Sheridan tugged at the sleeves of her sweater, shifted on her feet, and glanced over at Theresa and Miguel. They had come straight to the hospital as soon as they had heard about their father, and, since the second they had arrived, they hadn't stopped clinging to one another.
Not that she could blame them. In a matter of minutes, their entire world had been ripped apart at the seams. What if Martin died? What if he never recovered?
What if she had destroyed Luis's entire family?
Sheridan swallowed a lump in her throat as Pilar rejoined the group.
"Any news?" Luis asked his mother.
"Only that nothing has changed." Pilar brushed some tears from her eyes. "I just thank the Lord that your father is still stable for now. We may not know when he will wake up, but at least we have that to hold on to."
"Oh, Mama, I can't believe this is happening!" Theresa flew into her mother's arms.
"I know, Theresita." Pilar stroked her daughter's hair. "I just can't believe that God would finally bring him back to us, only to take him away again."
"Is it true, Mama?" Miguel piped up. "What the doctors said? That, even if he wakes up, Papa may not be able to walk again?"
Sheridan gasped, her body faltering in Luis's arms.
Luis grabbed ahold of her and steadied her.
"Sher, come here . . ." Luis led her away from the group as his mother answered Miguel in the affirmative. "Why don't you let me take you home?"
"No, Luis, I want to be here to support you." Sheridan wiped some tears from her eyes. "Besides, this is all my fault. If your father hadn't been trying to rescue me, none of this would have happened."
"Sheridan, are you kidding me?" Luis lifted her chin. "None of this is your fault. You are not responsible for your father."
"Still, Luis, if you hadn't met me, your family wouldn't be in this situation right now." Sheridan's eyes fell to the floor. "I can't bear to even look at your mother right now, Luis—to see the pain in her eyes." Sheridan sobbed harder. "Pilar is the only reason I made it through my childhood. How could I have repaid her like this?"
"Sheridan, please don't think like this," Luis begged. "You are the reason we found my father in the first place. You are the one who never gave up, even when I wanted to." Luis blinked back tears. "If you and I had never met, my mother would have never even found out that she had anything left to lose."
Sheridan looked up, her eyes filled with tears. "Maybe it would have been better that way, Luis."
"Better for whom?" Luis's forehead creased. "You think it would have been better for my mother to go on wondering if my father was still alive—not knowing what had happened to him?"
Sheridan hugged her arms to her chest. "Your father might die, Luis!"
"You think I don't know that?" Luis's voice cracked. "But that doesn't make it your fault. Sheridan, if it weren't for you, I might not have ever seen him again."
Sheridan averted her eyes.
Luis squeezed her arms. "Sheridan, please listen to me—this could have gone down in so many different ways. In fact, if we hadn't been there, my father probably would have died in that church explosion."
"I know that, Luis," Sheridan mumbled.
"Do you, Sheridan?" A tear slipped down Luis's cheek. "Sheridan, please—I'm begging you: You've got to stop blaming yourself."
"Sam, I got your message. My mother was arrested?" Gwen leaned into Hank for support.
"Yes, I'm afraid so, Gwen." Sam hung his head. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but given the fact that she wired money to Alistair, she's been charged as an accessory in the attempted murder of you, Hank, Sheridan, Luis, Julian, and Eve, as well as the clergyman and church cleaner who were with you."
"This is unbelievable." Gwen rubbed her temples. "I mean, I know my mother hasn't always been a model citizen, but this?"
Hank massaged her shoulders.
Gwen's eyes flew to Sam's. "Sam, may I see her?"
"Of course," Sam said. "Follow me."
Hank squeezed Gwen's hand. "If you want me to come back there with you, just say the word."
"Thank you, Hank," Gwen whispered, tears springing to her eyes.
"What's wrong, Gwen?" Hank asked. "I mean, besides the obvious?"
"Nothing's wrong, Hank," Gwen breathed, wiping a tear from her cheek. "I'm just not used to feeling this way—to anyone supporting me like this."
Eve took a deep breath in as she approached her house. Everything was going to be fine.
Martin was going to pull out of his coma. She was going to get her family back.
Everything was going to go back to normal.
She wanted to believe that. She had to believe that. She had to fight for something.
After all, Julian was right, wasn't he? That everyone deserved a second chance? That even she deserved one after everything she had done? That she had already started to redeem herself?
She could make TC see that. She could make him see reason. She could help him remember the love they once shared.
"Excuse me, ma'am," a messenger called out. "Are you Dr. Eve Russell?"
Eve stopped in her tracks.
"Ma'am, I've got a delivery for you." The messenger crossed the yard to her and handed her a manila envelope—along with a receipt to sign.
The color drained from Eve's face. Why would anyone be sending a messengered envelope to her home address?
There was only one reason she could come up with.
"Ma'am, I need you to sign this," the messenger said.
"I know," Eve answered, her fingers shaking.
"Ma'am." The messenger shoved the pen into her hand. "Please, just sign the receipt."
Eve looked off into the distance, numbness flooding her body. Gripping her fingers around the pen, she scribbled her name.
"Thank you," the messenger said, slipping the envelope into her hands.
Eve looked down; with shaking fingers, she unfastened the metal clasp and pulled out the contents.
Her heart stopped as five words came into focus:
Petition for Dissolution of Marriage
