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She sagged against the car. Her heart beat rapidly, and tears pricked the corners of her eyes. She wanted to get in the car and drive home. Bury her head under her covers and never come out.
With a heavy heart, she made her way to the elevator and hit the button that would take her up to her father. Sonny was a big, mean man who terrified her. And now he was expecting information on some fabricated deal that was meant to go down. She couldn’t see a way out of this predicament.
The elevator pinged, and the door opened. She felt as if she were in a nightmare as she took the corridor to her father’s room.
Her feelings toward Thomas were getting stronger the more time she spent in his company. How could she protect both Thomas and her father? It was an impossible situation. Whichever way she turned, Sonny was going to hurt one of them.
She walked into her dad’s room. She’d expected him to be up and coherent today as he had started showing signs of life on her last visit. But when she entered, she was disappointed. He was still in the bed, propped up but sleeping. She guessed that was good, but she yearned to hear his reassuring voice, and she was desperate for a hug.
Chapter7
Lorena
Lorena sat in the office feeling bleak as she mulled over her problems.
She had no idea what she was going to tell Sonny. What results could she possibly give him that would satisfy him? She’d told him a pride of lies. At some point, he would inevitably find this out.
Thomas was out of the office this afternoon. She thought it would be the ideal opportunity for her to have a good snoop. But Daryl had come in and was sitting at his desk working on some project.
She didn’t know if Thomas had deliberately asked him to come in and keep an eye on her. The thought made her sad. She wished she could have met Thomas under different circumstances.
She’d tried pumping Daryl for information during the morning … she’d made out she was romantically interested in Thomas, and she didn’t have to act much. But he’d been evasive, compounding her fear that Thomas had left him here on guard duty.
There was something else bothering her. The cops were no closer to finding who had run her dad over. They said he was probably drunk or uninsured. Those were the normal reasons for people not to stop at an accident. She swore if she ever found who did it, she would kill them. They were the real cause of all this.
But at least her dad was improving. The doctors believed he should make a full recovery. It made the sneaking and the deception worth it. Life would be unbearable if she lost her dad.
She opened up her computer. She’d have to make an effort to get some work done. She couldn’t give Thomas a reason to fire her.
Then where will I be?Lorena thought to herself.
Just then, her phone rang. She almost ignored it, but a quick glance showed her it was the hospital. That was odd. She’d seen the doctor before she left last night, and he’d said everything was looking good.
She answered the call. “Hello, Lorena speaking.”
“Hello, Lorena. I’m afraid there’s been an unfortunate development,” said Dr. Marilesse.
Her blood ran cold at the words. “What do you mean? What happened?” she asked, panic rising in her chest.
Daryl looked at her questioningly, but she ignored him.
“There’s been a complication, and your father may require another surgery,” the doctor informed her. “Can you come to the hospital right away so we can discuss the matter?”
“I’m on my way,” she said, shutting her phone off and grabbing her bag.
“Do you need some help?” Daryl asked as she headed for the door.
“No. I’m sorry, I have to go. It’s an emergency,” she said.
The entire drive across town was agonizing, but at least it wasn’t rush hour. She cursed herself for not getting more details from the doctor. Her mind was full of unanswerable questions. What sort of surgery did he need? Could she persuade Sonny to cough up some more money? She hadn’t earned the last lot of money he’d provided yet.
She dumped the car in the parking garage and waited impatiently for the elevator to arrive. Every moment was agony. She kept pressing the button to try to make it arrive sooner. Eventually, it came, and she threw herself through the doors before they had even fully opened.
She thought everything was taking too longas she watched the numbers go slowly up through the floors to number four. The doors opened, and she was out, running down the corridor. She skidded to a halt at the reception desk.
“My father, what’s going on?” she demanded.
“Miss D’Augustino?” the receptionist asked.
