Chapter 4 - An Echo of Blue Eyes
"Mommy!" Mia and Lily cried softly, careful not to disturb the wires attached to her arms.
"My sweet angels..." Clara rasped, her voice paper-thin. She stroked their hair before looking up at Nathan with fear and hope intertwined. "You... you found them?"
"They found me," Nathan corrected gently, pulling a chair beside her bed. He took her cold hand into his own. "Why didn't you ever come to me, Clara? Why did you stay away all these years?"
Clara gave a weak, bitter smile. "Father threatened to destroy any career I tried to build if I ever contacted you. He said I was a disgrace for choosing art and community work over Collins Enterprises. He told me... he told me you hated me for abandoning the family."
Nathan felt a sharp pain in his chest. "He lied. He lied to both of us. He told me you ran away to cut ties with the family and wanted nothing to do with me."
Clara choked back a sob. "I wanted to come back so many times. But when I got sick... I couldn't afford the treatment. I didn't care about myself, Nathan, but Mia and Lily... they have no father. I couldn't leave them with no one."
"They will never be alone again," Nathan vowed, looking into his sister’s blue eyes—the same eyes that stared back at him from the mirror, the same eyes that now looked up at him from the two girls. "And neither will you."
At that moment, the door opened, and a team of top specialists—arranged by Davidson—entered the room.
"Mr. Collins," the chief physician announced, "the medical transport team is ready. We are moving her to Manhattan Presbyterian Private Wing immediately."
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Clara looked terrified. "Nathan, I can't pay for—"
"You are a Collins," Nathan interrupted firmly, squeezing her hand. "And I am your brother. You don't ever have to worry about a bill again."
