Victoria Holmes was awake.
The matriarch of the family was frail, her skin like parchment, but her eyes were sharp as diamonds. She had demanded to see "the girl."
Outside in the private lounge, Eleanor was pacing. The clicking of her heels on the linoleum was like a hammer hitting a nail.
"You let a street rat play doctor with your grandmother," Eleanor hissed, turning on Ingram. "This is negligence. I'm calling the board."
Elmira sat on a plastic chair, hunching her shoulders. "I just wanted to help..."
"Help?" Eleanor loomed over her. "You got lucky. You're a liability. Ingram, get her to that clinic. Now."
"I can't," Ingram said. He was leaning against the wall, watching Elmira. He was trying to reconcile the trembling girl in the chair with the woman who had commanded a room of surgeons. "She's right. The merger is too sensitive for a scandal."
"We can fight her!"
"And tank the stock price?" Ingram straightened his cuffs. "Grandmother is alive. That is what matters."
A nurse opened the door. "Mrs. Holmes is asking for the young lady."
Eleanor stepped forward. "She means me."
"No," the nurse said, looking awkward. "She said, 'the one who knows what she's doing.'"
Eleanor's face went purple.
Ingram looked at Elmira. He gestured to the door. "Go."
Elmira stood up. She walked past Eleanor, keeping her eyes on the floor. But as she passed Ingram, he placed a hand on the small of her back to guide her.
His touch was electric. He didn't push her; he steadied her.
Elmira entered the room and the heavy door clicked shut, silencing Eleanor's rage.
Victoria was propped up on pillows. She looked at Elmira.
"Stop slouching," the old woman rasped. "It doesn't suit you."
Elmira straightened her spine. Her expression shifted from fearful to neutral. "Mrs. Holmes."
"You saved my life," Victoria said. "And you didn't do it by reading WebMD. That was advanced pharmacology. Who are you?"
"A problem your grandson is trying to solve," Elmira said smoothly.
Victoria studied her. "You're honest. I like that. Everyone else in this family has shaking hands. Greed makes them shake."
"He wants me gone," Elmira said. "He wants this problem... erased."
"Why? Because of the baby? My useless grandson finally managed one thing right."
"Because I have nowhere else to go," Elmira said. This part was true. "And I won't let him bully me."
Victoria nodded. She reached for the call button on her bed rail. She pressed it down and held it.
"Attention," her voice crackled over the intercom system, echoing into the lounge outside. "Eleanor. Go home. If I hear your voice again today, I'm writing you out of the will."
Silence from the hallway.
Elmira smiled. It was a small, genuine smile.
"We have a deal," Victoria said. "You keep me alive. You give me a great-grandchild. And I keep you in the family."
