The whole floor was plunged into darkness. As soon as the lights went off, a loud siren echoed throughout the hospital, and the light at the surgery room came back on.
Most parts of the floor were still dark, save for the emergency lights that left little to see.
June rushed back to Chris, her heart hammering in her chest. "What’s going on?"
For the first time since she had known Chris, he looked genuinely scared. "I have no idea. But I don’t want you to be scared now. I’ll find out what’s happening."
His phone began ringing again.
It was Nate.
But before he could pick up, June was tugging his shirt again. "Do you think Mother will be fine?"
Her heart was literally leaping out of her chest, and she tried avoiding the door that led to the surgery room in fear that one of the doctors might come out to announce that due to the sudden disruption of the power supply, the surgery was unsuccessful.
Chris shook her. "Mother will be fine. You don’t have to overthink it."
He turned her towards the door. "You see the green light indicating surgery in progress."
June allowed herself to look at it. "Yes!"
"It means they are still working on her. And I am sure she will be fine."
June bobbed her head, telling herself Chris was right. He had to be right. There was nothing that would happen to her mother.
Not when they had just met.
Chris’s phone started ringing again. "I’ve to pick this," he told June, taking a few steps away from her.
June wanted to glue herself beside him, but she could tell he needed privacy. So, she remained where she was, saying silent prayers.
"What’s going on?" Chris asked.
"Sir," Nate’s voice was low. "I think someone hacked into the hospital security."
Chris frowned.
This was one of the finest hospitals in the state. Hacking into their system shouldn’t be as easy as it seemed. "Who are they?"
"No idea, sir. But we are working on it."
Chris pulled his hand through his hair, making it rough. "And what about those two asking after my mother?"
Nate sighed.
"I lost track of them."
"What?" Chris screamed, making June turn towards him.
He waved his hand at her to assure her everything was fine before turning back. "How?"
"It was the blackout. During those few seconds of the blackout, they disappeared into thin air as if they had been expecting it."
Chris cursed.
Could it be the same group of people?
He didn’t want to believe they were the same people.
"Send in some guys to the seventh floor. I need people to safeguard my sister. I have to get to the root of this."
"Yes, sir."
Without arguing or asking questions, Nate hung up.
Once he was done with the call, Chris came back beside her.
He didn’t say a word.
He could tell June was already anxious enough about their mother. It would be wrong of him to make her more anxious.
"Is something wrong?" she asked, in the hope of starting a conversation.
Anything to take her mind off the surgery happening ahead.
"Everything will be fine."
Just as soon as Chris said it, the hospital lights came back on, and the sound of the siren echoed through the hospital again.
The little action seemed to put June at ease as she let out a breath of relief.
The door to the elevator opened, and two guards came out of the elevator.
Chris stood up straight. "I want you around her all the time. I don’t want even an ant in her vicinity."
June watched them with narrowed eyes. "What’s going on?"
He held her shoulder. "I’ll be leaving for a few minutes. These two guards will be here with you. You don’t need to be scared."
But the fact that Chris had to leave was scary.
"Where are you going?"
Chris sighed. He could tell she was scared and had no better way to make her feel at ease. "I just need to check a few things, but I don’t want you all alone here." He looked back at the guards, who hadn’t said a word since they got out of the elevator. "These two are some of the best, and I can guarantee they will keep you safe."
Before June could protest, Chris patted the guards on the shoulder and went inside the elevator.
June watched him go.
If it wasn’t something important, then why did he have to leave without hearing the result of their mother’s surgery?
Chris flexed his hand in the elevator. He could feel anger brimming inside him.
Instead of going to the reception, he headed to the hospital security unit.
He needed to see what actually happened.
Was the system truly hacked?
Or was everything a stage play?
The ground floor was just as lively as when he had brought June into the hospital last night. The people downstairs went about their business as if nothing had happened.
Or maybe they just didn’t think something could have happened in those few seconds.
He strode to the security unit.
The door was locked with a security code outside the door.
He had to make a call before the door was opened.
The head of security bowed to him. "Sir?"
"I need a footage of the reception and a detail of what happened within those seconds."
The head of security looked as if he didn’t want to say a word, but looking at the glare Chris sent his way, he nodded.
He led Chris to the system, rewinding the footage until it showed the reception.
The men were obvious in the footage. They wore black suits that made them different from the people in the reception.
Chris could easily pinpoint that they were the ones Nate was talking about.
But he wasn’t able to see the faces of the men. Their backs were to the camera.
He pointed at them on the screen. "I want to know where these people went."
The head of security nodded to the man at the system.
They followed the men to the point of the blackout.
And just as Nate had said, after the blackout, they disappeared.
Chris frowned at the screen, turning to the man. "I want you to find out where those men went."
The security guard nodded, giving the men instructions.
Soon, one of them was able to find them.
"This is one of them."
Chris stared at the screen. It was just one of the men leaving the hospital. The other was nowhere to be found.
"Search for the other man."
But regardless of the places they checked on the screen, it was as if the man had disappeared into thin air.
The more Chris stayed at the security unit, the more uneasy he felt.
Though he knew two capable men were guarding June, he still felt uneasy leaving her alone there.
There was only one person he could trust while handling the case.
Picking up his phone, he sent a message to Rauf.
"She needs you right now. Stay out of sight. Just make sure she’s okay."
Chris sighed after sending the message. He wasn’t certain Rauf would want to stay out of June’s sight, but either way, he was the only one he could leave June with and feel at ease.
Meanwhile, June’s gaze darted from Serena’s surgery room back to the elevator.
It felt as if Chris had been gone for hours.
And even though the presence of the guards couldn’t be underestimated, she still felt alone.
Something inside her quickened, and somehow, she feared her blood pressure was going to rise.
She placed her hand on her stomach.
"You’re with me, right?"
Something inside her stomach moved, and she felt a small kick.
At that moment, her attention was focused on the small movement, and she suddenly became unaware of what was happening in her environment.
"Is that a movement?" she asked no one in particular, her eyes still focused on her stomach.
It was the first time she had felt her baby move.
This was the evidence that there was truly a life within her.
Ever since she discovered she was pregnant, it had been nothing but a theory, but this...
This small movement made it real.
More real than anything she could have ever imagined.
"Ma’am." She heard one of the guards say.
Slowly, she lifted her head to look at them.
"Are you okay, ma’am?"
She nodded.
"You’ve been staring and talking to your stomach. We just want to make sure you’re all right."
It was hard for her to hide the smile on her face.
"Thank you. I’m fine."
The guard nodded, stepping back.
Just as soon as he stepped back, the green light in the surgery room went off.
June moved forward, waiting for the door to open.
While waiting, she picked up her phone and sent Chris a message.
"The surgery is over."