“Mr. Carter, we just received a report from the police. Your ex-wife was admitted to City General Hospital early Saturday morning after a car accident.”
Thomas stood up immediately.
“Is she alive?”
“Yes. Stable, but sedated. She suffered fractures and a head injury.”
Thomas closed his eyes.
Part of him wanted to scream.
But Ethan was standing right there.
“Can I see her?”
“Not until she wakes up.”
Thomas stepped outside and called his lawyer.
“Mark, I need to start custody proceedings immediately. I’m not letting this happen again.”
“Send me the details. We’ll file first thing in the morning.”
Thomas hung up and looked at his son.
“We’re staying here tonight, okay? Close to your sister.”
Ethan hesitated before asking,
“Can I stay with you forever?”
Thomas knelt down and looked him in the eyes.
“From now on… I’m not letting go.”
Thomas spent the entire night beside Lily’s hospital bed.
Ethan eventually fell asleep on a chair with a blanket a nurse gave him.
At sunrise, a social worker returned.
“Mr. Carter, we need to ask a few more questions.”
“Of course.”
“Is this the first time the children were left alone with their mother?”