Part 4: The Arrival of Help
The quiet of apartment 4B was suddenly broken by a sharp knock on the front door, followed almost immediately by the sound of the door being pushed open.
"Nathan? Sir, are you in here?" Marcus's voice called out from the living room, laced with professional urgency.
"In the back bedroom, Marcus," Nathan called back, standing up from the wooden chair. He stepped out into the hallway just as Marcus walked in, trailed by two individuals carrying heavy medical cases and wearing crisp white lab coats. Behind them, a delivery person from Le Petit Chateaux struggled through the doorway carrying two large, insulated thermal bags that immediately filled the stale air with the rich, savory aroma of roasted herbs, garlic, and warm broth.
Marcus stopped in his tracks, taking in the sight of sleeping Lily wrapped in Nathan's luxury coat on the sofa, the old sewing machine, and the general state of the run-down apartment. For a man who was usually composed in any corporate crisis, Marcus looked thoroughly stunned. "Good lord, Nathan. When you said emergency, I didn't realize..."
"Save the commentary, Marcus," Nathan cut him off smoothly, gesturing toward the two medical professionals. "Dr. Vance, Dr. Hayes, my tenant is in the back bedroom. Severe respiratory distress, prolonged illness, malnutrition. I want a full diagnostic panel run immediately. If she needs hospitalization, get an ambulance coordinated right now, and make sure she's placed in a private room at St. Jude Memorial. Spare no expense."
The older of the two doctors, a gray-haired man with kind eyes named Dr. Vance, nodded firmly. "Understood, Mr. Cole. We'll take it from here." The medical team briskly walked past Nathan into the narrow bedroom, their professional gear humming to life as they began attending to Sarah.
Nathan turned back to Marcus, who was carefully setting the thermal food bags down on the kitchen counter. "What about the child?" Marcus asked quietly, glancing over at Lily, who had shifted slightly in her sleep but remained deeply exhausted.
"She stays with me for the night, or we arrange a safe, clean temporary suite nearby," Nathan said, though looking at Lily's peaceful, trusting posture as she clutched his coat, he knew instinctively that handing her off to a sterile hotel room alone with a stranger was out of the question. "Actually, Marcus, I want you to call my executive assistant, Mrs. Higgins. Have her open up my guest suite at the penthouse, stock the refrigerator with healthy food, and get a children's bedroom set up by tomorrow morning."
Marcus blinked, his eyebrows shooting up toward his hairline. "Your penthouse, Nathan? You haven't had guests stay over in five years, let alone a child..."
"Do I look like I'm negotiating, Marcus?" Nathan asked, his eyes narrowing slightly with a quiet intensity that made his assistant immediately fall back in line.
"No, sir. I'll call Mrs. Higgins right now," Marcus said, pulling out his phone and stepping toward the hallway.
As Marcus coordinated the logistics on his phone, Dr. Vance stepped out of the back bedroom, looking grim but resolute. He wiped his hands with a sanitery wipe and walked over to Nathan. "Mr. Cole, your intervention came literally in the nick of time. If she had gone another forty-eight hours without medical intervention, her lungs would have suffered irreversible damage from acute pneumonia and severe exhaustion. Her immune system is completely depleted. We are prepping her for immediate transport to St. Jude Memorial. I'm riding in the ambulance with her."
Nathan nodded, a profound sense of relief washing over him. "Can Lily go with her?"
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"It's better if the child doesn't see the ambulance transport while she's half-asleep," Dr. Vance advised. "Let her rest for another hour. One of our pediatric nurses can stay behind with her until you're ready to bring her to the hospital."
"No," Nathan said instantly, his protective instincts flaring up in a way he hadn't felt in decades. "I'll stay right here with her. You go with Sarah. Make sure she gets the best care possible."
