Inside, Laney struggled to pull Elissa from the tub, water streaming everywhere. Elissa’s skin was ashen, her eyes shut tightly.

“Miss Pearson!” Frantic, Laney cried out. “She was under the water when I came in! I don’t know how long she’s been like that. She’s barely breathing!” It was clear that Elissa had nearly drowned.

Hadley reached for her phone. “I’m calling for an ambulance!”

Laney nodded, her hands shaking. “I’ll get her dried off and dressed as fast as I can!”

“Go ahead!” said Hadley.

Both women moved as quickly as possible. Still, even after Elissa was dressed and carried downstairs, the ambulance had not yet arrived.

Time seemed to crawl, every moment feeling endless.

Laney’s voice trembled. “Miss Pearson, we have to tell Mr. Flynn what’s happened!”

“Of course. I’ll call him,” said Hadley, reaching into her contacts for Ernest’s number. She pressed call and held her breath.

Instead of Ernest’s voice, an automated message answered. “The number you have dialed is currently unavailable.”

Maybe his signal was out, or maybe the phone was turned off. Either way, Hadley tried several more times but heard the same message each time.

“What should we do now?” Panic rising, Hadley pressed her lips together. She scrolled through her contacts and chose Eric’s name without hesitation. She knew Ernest and Eric often handled things together. If anyone could reach Ernest quickly, it was probably Eric.

“Hello.” Eric picked up on the first ring. “Hadley.”

“Eric!” Hadley’s words came out fast, urgency in every syllable. “Are you with Ernest right now?”

LΑττ chαρτ?rs ιn glov?l.

“Yeah, I am…”

“Then tell him immediately,” Hadley insisted, wasting no time. “Elissa almost drowned in the bath.”

Right then, the wail of ambulance sirens reached their ears. The housekeeper had already gone to open the front door.

“The ambulance just arrived. We’re heading straight to the hospital. Please tell Ernest to come as soon as possible!” Hadley urged.

“I’m on it!” Eric assured her without hesitation.

Hadley ended the call just as paramedics rushed in, placing Elissa carefully onto a gurney and hurrying her outside.

Laney called out, voice shaky, “Miss Pearson, we should go with them.”

“Yes, I’m coming!”

At the hospital, inside the emergency room, quick intervention had kept Elissa safe, but she was frail, and the doctors wanted to keep her under close watch.

A sudden series of hard knocks broke the quiet outside the hospital room. Hadley moved quickly to answer.

.

.

.