Something hot and corrosive ripped through my chest. I wanted to scream at him, but no sound came out.
The door swung open. A team of doctors filed in.
Every single one of them went straight to Thomas, crowding around the child in his arms.
I lost it.
"That bastard is fine! My daughter is the one who had her bone marrow ripped out of her!"
The doctors froze mid-step. Only Thomas glanced my way.
He set the boy down on the bed with exaggerated care, then looked at me with open irritation.
"After all these years, you still have no class."
"Douglas just came out of surgery. He's fragile right now. What's the rush?"
I stood there, stunned.
By what he said. By what he did.
From the day Lily was born, he had never once shown this kind of devotion.
I could count the number of times he'd held her on one hand.
I'd always assumed he just didn't like children.
Or that, like he used to say when we were young, he loved me more than he could ever love a kid.
Turns out he'd built an entire family on the side.
Turns out he was perfectly capable of tenderness. Just not for us.
I almost laughed.
"Thomas Gilbert, you kidnapped our daughter and had her bone marrow harvested for your bastard son!"
"You want to lecture me about class? Where's your conscience? Did you feed it to the dogs?"
Behind me, Lily whimpered again, the sound thin and raw.
I whipped around and screamed at the doctors.
Not a single one moved.
They stood there until Thomas gave a slight nod. Only then did they drift over, running through a perfunctory check on Lily.
"Your daughter is fine. She just needs rest."
The doctor's tone was offhand, dismissive.
Even someone like me, with half a medical degree under her belt, could see that was a lie. It was nowhere near that simple.
My fists clenched on their own, nails digging crescents into my palms.
"She's one year old. She just had bone marrow extracted from her body. And you think a visual exam is enough?"
"Get me different doctors. Now."
The doctors in front of me didn't so much as blink.
I bolted into the hallway and found the entire floor deserted.
After a long silence, the lead physician finally spoke.
"Ma'am, please calm down."
"Mr. Gilbert reserved every room on this floor. Without his authorization, no one gets in."
"Now if you could step aside, we need to continue the young master's treatment."
I stared the doctor down and didn't move.