Chapter 6 - Two Women in the Emergency Room
Clara asked for Elena before she asked for her father.
Nathan understood why, though the request stung more than he wanted to admit.
Elena had been the person who ran toward Clara when someone was hurting her.
Nathan had spent years entering the mansion through the same magnificent doors without realizing that Clara needed rescuing inside.
The emergency department placed both women in neighboring treatment rooms so they could speak when the medical staff allowed it.
Clara's ankle was bruised and sprained but not fractured, a relief that left her trembling with delayed fear.
Her scalp had small abrasions, and she had several superficial scratches from struggling against the carpet.
The staff cleaned the wine residue from her skin and recorded the injuries with her consent.
Elena had a painful back contusion and needed medication, rest, and follow-up care.
Neither woman faced a life-threatening injury, but both had suffered an assault whose consequences were not measured only by bruises.
When a nurse asked Clara whether she felt safe returning home, the young woman stared at the white wall for a long time.
"I don't know," she finally said.
The nurse did not tell her that a mansion with guards and alarms must be safe.
Instead, she explained the options for leaving with a trusted person, arranging follow-up support, and documenting any additional threatening behavior.
Clara requested a quiet place to recover away from Veronica.
Nathan immediately offered a hotel suite or one of the family's other residences.
Clara shook her head.
"I don't want to be sent away like I did something wrong."
He accepted that correction.
"Then we'll make the house safe for you," he said.
"Or you'll choose somewhere else."
"Either way, it will be your decision."
Elena entered slowly with a nurse, holding one hand against her lower back.
Her uniform had been replaced with borrowed hospital clothing, though she still carried the white apron folded inside a plastic belongings bag.
Clara opened her arms, and Elena hugged her carefully from one side.
Neither spoke at first.
The young woman remembered Elena kneeling between her and the raised heel.
Elena remembered the helpless sound Clara made when the wine hit her face.
Their silence was not empty.
It contained the terror they had survived together.
"You didn't have to do that," Clara whispered.
"Yes, I did," Elena answered.
"Somebody had to."
Nathan stood by the door, ashamed of how simple the truth sounded.
When Elena turned toward him, she looked frightened despite everything that had happened.
"Mr. Sterling, I'm sorry about the broken things," she said.
He stared at her.
"Broken things?"
"The glass and the vase."
"I know they're expensive."
Nathan felt his chest tighten.
His wife had made a woman who had been kicked while protecting his daughter worry about a porcelain vase.
"Elena, I don't care about the vase," he said.
"I care about your injury and what happened to Clara."
"Your job is safe, and you won't lose wages while you recover."
Elena's relief was visible but cautious.
Promises made during emergencies sometimes vanished once the cameras and police left.
Nathan realized he would have to prove his words through conduct rather than expecting immediate trust.
He arranged for an independent representative to review employee safety and ensured Elena could speak to investigators without his presence.
He offered to cover her medical expenses, but he also made clear that accepting support was not a condition for giving any particular statement.
Elena nodded and looked at Clara.
"I heard the document argument earlier," she said.
"I should have warned your father before tonight."
"You warned me," Clara replied.
"You told me to keep my phone."
Elena gave a sad little laugh.
"I wish I'd been braver."
"You were brave," Clara insisted.
"You got between me and somebody who was kicking."
Nathan stepped into the corridor so the women could speak without him hovering.
There he found Sergeant Brooks waiting to clarify a few details from his statement.
She asked about the force he had used when he arrived.
He told her exactly what he remembered and acknowledged that he had reacted violently when he saw his daughter being attacked.
"I know fear doesn't exempt me from the law," he said.
"I want the complete footage reviewed."
Brooks confirmed that the review would consider timing, danger, and all relevant circumstances.
She did not promise him any outcome, which he respected.
He had spent too many years around people who guaranteed favorable decisions before looking at the facts.
For once, he welcomed somebody who refused to be impressed by his wealth.
Later, Clara asked her father whether Veronica would return that night.
He said the officers had directed them to keep apart while the investigation began and that his attorney was seeking appropriate protective measures.
He would not predict what the police or courts would decide.
Clara appreciated his honesty.
She was tired of reassuring stories that collapsed under the weight of reality.
As midnight approached, Nathan sent word to the household staff that the mansion would remain secured and that nobody was to destroy, alter, or remove anything connected to the incident.
He also asked that the cream carpet remain untouched until investigators had finished with the scene.
His assistant suggested immediately replacing it to spare Clara the reminder.
Nathan declined.
"First we preserve the evidence," he said.
"Then we ask Clara what she wants to do with the room."
In the neighboring treatment room, Elena slept for a few minutes with a pillow supporting her back.
Clara watched her and wondered what kind of person had taught Veronica that money permitted cruelty.
A nurse brought Clara a clean cardigan and a cup of warm tea.
For the first time all evening, she stopped trembling.
She opened her phone to a photograph of her late mother standing in front of a restored Chicago theater.
Marianne was laughing, a workman's measuring tape hanging from one wrist.
Clara traced the outline of her face on the screen.
"I said no, Mom," she whispered.
"I finally said it out loud."
A new message appeared from Evelyn Brooks.
The proxy document has been secured, and the trustees have been notified.
Nothing will be signed on your behalf.
May you like
Clara read the sentence twice and set the phone down.
She could not undo the night, but she could begin to believe that her life belonged to her.
