Sarah gasped loudly as her eyes swept over the newly opened digital document on her screen.
High-contrast red and green highlighted text lines stretched across the formal medical report document.
Her vision blurred instantly as hot tears spilled over her eyelids and ran down her pale face.
A terrified sob tore from her throat, filling the bright open living room with pure grief.
She gasped desperately for air while holding the phone close to her chest with both arms.
Heavy running footsteps echoed loudly down the tiled hallway leading from the home's front entryway.
Mark rushed into the living room with frantic eyes, carrying his heavy leather work briefcase.
He stopped dead in his tracks the exact second he saw his wife sobbing hysterically on the couch.
Mark: Is it the results from the lab?!
His face drained of all color as panic took complete hold of his facial expression.
Sarah: Mark... look at these lines on the page!
His hands shook so violently that he dropped his brass car keys onto the hard floor.
The sharp metallic clatter echoed off the tall white walls, but nobody moved to pick them up.
Mark took three quick steps forward before freezing again, terrified of what he might hear.
Mark: Tell me what the specialist doctor wrote in the final report!
Sarah could not form full sentences because her frantic breathing made speaking nearly impossible.
She pointed a shaking finger toward the bright phone screen lying open on her lap.
The dark red heading at the top of the report read URGENT DIAGNOSTIC UPDATE in capital letters.
To Mark, that severe bright red warning color could only signify a total catastrophic tragedy.
He collapsed onto his knees beside the coffee table, clutching his forehead in deep despair.
Their worst fears seemed to be unfolding right in front of them in broad daylight.
The emotional pain was so overwhelming that the room felt like it was spinning around them.
Sarah placed both hands over her face, her shoulders shaking violently with continuous uncontrollable sobs.
The uncertainty that had plagued their lives for weeks had finally reached a dramatic breaking point.
Neither parent noticed the small footsteps approaching rapidly from the carpeted stairs nearby.