"I need to stay here," I mutter. "I can't leave her. But I need you doing everything you can to get that baby back."
Emilian nods. "I'll put some more men on it. The police are looking for Lily Anna, too. They know she killed Lai now."
"Fucking finally," I mutter. "Nobody believed me. Nobody."
"Maybe you shouldn't have kept so many secrets," Emilian hisses, but I've had enough.
I've got him backed up against a wall the next moment, grabbing the front of his shirt as I snarl in his face, "You don't get to lecture me, old man. I did what I had to do to save Lily Anna from you, you fucking monster."
He pales and does not object. He knows what he did. He knows his obsession with Lily Anna was unhealthy. Despite all the atrocities she's done, she wasn't at fault for Oakes' sick obsession with her.
"Find her," I hiss. "Or else."
He stumbles when I let him go, clearing his throat and fixing his tie. Without saying another word or looking at me again, he leaves the hospital. For his sake, I hope he's getting more help to find Lily Anna. We have to find her. We can't leave the baby with her. She's dangerous. I wouldn't put it past her to kill an innocent child.
I return to my seat in front of the operating theater and patiently wait until one of the nurses informs me they've moved Pandora into the glass-walled room.
I'm finally allowed to see her then, but nothing could prepare me for the sight.
She looks so different than she did just a few hours ago. Pandora's body is tiny and frail despite having just given birth. There are tubes coming out of her nose and mouth, and her skin is ghostly pale and bruised where they've stuck the tubes in. I vow again to make Lily Anna pay for this.
She fucked with my family.
She fucked with my friends.
She fucked with my future.
And now she's fucked with my favorite toy, and I'm not letting her get away with it. She's going to fucking pay, and I want to be the one to bring her to justice. I can't fucking wait to punish her for her crimes. She deserves every bad thing that's coming to her, hopefully sooner rather than later.
For the next few days, I'm in and out of the hospital. I only leave to go home and shower and change clothes once a day. I'm even getting used to the shitty cafeteria food in the hospital, because I refuse to leave Pandora's side. The guys have been coming over to keep me company. I'll never forget their expressions when they saw Pandora for the first time after all the shit that went down.
They were fucking shocked. Shocked that the girl we all once cared about, Lily Anna, is capable of leaving another human in a condition like Pandora's. But it only serves to bring us closer together. Now we are determined—to find Lily Anna, to punish her for what she's done.
On the thirdday in the hospital, the doctors decide Pandora has recovered from her injuries enough that they can bring her out of her coma. I sit by her bed when it happens, holding her small, frail white hand in mine. Her fingers are so tiny. She has never looked more vulnerable.
When my toy's eyes open, they connect with mine first. She stares deep into my soul with that glare, and before I can even ask, the question shoots out.
"Where is he? Where is my baby?"
I squeeze her palm to reassure her, but she soon realizes I don't have any good news for her. I don't know where Lily Anna and the baby are, and as soon as she realizes the truth of the matter, Pandora begins to wail. It takes two nurses to calm her down and they inject her with a sedative, saying she's getting overly worked-up. I want to slap them in the fucking face. Tell them she has every reason to be upset. I know they mean well, but I'm teetering on the edge of my sanity. One wrong move and I'm going to fall.
When she wakes up hours later, she's much calmer. I walk into the room but she won't look at me. Sitting by her side, I try to take her hand in mine, but she snatches it away. It fucking hurts like needles being plunged into my heart but I force myself not to say anything about it. I can't hurt Pandora even more. I need to be strong now, for the both of us.
"We'll find them," I say lamely, but she merely scoffs in response.
"They could be anywhere, Dexter."
"And wherever they are, we're bringing them back."
She shakes her head. A part of me breaks seeing she's already lost hope, but I try not to show it.
"And until we do find them, I'm right here," I manage, but she just manages a sad smile.
"I can't even look at you right now," she whispers, and once again, the needles dig into me, deep. "You should've gone after them, Dexter. You should've brought my baby back."
"Our baby," I mutter.
Now she looks