CHAPTER 14: DEFEATED

Jessica arrived as she saw the whole scene of Bobby and Diane and gritted her teeth

"So she reminds him of Yin? Then I can't let that happen" Jessica muttered as she draws out a spell casting it on Bobby with her energy then peeked at Bobby who seemed like he was in pain, then she looks up to the ceiling noticing the security camera, a smug smile creeped unto her face

" Don't worry dear, you will never remember a thing about her, five more years, just 5 more years. Just you wait b***ch" She muttered

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Diane ran as far away from Bobby as her legs could take her before falling unto the pile of snow, her heartbeat was messed up while her body shook out of strength.

The whole scene replayed with voices ringing in her ear

*"Were you maltreated as a child?"*

*"Oh come on you aren't ladylike anyways"*

*"You didn't wink an eye last night"*

*"Wasn't the snow cold?"*

*"I wish you can trust us Diane no surname"*

*"If it hurts I'm here okay?"*

*"She didn't ask of you"*

*"She wants me to retire, she seems to be looking for your sister"*

*"Ms Xu and Mr Lu"*

*"They even get called together so cute!*

" No, no, stop it! Stop it! " Diane screamed as she closed her eyes images appeared along with the voices

*" THEN LEAVE!! YOU WOULDN'T BE THE FIRST TO LEAVE ANYWAYS, I don't want anyone getting hurt by me so leave! "*

*" Yeah, I heard his mother may not survive, she's been through different surgeries and medication for years but still can't get past the incident "*

*" We forgive you Diane, and we hope we can start all over again and you need to trust us, and tell us anything okay?*

"No, please.... Make it stop..." Diane muttered as she held her head

*"So how do you feel after lying to us like that?"*

*"The Crane clan"*

*"Funny in the past he would be the last person you'd kill, now you look like if I give you the chance he's a goner"*

*"Diane? Although I don't know much about you.... And only just got to know your identity today, I hope you would trust me enough as a friend or a confidant"*

*"I don't care I want to be friends with her!"*

*" Your existence is a waste, I'm sorry I gave life to you"*

"Somebody please..... MAKE IT STOPPPPPP!!!!!" Diane screamed as a strong wind surrounds her with the snow making a tornado around her as it raised her up suspending her in the air.

Sage and Jackie ran out after hearing her voice as they met Bobby who held his head with a pale face

"BRO! What happened?" Jackie said running towards Bobby

"It hurts, it really hurts"

"D.. Diane, where's Diane?" Sage asked as Jackie looks around

"She went out with you right brother? Where is she?"

"She left, I don't know why..." Bobby muttered confused as he paused due to the intense pain then passed out

"BROTHER!!!" Jackie called out in fear while Sage dashed away after hearing him as she searched for Diane under the raging snow storm

"DIANE?! DIANE?! DIANE!!!!!!" Sage screamed as she stumbled upon something large, she quickly gets up turning to it as she spots a finger sticking out of the snow

"No.. no no no" Sage muttered, she digs through the snow as more piled up before getting to Diane whose body was ice cold. Her lips turned blue and her skin as white and pale as a ghost.

Sage quickly pulls her on her back as she runs back to Jackie

"Jackie?" Sage called out as Jackie turned to her with a welled up eyes and tears streaming out of them

"What happened?!"

"It's my brother, he is sick!" Jackie said as Sage froze

"Okay don't panic, don't panic, did you come by car, please tell me you came by car"

"Yes, yes we did" Jackie said as Sage panted out of exhaustion

"Good, now we just need to get them to the car and drive off to the hospital, you can help your brother up right?"

" Y..yes, yes" Jackie replied in tears as she struggled to help Bobby up. They get to the car as Sage took the keys

"Watch them, I'll drive"

"Hmn"

Sage makes a crazy detour as she drove dangerous across the empty street.

"Jackie..." Sage called out as Jackie had shut down

"JACKIE!" Sage called out again making Jackie look up

"I need you to buy me time so keep your brother awake till we get there if he completely becomes unconscious no one can help him"

"Bro, bro please wake up, please...Mom won't shout at you anymore, you don't need to keep the company...i won't go against your will anymore I promise!....please brother, Diane is not alright, I can't lose you too, I can't lose either of you please..." Jackie said as Bobby reacted to Diane's name

" He responded!"

" Good keep them warm till I get there"

"Hmn" Jackie replied as she closed her eyes for some second then opened them as a bright pair of orange pupils burned in her pupils. She transfers her phoenix fire to them keeping them warm.

Sage drove into the hospital as she packed crazily then got out

"Doctor!" Sage called out as she rushed in with Jackie by her side

2 nurses ran out to receive them with a stretcher as 2 Asian doctors ran in

"Are you the family?" They asked scanning Sage and Jackie with doubts

"Yes" Jackie and Sage replied

"Fill out the forms, we will take care of the rest" The doctors gestured as they walked in

The operating theater was functional as they evaluated the scene

"What's their condition?"

"Sir, they both were reported to have passed out suddenly"

" Any underlying medical conditions?"

" Yes, both of them"

" Okay, where is the MRI?"

"Here.." The nurse said passing the result of the scan as the doctors face turned grim

" MRI scan shows the thalamus is damaged completely, toxicology report?"

" Here"

"2 grams of thallium, discoloration bluish and gray"

" That's bad" The doctor muttered as the nurses nodded

" Abandon?"

" No matter how low, as long as there is a chance for survival, a doctor never abandons his patient" The doctor replied sternly as the nurses bowed their heads

"We need to perform surgery immediately" One of the doctors suggested as the head doctor nodded

" We'll fill in families first for consent"

" Hmn" They all nodded in agreement

The doctors walked out as they approached Sage and Jackie

"We need to compare notes" They said as the girls nodded walking into their office

Another 2 nurses walked in

"The results are ready" They said as the doctor Lee scanned the chart

"Mr Alexander's symptoms of insomnia, distorted memory and severe headache are consistent post traumatic stress disorder, and reports show that he's been under severe pressure"

" I assumed he faced a stressful situation which made him susceptible to shutting down when he became agitated"

The girls froze as Jackie bit on her lips as tears flowed down her face. Harley went to hug her as she tried to gather her emotions and remain calm

" I'm assuming you already know of this" The doctor said as Jackie nodded

"His surgery would be scheduled in an hour, he'll be fine"

"What about Diane?" Sage asked agitated. The doctors sigh as they brought out Diane's MRI scan result

" Ms Diane's condition is more severe, she was left in the snow for quite some time and had developed hypothermia. She had an underlying case of Tinnitus and from the observation we made she was exposed to loud noises..." The doctor paused studying the report as he sighed

" The toxicity report also shows severe poisoning if thallium which was left untreated..." Doctor Lee paused

" The treatment options are limited but we can try craniotomy to relieve the pressure in her brain" He suggested pausing for a moment to study the girls emotional stability before continuing

" We'll also need to perform debridement to remove the dead tissue, evacuate the hematoma and administer thallium chelation to reduce the poison in her system" The doctor added as the girls turned to the doctors for more explanation

" She's in real danger and need to be operated on immediately " The doctors explained as the girls dispersed around the room with their heads hung low and broken spirits

"What are the chances of survival if we go through with the operation?" Sage asked

"10 to 30 percent, the thallum poisoning is quite severe it's a miracle she's alive at all, unfortunately the damage is extensive, she's already lost her sense of presence and touch " Doctor Lee said

" We need your consent before going through with the procedure" Dr Yuan added as they waited for the girls consent

" Do it" Sage said as a whispered as the girls turned to her

" What you didn't hear what he said?! The success rate is 30 percent! It's not even 50!" Jackie shouted as Sage replied

" YOU THINK I DIDN'T HEAR THAT?! Even if it's a 5 percent chance as long as I can save her nothing else matters!" Sage announced as the room became silent, the girls tried to suppress their emotions as they choked on their tears

"Okay, well try out best then" Dr Yuan said as they walked out of the room leaving the girls.

*At the ICU*

"Commence operation, the patient's senses are fading by the moment, administer anaesthetics"

"Proceed"

"Scalpels?"

"Here" The doctor collected it opening her skin

"Burr holes?"

"Here"

A hole gets opened as he collected the craniotome cutting through her skull.

"Bone flap elevator?"

"Here"

The doctor pryed the bone flap from the skull as he used the suction tips to remove her blood. He watched though the intraoperative ultrasound as he gently retracted the tissues to expose the thallum and operated on her.

" Ventilators?"

"Stable"

Suddenly Diane's heart rate dropped from 60 to 40

"Heart rate is 40 BPM"

"Continue procedure" The doctor replied as he continued

Diane's heart rate dropped again

"38 BPM"

"28 BPM"

"Defibrillator" The doctor said calmly as the nurse jolted Diane

"Still decreasing"

"Almost done, penicillin dosage?"

"2 grams"

" 20 BPM"

" Almost...." The doctor said as he finished the readings went flat

" She...." The nurses said as the doctor suddenly picked up the defibrillator jolting her repeatedly

"100 joules clear" The doctor said as he jolted Diane but she didn't respond

"150 joules clear" He repeated but with no response again

"200 joules clear" The doctor said as he jolted her but Diane still didn't respond. Silence amassed the the air for some moment before a beep was heard and Diane's heart started beating again

"She's back 40, 60 BMP"

"Success" The doctor said heaving a sigh of relief as the nurses smiled with intense emotions in their eyes.

"Patient would be observed for a while"

"Okay"

The doctor walked out as he meets Sage and Jackie pacing around

"How are they?"

"See me in my office" He said as they followed him

The second doctor walked in nodding slightly to the first doctor

"How are they?"

"Mr Alexander is alright, he should take care of his emotions and try not it get him too agitated or stressed"

" Thank goodness" The girls muttered as they held their breath again

"Diane..."

The doctors expressions turned grave as the girls felt the suspense in the air

"What happened?" Jackie asked as they sighed

"Ms Diane's condition is complicated, she suffered from hypothermia after being left in the snow for too long, hypoxic ischemic Encephalopathy and traumatic brain injury, past medical conditions that were left untreated. The thallum poisoning is severe and unfortunately the damage is extensive, she's already lost her sense of presence and touch "

" What does this mean?" Sage asked as Ruby held her hand she replied by grasping Ruby's hand tightly

"I'm afraid she'll likely loose other senses overtime. The procedure to remove the thallium was a painful one, for each year that passes by she'll loose another sense until...."

Doctor Lee trailed off leaving the unspoken consequences hanging in the already tensed air.

Sage burst out as the girls followed. She ran to Diane's private ICU as she was isolated and transferred due to the poisoning

Sage knocked loudly on the door as she tried to hold back her falling tears

"Get up! Diane you hear me? Get up and take your core back? I don't want your core! Return it! I don't want your core okay?! I just want you back!" Sage said as she fell to the ground in tears, the girls cried out as they had never seen her break down before and also because Diane was unresponsive looking pale and dying slowly on pain.

"I don't want it! I don't want it...." Sage muttered repeatedly as Mrs Lu ran in

"Mom!" Jackie cried out as Clara hugged her tightly

"Don't worry I'm here, they would be fine, they are both fighters they would be fine" She assured the girls who cried out uncontrollably

3 days later Bobby woke up as he looked around with a frown, Clara walked in with Orion as they got startled by Bobby's sudden consciousness

"You're finally awake! How do you feel" Clara said happily as Bobby raised a brow at her

"Young master you are finally awake!" Orion called out as tears wells up in his eyes" Bobby turned to him with his eyebrow still arched then turned to Clara

"Mrs Lu what am i doing in am hospital?"

"He called me Mrs Lu!"

" Hmn!" Orion and Clara rejoice like babies as they couldn't keep in all the excitement

" Where's Jackie?" Bobby asked as Orion replied

" Young master don't worry the young mistress is fine"

" Hmn, Diane would be alright too"

" Who is Diane?" Bobby asked as Orion and Clara froze

" Son, how are your dreams? I'm sorry I haven't been able to find little Yin for now..but I didn't think they would cause you so much stress and damage your health"

" Little Yin? Mrs Lu have you been reading those silly novels again?" Bobby asked as Clara and Orion froze again

" Young master, the lady of the house has been looking for little Yin as you requested, didn't worry she would be found soon, we have leads and ....."

" Orion, I understand my mother's tricks for playing and messing around but when did you become like this? Indulging her is a bad habit do you want to be punished?" Bobby asked as Orion turned to Clara who held back her tears then shook her head as a signal for him to stop

" Oh...right, I'm sorry young master"

Clara took in a deep breath as she smiled with tears in her eyes

" It's okay, it's okay to forget the pain, eat something okay?"

" You're acting weird" Bobby replied as Clara nodded

" Yes, yes I am"

Robbie and the boys ran in as they met the girls asleep on the chair and floor.

Robbie spotted Sage sorted ay Diane's operating room door as she leaned on it tiredly.

"Hey..." Robbie said walking up to her as she raised her head up

"It's all my fault" Sage muttered as Robbie hugged her.

"What about Bobby?" Jim asked as Orion walked out

"The young master...doesn't remember anything from the past and has forgotten Ms Diane completely"

Silence covered the air as everyone was shocked

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4 days later Diane opened her eyes as tears flowed down her face. She took in slow and steady breaths with her oxygen mask, her limbs were weak and her body felt limp surrounded with life supporting machines.

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