The phone rang sharp in the Vale family home, one of the maid picked and shortly afterwards turned to Mrs. Vale's.
"For you Mrs.Vale"
She slowly took the landline From her
"Hello?"
On the other end, the nurse's voice was calm but urgent.
"Mrs. Vale, this is the city hospital. Your son Ethan has been brought in after a serious accident, He's unconscious."
"Unconscious?" Mrs. Vale asked unbelievably.
Her husband stood behind her, his eyes on her.
"Who called?" Mr. Vale demanded.
"The paramedics. There was a car crash outside the city, Our son is unconscious."
Mr. Vale's face quickly changed.
"An accident "?
"Get everyone ready. We're leaving now." Mr Vale said immediately.
"Thank you, we'll be on our way" Mrs. Vale said and hung up.
At home, Lara decided not to go to the office. She was still pondering over what happened between her and Ethan when her phone buzzed, Nina's name flashed on the screen so she picked.
"Hello, Lara. Ethan's in the hospital. He was involved in a car crash. The doctors want family to come, his family are on the way"
"I'll be on my way Nina, keep me updated" She said and hung up.
Without thinking, she quickly ran to her wardrobe and wore a Jean, inorder not to be noticed she quickly grabbed an hoodie running downstairs to grab her keys.
Back at the Vale mansion, the phone rang again.
This time it was Ethan's younger sister, Jenna.
"Hello?" The maid said over the phone
"Hey Martha, I've been trying to reach my parents but I couldn't, are they home"?
"Miss Jenna, your parents aren't available. Mr Ethan was involved in an accident"
"An accident? What hospital"? She asked
"The city hospital ma'am "
THE CITY HOSPITAL
Mr. Vale paced up and down the hallway.
"I don't like this silence, I want to see him."
Mrs. Vale was just sat in tears.
"Oh my poor Ethan, how could this have happen."
Lara stood at a far end in the hospital, She didn't want to go in because she felt she didn't belong here, bedides she wasn't family.
She hated hospitals the sterile smell made her stomach twist, not long she found a nurse she knew.
"Hi, Ethan Vale was admitted here How's he?" Lara asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Stable for now," the nurse said softly. "But unconscious."
Lara nodded, biting her lip.
"Thank you" She said and slipped some cash into her hands which she accepted and left.
Ethan's family watched as Ethan laid on the bed, he was put in Room 4A. He was silent and still there were tubes in his arms and the machines were blinking slowly and steady.
Mr. Vale stood near the glass wall, his arms were folded tight and his lips pressed hard together.
Mrs. Vale sat down again, her shoulders hunched like it were to heavy for her to carry, seeing her son in this state made her cry more.
Jenna whispered something to the nurse. Her hands were shaking.
"We'll do the test, all of us. Just take our blood please."
"I'll send a nurse over" The nurse said and left.
Fifteen minutes later, the doctor returned.
His face didn't look good.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "None of you are a match."
"What?" Jenna stepped forward. "But we're his family. How is that possible?"
"Ethan's blood type is Rh-null. Extremely rare, we ran the tests twice to confirm."
Mrs. Vale's voice cracked.
"There has to be someone...."
"We've contacted the national donor network already. But it could take hours or more."
He paused.
"Time is not something we have a lot of right now."
Lara had been standing by the corridor, she hadn't stepped where they was but she stayed close enough. She saw how Mrs. Vale cry and had seen Jenna's panic, she saw how hurt Mr. Vale was. And now she had heard and "No one matched".
She didn't think twice, she turned and walked down the hallway quickly and quietly.
The blood donation lab was cold, the nurse barely glanced at her.
"I want to donate for Ethan Vale," Lara said. Her voice was calm.
The nurse looked up.
"You're a family member?"
"No," she said. "But I want to do it anyway. Test mine please."
Fifteen minutes later, the nurse walked to where the Lara was sitted, Her eyes looked different, she was clearly stunned.
"You match," she said softly.
"Perfectly."
Lara looked away.
"I don't want anyone knowing."
"We're about to start the transfusion."
"Good," she said. "Just don't tell them it was me."
She rolled up her sleeve and after an hour later, she walked out of the hospital even after the nurse insisted she rest before leaving. She didn't wait to be thanked, she didn't even wait to see if Ethan was okay. Her blood was already inside him and that was enough for her.
The hallway outside the emergency room was noisy now, there were scrambling footsteps and loud voices. Nurses moved quickly across the corridor, suddenly the door the door slammed open.
Mrs. Alden burst in first, her eyes wide, her bag nearly slipping off her shoulder as she grabbed a nurse by the arm.
"Where's my son-in-law? Where is Ethan Vale?" she cried.
Maya rushed between them, clutching her phone, still pretending to wipe tears off her cheek.
"I'm his wife," she said quickly to the nurse. "I got a call that he was brought here, I need to see him now."
The nurse paused, clearly overwhelmed. "The patient was brought in unconscious, I can't really say much right now but he's stable now. The transfusion worked....."
"What transfusion?" Maya asked sharply. "Whose blood?"
"We still don't know the identity of the donor," the nurse answered. "Someone who came in a few hours ago matched immediately, the person didn't leave a name before leaving."
Mrs. Alden was still confused. "What do you mean someone just donated and disappeared? How do you not know who it was?"
The nurse looked tired. "They didn't want to be known, they just asked if they could help after they overheard we couldn't find a match, It was rare the blood bank didn't have it. His family didn't match either"
Mr. Alden spoke for the first time. "So he's alive. That's what you're saying."
"Yes," the nurse nodded. "Because of that donation, we stabilized him. But he's still unconscious. We don't know when he'll wake up."
Maya stepped forward. "I want to see him now."
The nurse hesitated. "Only immediate family..."
"I said I'm his wife."
The nurse gave a small nod and gestured down the hallway. "Room 4A. But please be quiet, His mom and dad are already there."
Maya didn't wait, she walked quickly down the hall, her heels clicking against the tiles.
Mrs. Alden turned to her husband. "Something's not right. Who do you think donated that blood?"
Mr. Alden sighed and said nothing. He just stood still without uttering a word.
"Does anyone else know he's here?" Mrs. Alden asked.
The nurse frowned. "Someone must have known... to come that fast and donate. But like I said, no one gave us a name."
Jenna stood beside the vending machine, dialing Lara's number again, It rang and rang but it kept going to voicemail.
She stared at the phone, and furrowed her brows, then looked around and spotted a nurse walking out of a restricted area, she walked up quickly.
"Hi, sorry...uhm, were you the one in ER earlier? Room 112?"
The nurse blinked. "Yeah."
Jenna looked at her carefully. "There was a donor. For Ethan Vale, Do you… do you remember anything? Maybe the face?
The nurse hesitated. "She wore a hoodie, she was tall, had brown hair. She didn't speak much tho just walked in and said she overheard we were struggling to find a match and asked if she could try. She didn't want attention after she donated, she just… left."
Jenna's mouth fell slightly open.
"She?"
The nurse nodded. "Yeah. Pretty sure, she was crying. It seemed she knew him"
Jenna exhaled and whispered to herself, "Lara…"
"Please don't tell anyone I told you, I might be fired" She pleaded.
"Sure definitely " She said and slipped some cash into her hand, "If she comes again or you see her around call me okay. I'll reward you" Jenna said and gave the nurse her card.
"Sure madam, I'll do just that" .