The Socialite's Secret

Foolishly he did not.

David, the anaesthetist, arrived then and took over the care of Anya’s airway. Luke called for more anti-opiate and inserted that into Anya’s IV line and then awaited its effect.

‘Can we can call for Security?’ Luke said.

‘Security?’ Heather checked, knowing that they were busy outside and wondering why they might be needed in here.

‘I want him out,’ Luke responded, and as he did so he briefly turned to the unhelpful and unwelcome visitor in his emergency room who was diverting his concentration yet still refused to move.

Luke kicked at a silver metal trolley. It clattered into a wall and the implication was clear—Anya’s private physician would be leaving by any method that Luke saw fit to use.

Paul’s assessment had been right after all—the place was about to blow, only not for the reasons anyone had been expecting!

What the hell was going on with Luke?

‘You make me sick!’ Luke shouted, and, wisely perhaps, Vince chose to leave.

Everyone glanced at each other but Luke made no comment. He simply did all he could to focus his attention fully on Anya, who was on the very brink of death.

It was a long and lengthy resuscitation.

The drugs were reversed and her heart started beating but she had aspirated too. It was more than an hour before they had Anya under control. Then it was another fifteen minutes before she started to rouse and began gagging at the tube.

‘It’s okay, Anya,’ Luke said, and then blew out a long breath because for a while there he hadn’t thought that it would be. ‘You’re in hospital.’

Anya was fighting and confused, which were good signs—all her limbs were moving and her terrified eyes briefly met Luke’s before David put Anya into an induced coma.

‘I want her up on ICU,’ David said, and looked over at Heather, who was just returning from a lengthy phone call with Admin. ‘Can you call them and ask how long until they’re ready and then arrange to clear the corridor?’

Heather nodded. ‘I’ll get onto it now. Luke, will you speak to the press?’

Luke hated how normal policy seemed to have been thrown out of the window. He was certain, quite certain, without checking, that the department would have seen several drug overdoses overnight. He just loathed how everything had changed simply because of who Anya was.

‘I’ll speak with Anya’s family first,’ Luke said in response to her request.

Even Heather had the grace to blush. ‘I’ve put them all in the staffroom.’

‘Who?’ Luke checked.

‘Her manager, the vocal coach, her doctor, her bodyguards. Scarlet’s in there too.’

‘Scarlet’s her daughter,’ Paul added, because unless it was rugby or medicine, no doubt Luke wouldn’t have a clue who she was.

‘Okay, I’ll speak with her now,’ Luke said, as he binned his gloves and gown.

He walked out and although the department had grown busy in the hour or so that he had been working on Anya, all eyes were on Luke as he walked past. Everyone wanted to know what was going on and how Anya was.

Luke didn’t stop to enlighten them.

Instead, he walked around to the staffroom and saw that Anya’s huge entourage were all there on their phones. As Luke went to go in and speak with the daughter, one of them had the nerve to ask for his ID.

‘It’s your ID that I need here,’ Luke responded, and with that line he warned them how any dealings with him would be.

‘How is she?’ a frantic woman asked.

‘We’ve been waiting for more than an hour for an update,’ another person said.

Luke just ignored them and walked into the very full staffroom. ‘I’m Luke Edwards, I’ve been taking care of Anya. I’d like to speak with the immediate family.’

And there, in the midst of it all, she was.

Scarlet.

Still beautiful, Luke thought.

She was sitting, trembling, with her head in her hands. Even her cloud of black ringlets was shaking as her knees bobbed up and down. She seemed oblivious to her surroundings but then she suddenly looked up and her already pale face bleached further in recognition.

‘Luke?’

‘Luke Edwards,’ he said, doing all he could to keep them anonymous, to not let everyone present know the agony this was. ‘I’ve been treating your mother. Are there any other relatives?’ Luke checked.

Scarlet shook her head and opened her mouth to speak but no words came out so she shook her head again but then managed two words. ‘Just me.’

‘Then I’d like to speak to you alone.’

‘We need to know what’s going on,’ a woman said. ‘I’m Sonia, Anya’s manager.’

‘I’m speaking now with her next of kin.’

Luke’s stance was not one to be argued with. It wasn’t just that he was tall and broad—after all, there were far more burly bodyguards than he. More it was his implacable expression and cool disdain that had the manager step back and the path cleared for him to leave.

Scarlet was seriously shaken; her legs felt as if they were made only of liquid.

She was about to be told that her mother was dead, Scarlet was quite sure of that.

‘This way,’ Luke said, and down another corridor they went, and when she needed him to take her arm, instead he walked on briskly.

Luke opened the door to his office and she could see his grim expression.

She was dead, Scarlet was sure.

Luke was here.

Scarlet was very used to feeling conflicted but it was immeasurable now.

She stepped into his office and the first thing that hit her was that it was so quiet.

So completely quiet and calm that after the chaos of that morning the stillness hit her like a wall.