The pediatric intensive care unit on the fourth floor was silent except for the rhythmic hum of monitors.
Marcus stepped out of the elevator, running down the hallway toward the emergency consultation room.
Clara was sitting in a plastic chair outside the double doors, holding Toby's blue swaddling blanket in her lap.
Marcus: Clara! How is he?! Where is Dr. Evans?!
Clara stood up quickly, wiping tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand.
Clara: Mr. Sterling! Toby is inside the CT scan room right now.
Marcus: Did the bleeding stop?
Clara: Yes, sir. Dr. Evans applied three dissolvable stitches to his brow. The cut wasn't deep enough to damage his eye.
Marcus collapsed into the chair beside her, burying his face in his hands.
Marcus: God... I almost lost my baby because I was blind to that woman's cruelty.
Clara: You couldn't have known, sir. She always acted so sweet whenever you were around.
Marcus: I should have known. Sarah always told me to trust my gut about people.
Clara: Sarah was watching over Toby today, Mr. Sterling. The tea tray I dropped slowed Victoria down just enough.
Marcus looked up at Clara, noticing the dark bruises on her knees from sliding across the marble floor[cite: 1].
Marcus: You threw yourself between a falling child and stone tile, Clara[cite: 1].
Clara: I would do it a thousand times over, sir. Toby is an innocent angel.
The doors to the scanning room opened, and Dr. Evans walked out pulling off his surgical cap.
Marcus: Doctor! Tell me what the scans show!
Dr. Evans: Mr. Sterling, take a deep breath. We have great news.
Marcus: Is there any internal bleeding? Any skull fracture?
Dr. Evans: No fractures, no swelling, and zero brain trauma. The soft cartilage in his skull absorbed the shock.
Marcus let out a loud, shuddering breath, fresh tears spilling down his cheeks.
Marcus: Thank God... Oh, thank God!
Dr. Evans: Clara cradled his neck the second she picked him up, which prevented secondary spinal shock[cite: 1]. She saved his life.
Marcus turned to Clara, grabbing her trembling hands in his.
Marcus: You saved my son, Clara. There is nothing in this world I can give you that will ever repay that.
Clara: Seeing him smile again is all the payment I will ever need, Mr. Sterling.
A nurse wheeled out a small mobile bassinet, where baby Toby lay sleeping under a warm blanket, a clean white bandage over his forehead.
Marcus leaned over the bassinet, resting his finger against Toby's tiny hand.
Toby's little fingers wrapped around his father's finger, holding on tight.
Marcus: Daddy is never letting you out of my sight again, little man.
Detective Vance walked down the corridor, holding a signed court document.
Detective Vance: Mr. Sterling, the magistrate judge just denied bail for Victoria Vance.
Marcus: What are the formal charges, Detective?
Detective Vance: Attempted first-degree murder of an infant, aggravated child endangerment, and twenty counts of wire fraud.
Marcus: Make sure the district attorney pushes for the maximum sentence under state law.
Detective Vance: With that security footage and the medical reports, she is looking at forty years without parole[cite: 1].
Marcus looked at his sleeping son, feeling the weight of the nightmare finally lifting away from his family.