Chapter 5 - The Man Who Had Stopped Helping
The businessman leaned across the aisle.
"Excuse me," he said cautiously. "Did you say Adrian Cole?"
The stranger turned toward him.
"Yes."
Recognition spread across the man's face.
"The Cole Foundation?"
Several passengers nearby lifted their heads.
Elena looked between them.
"What foundation?"
The businessman seemed almost stunned that she didn't know.
"The Cole Foundation funds pediatric heart programs across Europe and North America. They built the surgical wing at Saint Gabriel."
Elena slowly turned back toward Adrian.
He didn't look proud.
He looked uncomfortable.
"That was years ago," he said.
The businessman lowered his voice.
"Still... your foundation saved thousands of children."
Adrian's eyes hardened.
"My foundation hasn't operated in three years."
The warmth in the cabin suddenly faded.
Elena sensed the conversation had touched something painful.
She didn't ask why.
Instead, she looked down at Lucia.
"Then you know Dr. Harrow."
"I knew him."
"Knew?"
Adrian stared at the sleeping baby.
"He operated on my daughter."
Elena's breath caught.
The flight attendant standing nearby lowered her eyes.
The two words Adrian had spoken earlier—"I did"—now carried their full meaning.
Elena's voice became gentle.
"Did she recover?"
Adrian didn't answer immediately.
The silence was enough.
"I'm sorry," Elena whispered.
"So was everyone."
His tone wasn't cruel.
Just empty.
"For six months, people brought flowers, food, letters, prayers. Then they returned to their lives."
He looked at Lucia's tiny hand still curled around his finger.
"I couldn't."
Elena said nothing.
Adrian continued.
"My daughter, Sophie, was seven. She had a condition similar to Lucia's. More complicated, but similar."
He swallowed hard.
"After she died, I closed the foundation. I stopped attending board meetings. Stopped visiting hospitals. I convinced myself that helping other children only reminded me of the one I couldn't save."
Lucia stirred.
Adrian gently adjusted the rabbit beside her.
Elena watched the tenderness in his hands.
"Maybe she held your finger for a reason."
Adrian gave a faint, humorless smile.
"Babies hold anything placed in their hands."
"Lucia doesn't."
He looked at her.
"She usually pulls away from strangers."
For the first time, Adrian seemed uncertain.
A soft announcement came from the cockpit, warning passengers of stronger turbulence ahead.
The seatbelt sign illuminated.
The flight attendant moved quickly through the cabin.
Elena reached for Lucia's medical bag.
Her elbow struck the folder.
Documents spilled across the floor.
Adrian bent to help gather them.
Among the papers was a letter stamped with the hospital's financial department seal.
He read only the first line before looking away.
But it was enough.
Admission deposit required before surgical authorization.
Elena quickly took the letter.
"I almost have it."
"Almost doesn't open an operating room."
"I'll find a way."
"How?"
She stared at him, exhausted but determined.
"I don't know yet."
The aircraft shook suddenly.
Lucia began crying again.
This time the sound wasn't loud.
It was thin.
Weak.
Adrian's attention snapped toward the monitor.
The oxygen reading dropped another point.
Then another.
His expression changed immediately.
"This isn't just turbulence."
May you like
Elena followed his gaze.
The alarm began to beep.
