Just then, they heard someone call out behind them, “Hey, Eddie! Over here!” They turned to see Nick poke his head out from behind a pair of swinging double doors.
“Nick! How the hell did you get here before we did?” Peik Lin said in shock as she rushed to him.
“I called in a favor,” Nick said as he hugged her tightly.
“You know Captain Kirk or something? Beijing’s an hour farther from Hong Kong!”
“I managed to catch a military transport jet. We didn’t have to deal with any airspace delays, and I swear we were flying at Mach 3.”
“Let me guess…Uncle Alfred made a call?” Eddie asked.
Nick nodded. He ushered the two of them into the waiting room of the adult intensive care unit, which was lined with comfortable leather chairs. “I was able to see Rachel for a few minutes, and then they made me leave. They’re trying to restore her renal function right now. The doctor needs to ask you some questions, Peik Lin.”
Several minutes later, the doctor entered the waiting room.
“Everyone, this is Dr. Jacobson,” Nick said.
Eddie got up from his chair and extended his hand with a flourish. “Edison Cheng—I’m Malcolm Cheng’s son.”
“I’m sorry, am I supposed to know that name?” the raven-haired doctor asked.
Eddie looked at her in astonishment. The doctor grinned, “Just kidding. Of course I know your father.”
Eddie was never more relieved in his life.
“How is she?” Nick asked, trying to remain calm.
“Her vitals have been stabilized for the time being, and we’re running a range of tests. This is a very perplexing case. We’re still not able to pinpoint what led to such rapid multi-organ failure, but obviously there is something extremely toxic in her system.” Looking at Peik Lin, she asked, “Can you tell me everything your friend ate or drank in the last twenty-four hours?”
“I can try. Let’s see, when we first arrived last night at the Four Seasons, Rachel had a Cobb salad, and then a strawberry and lychee mousse dessert. This morning we skipped breakfast, but we had a very simple lunch of Hangzhou river shrimp, sautéed young bamboo shoots, and roast duck noodle soup. There was also some chocolate-dipped ginger in our rooms that Rachel might have eaten. I didn’t eat those. Oh wait a minute—she had a massage this morning that supposedly used pieces of crushed jade and lotus seeds.”
“Hmm…let me look into that. We’ll put in a call to the resort and get a full list of anything she might have possibly ingested or been exposed to.”
“What do you think it could have been, doctor? We’ve basically eaten the same foods, and as you can see I’m totally fine,” Peik Lin said.
“Everyone’s body reacts differently. But I don’t want to jump to any conclusions until we finish running all the toxicology tests,” the doctor explained.
“What’s your prognosis?” Nick asked worriedly.
The doctor paused, hunching her shoulders. “I’m not going to kid you—things are quite critical at the moment. We may have to put in a TIPS*1 to staunch the worsening liver failure. And if she develops encephalopathy, we will have to put her in a medically induced coma in order to give her body more of a fighting chance.”
“Medically induced coma?” Peik Lin said in a hushed tone, promptly bursting into tears. Nick held her in his arms, desperately trying not to lose it himself.
Eddie went up to the doctor. “You do everything you possibly can. Remember, Dr. Malcolm Cheng and Ming Kah-Ching will hold you personally responsible if anything happens to her.”
Dr. Jacobson gave Eddie a slightly annoyed look. “We do the best we can for all our patients, Mr. Cheng, regardless of who they are.”
“Can we please see her?” Peik Lin asked.
“I can only let you in one at a time,” the doctor replied.
“You go, Nick,” Peik Lin said, sinking back down onto the couch.
8:40 p.m.
Nick stood at the foot of Rachel’s bed, watching helplessly as a team of doctors and nurses hovered over her. Two days ago they had been in their suite at the Peninsula, where she had been excitedly packing for her spa weekend with one of her best friends. Don’t you have too much fun in Beijing now! No flirting with any sexy librarians, unless it’s Parker Posey, Rachel had teased, before giving him the sweetest goodbye kiss. Now her complexion had turned yellow and there were cables, cords, and tubes in her neck and abdomen. It was just so unreal. What happened to his beautiful wife? Why wasn’t she getting any better? He couldn’t even begin to imagine losing her. No, no, no, he had to wipe that thought out of his mind. She was so strong, so healthy. She was going to be okay.
She had her whole life ahead of her. Their whole life together. Nick left the room and walked toward the waiting room. Passing a handicapped toilet, he let himself in and locked the door. He took a few deep breaths, splashed some water on his face, and looked at himself in the mirror. Then he noticed the mirror itself—a round, backlit mirror that looked like it came from some pricey design showroom. He glanced around and saw that the whole space had recently been redecorated. Tears started streaming down his face uncontrollably. If Rachel pulled through—no—when Rachel pulled through this, he was going to build her the most insanely beautiful bathroom the world had ever seen.