrow.

"Trying to save my grandson. Even though my son and his wife are ungrateful..."

"Ma!" Amiri stood up angrily.

"Like I said, my son and his wife are ungrateful but I know you didn't have to take that surgery. So please let us honor you." Diane grabbed her hands. There were sparks, motherly sparks exchanged between them.

"I appreciate the kindness but it is against protocol. A simple thank you will suffice. Good day everybody." She answered with a smile.

Back at the Minnelli estate, Amiri, Antonio and their parents sat in the private quarters.

"What exactly happened to you and Dr. Devereaux?" Diane squinted her eyes and she sipped her tea. "Her aloofness is more than just professionalism."

"That is my ex. She was pregnant for me but she lost the baby." Antonio slowly explained. Diane gasped. "And during her recovery I cheated on her and she found out."

"You did WHAT?!" Diane screamed. "Did I not raise you better than that?!"

"Ma! I know I messed up! I know that." Antonio shook his hands in frustration. "She won't even look at me."

"Rightfully so. Antonio Minnelli, I would have never thought you'd stoop that low. Are you even my son?"

"Diane, that's enough. He gets the point."

"Why are you so invested in her in the first place?" Amiri asked. "She did the surgery but he didn't live so..." Angelo's condition was bringing out a side the family hadn't seen a while. A beastly side.

"So you're accepting that he's gone?" Aries asked.

"I did when she said he was brain dead. It's my wife that won't accept it. And that breaks me. Keeping him in that hospital is breaking me."

"I am invested in Mélissaire Devereaux because a good friend of mine is on the BOT and she said that Mélissaire was booked up that morning. She had 4 consecutive surgeries after Angelo's. Without a break. She didn't need to take it, there was a surgeon on duty. She had multiple chances to recuse herself because she knew us. She went against protocol to try to save YOUR son. She really didn't have to. Remember that."

"So what do we do?" The men watched her as she smirked.

"YOU invite her to dinner here and we ALL thank her. But I think Amiri and Mélissaire need to speak privately." Diane crossed her legs to signal end of discussion. Antonio left his parents home even more disgruntled as he did before everything even happened. How was he supposed to convince Missy to meet his mother? He always envisioned doing so on much better terms.

Even worse, Amiri hated that his mother felt that he was ungrateful for Missy's services. That was the furthest from the truth but accepting that his son's impending death was his fault was probably too much to bear. But he was a man, he had to be strong...but for who?

A week later, Antonio sat quietly in front of Missy in her office. He was shocked that she'd agreed to meet with him on such short notice, during her break.

"Make this quick. I have a surgery to get to." She flicked her wrist to check the time.

"My mom wants to meet you officially. For dinner. At my parents' estate."

"I've already expressed that such actions are against protocol." She shook her head vehemently.

"You already broke protocol taking Angelo's surgery in the first place. Might as well come." Antonio was playing hard ball. Missy's face fell and then turned red.

"You know nothing." Missy breathed. Antonio smirked. And for the first time, the rumors were true. How cold and calculated her ex could be. She was on the receiving end of it. And she didn't like it one bit.

"You sure?" he was baiting her. He knew the small woman so well and was delighted that nothing had really changed about her. They stood staring at each other for a moment.

"Okay, I did break protocol to try and help Angelo. I did. And I still regret it. What more do you want me to do?" Melissaire hated herself for giving in, even a little bit. "I could've lost my job, my career behind what i did for him. You do know that right?"

"Yes, but you weren't going to. I gotchu." He stops for a moment. What more could you do? You could just...ya know..." Antonio rubs his beard like he was thinking but he knew what he wanted. "Come home."

Missy's eyes widened in anger. "Get the fuck out my office." She growled.

"You're not perfect Missy." He laughs, still in business mode. Missy grinded her teeth and stomped to her door. "You can't run forever."

"Good DAY Mr. Minnelli." She held the door open for him, holding her breath and chest heaving up and down.

"Same to you..." He caressed her cheek before leaving. She slammed door as soon as he left out. You let him get to you, she thought as she sat down to her reports.