A Wedding Night Gone Terribly Wrong novel Chapter 380

In the dead of night, Annelise's little legs gave out. She pitched forward and collapsed into the dirt.

"Help! Somebody help my sister!"

Seth dropped to his knees in pure terror, using every ounce of his remaining strength to roll her over and lift her upper body onto his lap so her head could rest against his chest.

They couldn't walk anymore. They were going to freeze to death in this forgotten corner of the world.

Seth threw his head back and sobbed at the empty sky, clutching his dying sister as the freezing wind tore at them.

Miles away, Winifred's tears had long since dried. She was operating on pure, desperate adrenaline.

Beep.

A notification pinged from the search drone's monitor.

— Active thermal signature detected 987 meters ahead.

Winifred practically shoved her face into the screen. The technician adjusted the infrared imaging, and a tiny silhouette that looked exactly like Seth appeared. He was kneeling in the dirt, surrounded by absolute darkness.

"That's him! That's my baby!" Winifred choked out, tears instantly flooding her eyes again.

She bolted into the night, sprinting desperately ahead of the rescue team.

"Seth! Annelise!"

She didn't know exactly where they were, only that they were somewhere along the dirt path between the looming mountains.

She ran until her lungs burned, screaming their names until her throat was raw.

Finally, a tiny, broken voice called back through the darkness.

"Find Seth and Annelise's medical records! Take them to the security guards and have them text me the photos right now!"

"I'm on it!"

With Declan clearing the way, the top pediatric surgeons were already waiting at Kingsbridge Children's Hospital.

After reviewing the records, the chief of pediatric urology sighed heavily. "He was born premature with low birth weight, and the inguinal canal didn't close properly. With time, it might have healed on its own, but the severe trauma and crying caused it to rupture completely. We have to operate."

Winifred's two years of careful management had been undone in a single night, but she accepted it with eerie calm. Her son was alive. A surgery was a small price to pay.

She watched as Seth's tiny body was wheeled into the operating room, but there was no time to cry. She had to deal with Annelise.

The head of pediatric cardiology reviewed the latest echocardiogram and shook his head. "She was diagnosed with a minor valve defect at two months old. It was healing beautifully as she grew, but this severe cold has triggered heart failure. We need to operate immediately to save her life."

"Do it," Winifred said without a second of hesitation.