Chapter 82

Lydia jumped up from her chair the moment she heard the news. She headed for the door, her voice steady but urgent. “Mom, don’t worry. Just tell me exactly what happened to Grandpa.”
He’d been totally fine this morning. How did he end up in the emergency room so suddenly?
Hearing Lydia’s voice seemed to settle Kylie a little. She tried to explain everything as clearly as she could.
“Right before lunch, Lucinda made soup for your grandfather, your dad, and me. She said it would be good for us. But about twenty minutes after Grandpa had it, he suddenly coughed up a lot of blood and passed out. We rushed him to the hospital right away, but the doctors say his condition is really bad. They already gave us a critical notice.”
Lydia frowned, her worry growing. “Why didn’t you call me as soon as he passed out?”
Kylie sounded frantic. “We were all so scared. I was going to call you, but Lucinda immediately called 911. Lydia, what should we do now?”
Honestly, Kylie’s first thought had been to call Lydia. But Lucinda had grabbed her phone and called for an ambulance right away, saying Grandpa’s condition was too serious for Lydia to help. They just followed the ambulance to the hospital.
Now, even the best hospital in the city couldn’t do much. In the end, Kylie couldn’t help herself and called Lydia anyway.
She knew what Lydia was capable of. She’d seen her daughter save Grandpa before, bringing him back from the edge when no one else could.
“Send me the address,” Lydia said. “I’m coming right now. And listen, until I get there, do not let them operate on Grandpa.”
Lydia already had a pretty good idea of what was happening.
Kylie was shocked. “But… but he’s already in the operating room. They… I mean
Kylie didn’t know much about medicine. Grandpa had been in there for a while. Wasn’t it already too late? ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ.net
“They have to prep before surgery,” Lydia said. “Go stop them right now. You still have time. I’m almost there.”
As soon as she hung up, Kylie rushed to find Cameron and told him what Lydia said. After Cameron heard their daughter’s instructions, he called a nurse and told her to go stop the operation.
Lucinda, who’d been sitting pale and scared in the corner, overheard them and hurried over. “Dad, Mom, Grandpa’s in critical condition. Why are you stopping the surgery?”
She was still in shock.
She really didn’t get it. Why did Grandpa cough up blood and collapse after drinking her soup? She’d bought the best ingredients, all of them super expensive and good for your health. Her parents had drunk the soup too and they were fine. Why was it just Grandpa?
He couldn’t die. If he was gone, no one would have her back anymore.
Cameron knew Lucinda felt terrible and was terrified something would happen to Grandpa. “Lydia said no surgery until she arrives,” he told her. “Lucinda, don’t worry. Your sister must have a plan.”
Lucinda couldn’t understand why her parents trusted Lydia so much.
“Dad, Mom, I know she’s good at acupuncture, but Grandpa’s really sick. There are famous doctors and professors in that operating room. They can save him. Every second counts. How can you just make them wait?”