Joanne shook her head and coughed again. George furrowed his brows as her cough sounded like someone was roughly scraping her throat. How painful that must have been for the older woman. She cleared her throat and folded the handkerchief.
"Get me some water", she said in a hoarse voice.
He went out of the storage room, remembering he had seen a jug of water by the front desk where they had found her. He got hold of it and a glass to pour some water when he got back to her side. She gratefully took it and drunk. She exhaled softly and held onto the glass.
"Some more?" He asked, ready to pour.
"No. Thank you." She stayed quiet, looking as though she was trying to find her bearings before speaking up. "She shouldn't look into that. Let sleeping dogs lie."
"But this is important to her. These people.... They already know who she is."
He hoped that would convince her to talk hoping that truth would frighten her but instead she nodded. "I know."
"How?"
Was she the one who gave Amy's information to the enemy in the first place? Is that how they knew everything about her? How else because Amy always knew when someone was looking into her yet the Dark Waters already had her information? Stella had separated her from them that night and that was successful for some years so how? Was Joanne the snitch?
"I have kept quiet specifically to protect her. And I will do so until the day I die. That child.... I can't hand her over to those people. I can't. I won't."
George was quiet and quickly got rid of his earlier thoughts. He sighed. "Look, I understand how important she is to you. Amy knows this all too well. You helped her become who she is today. If this information wasn't as crucial, she wouldn't look into it. Please. Help her. You're the only one who can."
Joanne let out a tired sigh. "Even if I say anything, it won't be of much help. It's best if she remains in the dark. Some things are best left uncovered. Let her remain ignorant. You go back too. You don't know who's watching."
"But-"
She fell into a fit of coughing. This time was much worse as she held the handkerchief over her mouth. George saw the cloth soak into a red substance and he quickly rushed to her side.
"Sister Harper!" He held her as she coughed.
Some blood fell on her fingers and she was slowly slipping into unconsciousness.
"Help!" He shouted as he looked at the entrance and back at the woman.
He moved to properly hold her in his arms and took out his phone to dial for 911. The sisters were alarmed when they saw an ambulance arrive at the orphanage. The young sister from earlier rushed to the library along with the paramedics. Joanne was soon dragged out on a stretcher with George trailing behind them.
"Only one family member can ride with us", one of the paramedics said as they pushed Joanne inside.
"Go on. I'll follow", George said to the sister.
"Thank you", she said and quickly got in.
She looked like she was about to cry from seeing the older woman like that. They were soon on the road and George was right behind them. He used the car Bluetooth to dial for Zach's number.
"I just came from meeting Joanne", George reported.
"Did something happen?" Zach asked, probably picking up on the sound of the siren in the background.
"She collapsed after coughing blood. She's being rushed to the hospital and I'm right behind them."
"Okay. Take care of her."
"Yes, sir."
The call came to an end. George thought Zach would quickly ask if he got any information from her but it seemed he had put Joanne's health first. Anyone who was important to Amy automatically became important to him too. This is one of the reasons he admired the man. It wasn't always business for him, Zach had a heart.
George stepped on the pedal increasing his speed as he followed closely behind the speeding ambulance. When they got there, Joanne was rushed to the E.R instead of the O.R.
"If it's a matter of money, I can pay for it. Just please help her", George said to the doctor.
"It's not a matter of paying for the best treatment for her. We can't operate on her as she's in the critical stage, we'll lose her if we lay hands on her. All we can do is stabilize her for now", he said with a grave tone.
The young sister broke down in tears at the news. It seemed they were losing her much quicker than they wanted. George swallowed a hard lump. It felt like dejavu, being thrown into this helpless moment.
"I still want the best care offered to her", he said with resolution.
The doctor nodded, and Joanne was moved to a V.I.P room. In just an hour of meeting her, she looked like she had lost ten years of her life already. The ECG beeped, showing the steady readings of her heart beat. The young sister was seated on a stool beside her bed, holding the woman's frail hand.
She sniffled and looked back at George who had zoned out at looking at the sleeping Joanne. "Thank you, for everything you're doing."
George shoon his head.
"I'm Alice by the way. Alice Moon."
"George. Right, I told you already", he said with a small smile.
She smiled back before looking at Joanne. She sighed. "She's been through a lot."
"Do you know why she kept this a secret for so long?" He was curious about this.
"Same reason she doesn't want Amy digging up her past."
"Do you know anything?" He knew the answer but still asked.
And he was not surprised when she shook her head no. He sighed, this was not going to be easy task. She was willing to take the secret to her grave. This would be the first time he would not have results from his search. He took this a lot more personal maybe because he was doing this for family.
"Have you..... Have you been in this situation before?" She asked him curiously and he raised his brows at her in question. "I saw the way you were earlier.... It seemed like you were taking it too personal for someone who is a stranger to you."
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