Chapter 4 - The Name on the Medical File
Elena woke nearly an hour later when the aircraft passed through a light pocket of turbulence.
Her eyes opened slowly.
For several seconds, she didn't understand where she was.
Then she felt the weight of Lucia in her arms.
Panic rushed through her.
She straightened immediately.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, realizing her head had been resting against the stranger's shoulder. "I didn't mean to fall asleep."
The man flexed his stiff arm but didn't complain.
"You needed it."
Elena looked down at Lucia.
The baby was awake now, quietly holding one of the man's fingers.
A small stuffed rabbit rested beneath her blanket.
Elena stared at it.
"Where did this come from?"
"Someone nearby gave it to her."
She looked around the cabin.
Several passengers quickly turned away, pretending they hadn't been watching.
The same people who had sighed earlier now seemed embarrassed.
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
"Thank you."
The stranger nodded.
Then his attention shifted toward a transparent medical folder sticking out of Elena's bag.
A hospital logo was visible in the corner.
He recognized it immediately.
"You're going to Saint Gabriel Children's Center?"
Elena hesitated.
"Yes."
"For treatment?"
She tightened her grip around Lucia.
"Heart surgery."
The man's expression sharpened.
"What kind?"
Elena looked surprised by the question.
"Pulmonary artery reconstruction. She was born with a defect, but the doctors thought medication would control it longer."
The man glanced at Lucia's pale lips.
"Who is the surgeon?"
"Dr. Julian Harrow."
The stranger became completely still.
Elena noticed.
"Do you know him?"
Before he could answer, Lucia coughed weakly.
Elena immediately reached for the portable monitor.
The numbers had dropped.
Not dangerously.
But enough to frighten her.
The stranger watched her hands tremble.
"When is the surgery scheduled?"
"Tomorrow afternoon."
"Have they confirmed admission?"
Elena's silence answered before her words did.
"They said the specialist agreed to examine her. The operation depends on whether I can complete the payment."
The stranger frowned.
"You flew this far without a confirmed surgery?"
"I didn't have another choice."
Her voice cracked.
"The hospital gave me forty-eight hours to arrive. If I waited until I had all the money, Lucia might not survive."
The stranger looked away toward the dark window.
Something in Elena's answer seemed to strike him deeply.
After a moment, he asked,
"How much are you missing?"
Elena shook her head.
"I can't accept money from a stranger."
"I didn't offer money."
His calm response confused her.
Before she could ask what he meant, he removed his phone from airplane mode long enough to open a saved document stored offline.
On the screen appeared the same hospital logo.
Below it was a name.
Dr. Julian Harrow.
And beneath the doctor's name was a photograph of the stranger standing beside him.
Elena stared at the image.
"Who are you?"
The man locked the screen.
"My name is Adrian Cole."
The name meant nothing to her.
But across the aisle, the businessman suddenly went pale.
May you like
He knew exactly who Adrian Cole was.
And why one phone call from him could change everything.
