In the dead of the night, half-asleep, Eleanor thought she heard the rumble of an engine pulling away, though she wasn't sure if it was a dream or reality.

Early the next morning, Evelyn washed up, got dressed, and headed downstairs. Eleanor finished getting ready and followed shortly after, catching the tail end of Evelyn's conversation with Joslyn.

"Joslyn, where did my dad go? Why isn't he home?"

"Your dad had something urgent to take care of. He left early this morning," Joslyn replied.

Eleanor stepped off the stairs and asked, "Did he leave this morning?"

Joslyn turned around. "Actually, no. Mr. Goodwin left in the middle of the night. Around two, I think. I checked the clock when I heard him."

Eleanor furrowed her brows. So she hadn't been dreaming? lan really had rushed out at 2 AM?

"Evelyn, let's get you to school. Come on."

Evelyn nodded obediently and followed her mother out. The drive to the school took only five minutes. Just as Eleanor was about to head to the lab, her phone rang. It was lan.

She pulled over and answered.

"Hello?"

"Did you drop Evelyn off?" His voice sounded ragged and exhausted.

"Just now. Did something happen last night?" Eleanor pressed.

The tension in lan's voice was palpable. "Grandma had a severe dizzy spell in the

middle of the night. She's at the hospital right now undergoing tests."

Eleanor's heart leaped into her throat. "Which hospital? I'll be right there."

"Ashford General. Don't rush, just drive safe," lan told her.

Eleanor hung up and immediately sped toward the hospital. The entire drive, Magdalen's ominous words from yesterday echoed in her mind. Had the older woman genuinely felt the end approaching?

A powerful wave of dread washed over her.

When she reached the VIP ward, lan was standing in the corridor, speaking in hushed tense tones

ith the attending doctor Gina and Serena were slumped in chairs nearby, their eyes red and brimming with anxiety.

Eleanor hurried over to Serena and whispered, "How is she?"

Serena shook her head, tears instantly spilling over. "By the time she got here, she was barely conscious. She couldn't even speak clearly."

Eleanor's heart plummeted. She turned toward lan as he finished his conversation and walked over.

"The preliminary results aren't good. Her blood pressure has bottomed out, and several other markers are dangerously abnormal. The doctors are admitting her for immediate, intensive testing."

The news hung heavy in the air. For a woman nearing eighty, this was the worst possible scenario.

"Where is she now?"

"They just gave her an injection. She's resting in her room, asleep for the moment."

Gina stood up, letting out a shattered sigh. "She was perfectly fine yesterday. How did this happen so fast?"

"Mom, please don't worry. Medicine is so advanced now. Grandma will pull through," Serena tried to soothe her.

lan looked at Eleanor. "I need to speak with the doctor again. Want to come?"

Eleanor nodded and followed him down the hall.

They sat down to discuss the

treatment plan, but the doctor was

incredibly blunt. Given Magdalen's

advanced age and the severe.

deterioration of her

organs-especially her heart they suspected this was the onset of Acute Heart Failure. The only viable

path forward was palliative care and

pain management.

"Surgery carries a catastrophic risk. I absolutely cannot recommend it," the doctor concluded.

Stepping out of the office, lan walked in heavy silence. The rigid tension in his shoulders betrayed the suffocating despair he was trying to hide.

Eleanor followed him into the hospital room. Magdalen's face was terrifyingly pale, her hair having lost all its fuster. With an oxygen tube taped beneath her nose, she looked Heartbreakingly fragile.