Page 22 of For his Surrender

Antonella’s despair, coupled with a total lack of information and anger at the hospital’s sloppiness, are starting to make me angry.The woman is in agony and no one but me seems to care about it, damn it!

I leave her there and walk towards a doctor, judging by the coat and stethoscope, until I stop before him, interrupting his walk.The thin, bald man, wearing square and small glasses, raises his eyes from the drawing board that has in his hands only enough time to recognize my presence, then looks back at the papers.A sound of derision leaves my throat, I can hardly believe the disregard.

“Good morning! I need information about a patient...” I say without any kindness.

“That’s at the information desk, sir...” He answers me without raising his eyes.

“If you raised your fucking eyes, you’d see it’s empty.” That gets his attention, and his mouth is open to reply when he really notices me. His eyes scan me for a moment, measuring me.

“Sir, I’m sorry, but I don’t know how to inform you about patients other than mine.Those responsible for this are the nurses who stay there” he points to the very same counter to which he has referred before “but as we are understaffed, they end up having to perform other functions.”

“Okay, and where do I find one of these nurses?”

“I can’t tell, sir. They can be anywhere on this floor.”

I nod, agreeing.

“All right, thank you.” I step out of his way, heading back to where Antonella is, and I can almost feel the doctor’s eyes on the back of my head.Instead of returning to her side, I turn around the counter, identify the entrance door, find its opening and step through it.

“Hey, you can’t do that!” says the doctor, in a slightly louder tone of voice, which, considering the fact that we are in a hospital, can be called a scream.And I ignore him, which causes him to come towards me.

Antonella watches me with surprised eyes and a slightly ajar mouth, concern is still evident in her posture, but there is a slight change when she realizes what I am doing.Unexpectedly, as well as everything I’ve done since I realized her desperation when she answered the phone while still in my penthouse, I like the feeling I get from the knowledge that it was I who gave her some relief, even if it’s a tiny one, if the expression on her face is a clue.

I look around me, finding a computer, and it’s towards it that I walk.On the lit screen, I try to identify anything familiar, after all, systems are almost always the same, no matter what they are.In a moment, I locate a magnifying glass.I bend my body over the low table and with the mouse, click on the search field.

I’m about to type the first letter when I feel the presence of a body behind me.

“Sir, you can’t come in here!” the damn doctor complains, whispering.

In return for his courtesy, I don’t bother to look at him this time.

“Really? And who’s going to stop me?” I ask, typing Isabella Rodrigues in the field and, quickly, a list with three Isabellas appears on the screen.I read the information and find what I need.Pediatric ward 3.

I frown. Why the fuck would an old lady be in the pediatric ward?The way this is poorly organized, it is likely to be a registration error, or they have allocated her there due to lack of space in geriatrics.

Goddamn it, Antonella!What a life you have, don’t you?

Breathing out all the air from my lungs, I get up and turn to the doctor, who has not stopped complaining behind me for a second since he reached me.

“Where’s pediatric ward three?”

“Didn’t you hear me?You can’t do that!” he shouts, growing, now that he has the attention of my gaze.

I inhale and exhale deeply, resting one hand on my waist and bringing the other to my forehead, scratching there slightly before saying my next words.

“Apparently, you’re not listening to me!I have been in this hospital for less than thirty minutes and have observed at least six violations of the recommendations of the National Health Authority, two of the Care Quality Commission and about fifteen when it comes to medical expertise and negligence.And do you know how I know that? “My speech is slow, almost calm.Almost, because anyone who has seen my actions in the last few minutes could easily deduce that if there is one thing I am not, it is calm. “Because I’m a fucking lawyer specialized in medical law!” I lie in the statements, but not in the indignation that clings to every one of my words.The man takes a step back, widening his eyes and squeezing his fingers around the drawing board he still holds. “So, are you going to tell me where the fuck the infirmary or am I going to need to show you that walking into your abandoned reception, using a computer and finding the information that shouldn’t have taken more than ten minutes to give is just the beginning of what I can do?”

I see his throat swallow and his nostrils widen with the furious exhalation he gives.Honestly, I wish he would deny me the information, but a brief glance at Antonella tells me she could trade anything for this miserable piece of information.There’s someone she cares about a lot in the goddamn infirmary, and if she wants it, she’ll have it!

“Faster!” I demand, and the doctor looks away from me.

“Corridor on the left, third door on the right,” he replies, still not looking at me.

“Smart decision” I warn before leaving him behind.Antonella is already on her way through the directions given by the doctor, and I follow behind her.

We walk through doors and corridors, her steps are getting faster and faster, and I’m sure she’s holding herself back not to run.Finally we arrived at our destination, Antonella pushes the fire door and enters, letting it slam, she did not even give an apology look back, totally focused on finding such Isabella.However, as soon as I walk through the door, I find her being confronted by a tall, black-skinned woman with hair stuck in a bun.She wears a blue uniform, and I approach her to hear what’s being said.

“You can’t come in here without identification!”

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