C533 What Happened

Mark passed the message to the Mooney family, and everyone hurried to the hospital, their hearts heavy with worry. At the hospital, Sarah was still sitting alone in the waiting area, crying quietly. Faith, whose body was covered in bandages, finally emerged from her ward. She walked slowly, struggling with every step, but continued until she reached Sarah. With tears in her eyes, Faith asked, "How is Sam?" Sarah shook her head. "She's still in surgery. No one has told me anything." Faith lowered herself into the seat beside Sarah. Neither woman could hold back her tears. They sat together, waiting desperately for news about Samantha. When the Wood family and Valeria arrived, they found Sarah and Faith crying beside each other. Tracy immediately approached them. "What's wrong? Where is Sam? I want to see her." Sarah shook her head again. "She's still in surgery, Mom." Tracy covered her mouth, struggling to contain her emotions. She wanted to do something, anything, but there was nothing she could do except wait. Within minutes, the Mooney family arrived. Mary froze when she saw everyone gathered in the waiting area, their faces filled with worry. She looked around, searching for familiar faces. "What happened? Where is Mike?" she asked before turning to Sarah. "Sarah, what happened to Sam and Alicia?"

Sarah opened her mouth, but before she could answer, we came rushing into the waiting area. The moment Faith saw us, she struggled to her feet despite her injuries. "Did you find Alicia?" she cried. I shook my head. "No." Her face crumpled, and fresh tears streamed down her cheeks. The atmosphere grew heavier. Everyone had come hoping that we would bring good news, but we had nothing to offer them. Finally, Peter stepped forward. "What really happened?" he asked, looking from one face to another. "Can someone please tell us the whole story? Where is my granddaughter?" His eyes settled on me. "Mike, tell us." I opened my mouth, but the words refused to come. How was I supposed to explain something I still couldn't fully understand myself? Alicia was my wife. I had watched her disappear right in front of me, yet I had no idea where she was or whether she was safe. Mark shook his head in frustration. "I knew this mission was dangerous. If anything happens to Alicia, I'll find them myself. But the Mayor will have to answer for this, too." His voice was filled with anger. He had trusted the information the Mayor gave him, and now his daughter was missing. Kelvin, who had remained unusually quiet, finally spoke. "Should I inform the Heaps family? What am I supposed to tell them?"

Valeria immediately shook her head. "Let's wait for news first." Kelvin turned towards her. "But if something bad happens, the Heaps family will want to be here for Sam. They deserve to know what's going on." Faith suddenly broke down. "No!" she cried, shaking her head. "Nothing will happen to Sam! She's a Survivor. She'll survive this!" Her voice echoed through the waiting area, and for a moment, nobody spoke. Ben stared at Faith for several seconds, studying her face as though he had only just realised who she was. "So, you're Faith?" he asked quietly. Tracy turned towards him. "Ben, not now." He fell silent, understanding that this was the wrong moment for questions. Then, suddenly, the surgery doors opened. Everyone turned towards them. A doctor stepped out, looking surprised to find so many people waiting outside. He glanced around before addressing the group. "Is this Samantha Wood's family?" Kelvin immediately stepped forward. "Yes, Doctor. I'm Kelvin Wood." The doctor nodded. "We were fortunate. Most of the metal fragments from the explosion did not penetrate deeply into her body. The bleeding from her head was caused by a superficial wound, which we have treated." Everyone listened anxiously, waiting for him to continue. "However, one piece of metal penetrated her liver. That was the most serious injury and the greatest threat to her life."

Tracy gripped Kelvin's arm. The doctor paused briefly before delivering the news everyone had been praying for. "The surgery to remove the metal fragment was successful. We've managed to control the bleeding, and her condition is now stable. She should regain consciousness within the next few minutes." Kelvin released a long, shaky breath. The tension in his shoulders eased, and he closed his eyes briefly in relief. Faith managed a small smile through her tears. "I told you," she whispered. "She's a Survivor." Chris turned towards me, his expression still troubled. "Brother, you need to tell us what really happened. We have to find Alicia." I shook my head. "Brother, I really don't know." The words felt bitter in my mouth. I was supposed to protect Alicia. I was supposed to be the person who always stood beside her, no matter what happened. Yet, when she needed me most, I had failed to stop her from being taken. Chris looked as though he wanted to say more, but his attention shifted towards Faith. We both approached her. "Faith," I asked, trying to keep my voice steady, "what happened after the explosion? Did you see Alicia coming towards you?" Faith shook her head slowly. "I was on the other side. Samantha was the one near Alicia's position." She paused, struggling to remember everything through the pain and confusion. "I heard the explosion, and everything happened so quickly. I was trying to get out of the car. I didn't see what happened to Alicia."

I lowered my head. Another dead end. Laura, who had been standing nearby, finally lost her patience. "What if Hanna took her? What if she kills her?" she demanded, turning towards me. "Mike, why did you two hesitate? You had the opportunity to kill her, but neither of you did anything!" Mark frowned and immediately looked between us. "Wait. What do you mean, you two hesitated?" Quinton stepped closer, his expression serious. "Son, tell us the story. We all want to understand what happened at that warehouse." I looked around at the faces turned towards me. The Mooney family wanted to know where Alicia was. The Wood family needed to understand what had happened to Samantha. And everyone wanted answers about how the mission had gone so terribly wrong. But explaining everything here, while emotions were running high, would only make matters worse. "Father, not here," I said quietly. "I'll explain everything when we get home." Mark immediately shook his head. "We cannot leave Samantha here and go home. She chose this life because she wanted to help my daughter. Now my daughter is missing, and Samantha is fighting to recover from her injuries. We're staying here with her." He looked directly at me. "But that doesn't mean we can ignore what happened. We need to understand how this mission went wrong, and I'm sure the Wood family wants answers just as much as we do." His voice hardened. "Mike, tell us."