Chapter 7 - Elena Awakens
Elena woke in a recovery room hours later.
The first thing she asked about was her son.
Dr. Morgan brought Samuel to her once both were stable. He was wrapped in a pale blue blanket, his tiny face peaceful against Elena’s chest.
She cried as she held him.
Not from fear this time.
From relief.
Nurse Rosa remained beside the bed.
“Would you like me to call Preston?”
Elena’s arms tightened around the baby.
“No.”
Rosa nodded.
Elena looked toward the window.
“Did he ask to see us?”
“He has been outside the restricted wing.”
“But did he ask?”
Rosa paused.
“He has asked many times.”
Elena closed her eyes.
A part of her remembered the man who had once held her through years of disappointment when they struggled to have a child. She remembered the husband who had painted the nursery and whispered promises to their unborn son.
But another memory had replaced those images.
Preston pointing at the medical team.
Preston calling her dramatic.
Preston choosing Khloe’s lies over Elena’s frightened voice.
“I want my sister,” Elena said.
Her older sister, Mara, arrived before sunrise.
When she saw Elena holding Samuel, she covered her mouth and began to cry.
Then Elena told her everything.
Mara did not interrupt.
She did not defend Preston or tell Elena to forgive him for the sake of the baby.
She simply held Elena’s hand.
“You don’t have to decide everything today,” Mara said. “You only have to decide what makes you feel safe today.”
Elena looked at Samuel.
“I don’t feel safe with Preston.”
“Then he won’t come near you.”
With Mara’s help, Elena contacted an attorney. She requested temporary protective conditions, independent access to the home and sole decision-making authority over Samuel’s medical care.
She also authorized the hospital to investigate Preston’s actions.
For years, Elena had believed strength meant enduring pain without causing trouble.
May you like
Now she understood something different.
Strength could also mean closing a door.
