Chapter 4 - THE FIRST NO
Dr. Lena Ortiz arrived without an entourage.
She introduced herself to Sophia first.
“Would you rather write, type, or have Ruby interpret?”
Sophia pointed to Ruby.
“Okay. If anything I ask bothers you, tell me to stop.”
Santiago stood beside the window, feeling like an intruder in a room he owned.
Ortiz reviewed the medication bottles, asked about sleep and meals, and arranged blood work. She explained that changes would require supervision.
Nobody promised Sophia would speak.
Nobody called her unreachable.
When Ortiz asked whether Sophia wanted Santiago present for the rest, his sister hesitated.
Then she shook her head.
He almost argued.
Instead, he left.
Outside, Mrs. Delaney stood holding a basket of laundry.
“Is Miss Sophia all right?”
“I don’t know.”
The housekeeper looked startled.
It was not an answer she often heard from him.
An hour later, Ortiz joined him downstairs.
“Some of the treatment may have made her fatigue and attention worse. I need records before drawing conclusions.”
“And the silence?”
“Her difficulty speaking deserves a proper reassessment. But she already communicates. Start respecting that today.”
He looked toward the stairs.
“Can she get better?”
“She can have a better life. Don’t make speech the price of that.”
That evening, Sophia chose her own dinner.
It should have been a small thing.
Mrs. Delaney offered chicken and rice.
Sophia typed into a tablet Ortiz had helped configure.
The device said, “I want a cheeseburger.”
Ruby smiled.
Santiago nearly did.
Then Vincent Moretti walked into the dining room.
At sixty-two, he carried himself with the easy confidence of a man who had helped build the family’s businesses and expected gratitude for it.
“What’s this about canceling Adrian’s visit?”
Sophia’s fork struck her plate.
Vincent glanced at Ruby.
“The maid is back?”
“Her name is Ruby,” Santiago said.
“I know her name.”
Ruby looked up.
Vincent smiled at Sophia.
“Your brother gets dramatic when he’s worried.”
He reached toward her shoulder.
Sophia pulled away so sharply her chair scraped the floor.
The room froze.
Santiago stepped between them.
“She doesn’t want to be touched.”
Vincent’s smile thinned.
“She’s confused.”
The tablet spoke.
“No.”
Everyone turned.
Sophia’s hands trembled above the screen.
She pressed the button again.
“No.”
Vincent looked at the device as if it had insulted him.
Then his phone rang.
He glanced at the screen and silenced it.
May you like
Santiago had already seen the name.
Adrian Hale.
