Chapter 2: What the Doctors Found
The emergency room was warm.
Too warm.
Noah shivered anyway.
Doctors moved carefully, raising his body temperature little by little while checking for complications.
Emily never stopped holding his hand.
Hours later, Dr. Collins entered the room carrying a chart.
"He'll recover."
Emily burst into tears.
I finally exhaled.
"But..."
That single word froze us.
"He wasn't just cold."
The doctor looked toward Noah sleeping peacefully beneath heated blankets.
"He was extremely dehydrated."
Emily frowned.
"He'd been asking for water at the party."
The doctor's eyes narrowed.
"Did someone prevent him from drinking?"
Neither of us answered immediately.
Then Emily whispered,
"Sarah kept sending him away from the kitchen."
The doctor nodded slowly.
"Children can deteriorate much faster than adults."
He paused.
"If he'd remained down there another hour..."
He didn't finish the sentence.
He didn't need to.
Outside the room, Detective Rachel Morgan waited quietly.
The hospital had reported the incident automatically.
She introduced herself gently.
"I need to ask a few questions."
At first, I thought this was routine.
Then she asked,
"Who locked the basement door?"
Emily answered.
"My sister."
Detective Morgan wrote one sentence.
Then looked up.
"Did she know he couldn't get out?"
"Yes."
"Did anyone hear him crying?"
"Everyone."
May you like
The detective closed her notebook.
"I'll be speaking with her tonight."
