Chapter 7 - A Father's Repentance
Little Chloe leaned forward in her wheelchair, tugging on Emily's sleeve. ""Emmy, who is the crying man?""
Emily placed a gentle, protective hand on her sister's shoulder, her own eyes filling with fresh tears. She looked down at me, kneeling in front of her like a beggar, stripped of all corporate power and pride.
""I don't deserve your forgiveness, Emily,"" I continued, looking up into her weary face. ""I said words to you that I will regret for the rest of my life. I told you that I didn't pay you to think. But the truth is, your quick thinking, your medical knowledge, and your courage were the only things standing between Zion and the grave.""
A security guard approached, tapping his nightstick against his leg. ""Excuse me, sir. Is there a problem here?""
""No,"" Emily said softly, her voice remarkably calm. She looked at the guard. ""There's no problem. Give us just a moment, please.""
The guard hesitated, then stepped back into the terminal.
Emily knelt down on the floor so that she was at eye level with me. Up close, I could see the dark circles under her eyes, the strain of a young woman carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders.
""When I heard him crying in the sunroom, Mr. Whitaker, it wasn't a normal baby cry,"" she said, her voice shaking slightly. ""It was a high-pitched shriek. In the clinic in Oregon, I saw a toddler go into an anaphylactic febrile seizure once. The child's skin looked identical to Zion's. I knew we didn't have time to wait for Margaret. I knew every second his brain stayed at that temperature, brain cells were dying. I put him in the sink because it was the fastest water source I could reach.""
""You did everything right,"" I choked out. ""Everything. And I was too blind to see it.""
""Why did Margaret do it?"" Emily asked, a shudder passing through her. ""She always seemed so cold to him, but... murder?""
""My brother paid her,"" I revealed, the shame burning hot in my throat. ""To clear the path to our family trust. It was an evil hatched inside my own family, and you were the collateral damage.""
I pulled an envelope from my inner jacket pocket. Inside was ten thousand dollars in cash that I had grabbed from my office safe before leaving, along with my personal black credit card. I held it out to her.
""Take this. It's not a payment. It's not a bribe. It's just a tiny piece of the debt I owe you. Take Chloe, get on that bus, go somewhere safe, and I will wire you enough money every year so that neither of you ever has to work a day in your lives.""
Emily looked down at the thick envelope. She didn't reach for it.
Instead, she gently pushed my hand back toward my chest.
""I didn't save Zion for your money, Mr. Whitaker,"" she said quietly. ""I saved him because he's an innocent baby who lost his mother. I lost my mother when Chloe was born. I know what it feels like to grow up with an empty nursery.""
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She stood up, looking toward the departure doors where the bus driver was closing the baggage compartment.
""I don't want to go to Phoenix,"" Emily whispered, looking down at Chloe. ""I want Chloe to get the surgery she needs here in Los Angeles. And I want to know that Zion is going to grow up with someone who actually loves him.""
