Love beyond the mask (Whitney) novel Chapter 501

After hearing the message relayed by Myra, Florence Sheldon's demeanor shifted, her gaze turning frosty as she faced Florence. "Ms. Sheldon, the caller identified herself as Elaine. She claims to have information of interest to you and suggests you'd do well to get in touch."

"Elaine?" Florence's expression chilled further; she had never had dealings with Elaine before. Was there a veiled threat in her words?

---

At the hospital.

Dr. Whitney Harper was meticulously examining Natalie, combining various tests and monitoring data. "You're severely anemic?"

The signs were alarming. Natalie's pulse was weak, and the pallor in her eyes suggested a serious lack of blood support, a condition that in simpler terms meant her body was failing to produce enough new blood.

Natalie shook her head, her voice weak. "I don't know what's wrong with me. Lately, I've been experiencing nosebleeds, vomiting, frequent fainting spells, coughing up blood, and my hair has begun to fall out..."

Whitney's brow furrowed; these symptoms were alarmingly indicative of cancer.

"Have you received any blood transfusions recently?"

Natalie hesitated, "I'm not sure. Ludwik has kept things from me, instructing the doctors not to disclose any details. I'm in the dark about my treatments; the last thing I remember is being put under anesthesia two days ago. When I woke up, I felt much stronger, as if I had regained some of my energy."

Whitney was deep in thought. Blood transfusions were akin to replenishing the body's nutrition, but why would Natalie need one if she hadn't suffered significant blood loss? It pointed to a more serious condition — her bone marrow might have stopped producing blood.

"I'd like to check your spine, if that's okay?"

Natalie nodded, turning over to allow Whitney to lift her shirt gently. There, on her spine, were small puncture wounds, different and much smaller than the ones Whitney had found before.

"Has Dr. Ford examined your spine recently?"

"Yes," Natalie remembered painfully, "the bone marrow extraction was excruciating. I was bedridden for days."

It was becoming clear to Whitney; Natalie's life was at risk due to a blood disorder. Florence might have been a blood donor, or in a more dire scenario, a bone marrow donor if Natalie had leukemia.

Was Ludwik involved with Florence purely out of necessity, for Natalie's sake?

A headache started to form as Whitney pieced the puzzle together. Natalie had awakened from a vegetative state only to suddenly fall victim to a blood disease?

Exiting Natalie's room, Whitney sought her treatment records, which suspiciously seemed to have disappeared from both the nurse's station and the doctor's offices.

Her next step was to confront the attending physician, Dr. Ford.

"Ms. Valentine, you have no right to pry into Natalie's private medical issues," Dr. Ford stated, refusing to divulge any information, which only fueled Whitney's suspicions further.

"Is it a spinal disease, then?" Whitney pressed, her tone both polite and assertive.