Passion and Turmoil on the Sunny Isle: Book Ii of the Sunny Isle Thriller Series

By Hope Hamilton Tate

Chad Ogilvy and Drulietta Van Hamilton are married, but ever after bliss did not last for long. Accidents and unexplained occurrences are turning their marital happiness into a nightmarish reality. Who are behind these terrifying events?

Recently, they captured The Council of Friends in High Places who had slaughtered Drulietta’s Willoween ancestors. They are in jail awaiting trial. Did they have friends on the outside acting on their behalf? Was Josephine Grandville working for them, or was she back to kindle an old romance with Chad?

Enter Selena Paradise, one of Chad’s ex-girls. Supposedly, she is in love with Justin Davenport. However, is she? Like a weed, she plants herself at the Van Hamilton estate, camouflaging herself as one of the family, creating havoc in any way her psychiatric mind could conceive.

Six-year-old Delamar is having problems conforming to his new life and his new school. Can Chad and Drulietta help him to adjust to his new existence?

As the unknown antagonists close in on them, Chad takes his family on the run. Soldiers and police are helping him to keep his bride alive. Will all their efforts be enough to save the last of the Willoweens?

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jun 28, 2019
• ISBN: 9781728311326

Hope Hamilton Tate

Hope Hamilton Tate is the author of The Sunny Isle Thriller Series, which consists of {1} Love and Mayhem on the Sunny Isle of Jamaica, {2} Passion and Turmoil on The Sunny Isle, and {3} Terror at Willow Isle. She attended Kean University in Union, New Jersey, where she obtained a B.S. degree in accounting even though, her passion is writing. Hope chooses the island of Jamaica for the sceneries in her books because of its picturesque beauty, and her knowledge of the island.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

*Not All Scorpions have Tails!*

Mommy, no, you cannot die! Delamar screamed. Daddy, we have to do something. I can feel her slipping away from me.

The Saturday morning was tropical clear, and even the air was shimmering from the intense heat of the sun. The butterflies flitted from roses to carnations, displaying their graceful wings against those of the hummingbirds, and an array of fluffy white clouds floated across the azure sky. Trucks with wooden bodies bustled along the highway, oblivious to the children as they picked the delicious fruits from a nearby mango tree. Activities were teeming everywhere, but none as urgent as the ones taking place inside the Delightful General Hospital.

Delamar Ogilvy knelt beside his mother, tears pouring down his oval-shaped face. Mommy, please wake up, he pleaded. He looked up at Chad Ogilvy, his piercing, charcoal eyes shrouded with pain.

Knowing that he was the strength of his family, Chad Ogilvy tried to mask his grief and placed a comforting hand on the head of his six-year-old son. Little Chad, we have to be brave for Mommy. She’s strong, and she’ll be all right. Chad’s voice cracked with pent-up emotions, and he hardly believed what he had said. Unshed tears burned his eyelids as he turned away from his son, wondering how a single event could cause such a drastic upheaval in one’s existence.

Chad Ogilvy was in his late twenties with piercing hazel eyes, emitting an aura of sensitivity and knowledge. Tenderly, he touched the face of Drulietta Ogilvy. Please wake up, Little Angel with the Chameleon Eyes. I love you so much; I would not want to live without you. His tone was barely above a whisper and worry over the welfare of his wife chilled his insides.

With folded arms, Chad walked toward the window, thoughts of that near-fatal day, flipping through the pages of his memories. He could still hear her laughter as she sprayed the water on the heated air, creating a beautiful rainbow. God, how could such a fantastic day evolved into this kind of nightmare? he asked softly.

His intense hazel eyes meandered around the room. It was the hospital’s executive suite, but Chad would rather be at the Van Hamilton estate, enjoying a hearty breakfast with his family. He pulled the wicker chair beside Drulietta’s bed, sat down, and positioned his hand on his forehead. Chad was a doctor. Control of his emotion was a part of his professional training, but when he saw Drulietta in that state, all that knowledge took a nosedive and crashed around him.

Delamar tugged at Chad’s shirt. Daddy, we have to get Grandma Marion. She has the medicine that can cure Mommy.

Delamar was an extraordinary child with a smile that mirrored his charismatic personality. Nevertheless, there was an impenetrable enigmatic aura about him. His queries mimicked the maturity of an adult, and his piercing charcoal eyes appeared to see inside the soul, searching every word for evidence of truth.

Chad glanced at him. How do you know? he asked.

Mommy told me, he responded.

Chad was aware of the telepathic connection between Delamar and Drulietta, and he pulled the child toward him. Can you reach her? he asked.

Delamar nodded. Some of the medicine is in the suitcase that Grandma Caroline left for Mommy, but Grandma Marion has the same remedy, he explained.

Little Chad, that suitcase is over forty years old. Whatever is in there must have lost its therapeutic value by now. It may be too old to help Mommy.

Daddy, Mommy believes it can. Please get Grandma Marion. She will know what to do.

Chad smiled, his thoughts centering on the extraordinary abilities of Drulietta and Delamar. They were descendants of an almost extinct tribe of people known as the Willoweens, and they could communicate with each other, reminiscent of a colony of ants demonstrating their advanced sense of communication.

Drulietta could run like a cheetah, and evocative of a cat, she could see in the dark when her chameleonic eyes turned green. She could still smell the talcum powder that her mother wore twenty-one years before, similar to a bloodhound’s acute sense of smell. She moved and climbed with the agility of a monkey. She could dart up a tree faster than a lizard, and she welcomed adventure comparative to the soaring eagle. In essence, it was as though these highly developed animalistic capabilities came to perfection in Drulietta.

Chad gazed at his Willoween beauty. Even with her eyes closed, he could see them changing to a shade of green with flecks of light emanating from them. Her senses were more developed than those of Delamar were, but she was also more sensitive to medication, and the venom of arthropods. He sighed as memories of the near-death experience assailed him.

Laughing, she had picked up the rock by The Home of The Monument, unaware that it was the habitat of a scorpion. She had dropped it just as quickly as she had touched it, but the scorpion had already embedded its vicious sting in her arm, spreading its lethal poison through her body. Chad, she had uttered, pointing at the scorpion as it attempted to escape.

Chad had sprung into action, crushing the scorpion with his boots. He had then suctioned the poison from her arm, but in spite of his quick thinking, the venom from the arthropod created an allergic reaction inside Drulietta’s hypersensitive body chemistry, and within seconds, she succumbed to a coma.

Chad picked up her hand and placed it to his lips. Tenderly, he removed a wisp of hair from her face. Even then, he could see her riding across the Van Hamilton estate, her long black hair bouncing on the wind, mimicking her movements.

Chad was eight years her senior, but he had never wanted anyone, as he wanted her. He had pursued her, won her heart, became the father of her baby, and now the venom of a scorpion was trying to steal her from him. He spun, as a faint knock transported him to reality, and he walked to the door and opened it.

Marion Wright stood before him; her white hair piled in a bun under a straw hat; a smile on her wizened face. Her cheekbones were still prominent, depicting her strength of character, and the fullness that once existed in her now-sunken cheeks. She was quite tall, but the toils of the years had taken inches from her stature. Holding onto a walker, she hobbled into the room. I heard what happened, and I have brought the cure, she announced. She handed Chad a flask containing a brown liquid. This is the antidote. Inject it in the drip, and she will be all right.

Chad stared at her in bewilderment, but he regained his composure just as quickly. Thank you, Grandma Marion, he smiled, highlighting the dimples in his cheeks. Unfortunately, I can only give her approved medication. If I give her anything else, I could get disbarred, never to practice medicine again.

Marion stared at Chad, her oval-shaped face, bathed in consternation. I know that you are a doctor, but it is a chance you will have to take. Can she swallow? Somehow, we have to get this into her. It is the only thing that will save her life.

I have a whole team of researchers working on a cure, said Chad.

Marion shook her head. Son, it has been four days, how close are they, to finding a cure?

They told me that they are pretty close to finding one, Chad responded.

Marion used the walker to straighten her posture. Pretty close is not enough, she sighed. Dru is part Willoween. Her metabolism and yours are not the same. If you were stung, you would not have reacted to the venom as she did, and the antidote they now have would have cured you.

I know, said Chad. But what you are suggesting goes against everything I learned in medical school.

Marion Wright lowered her gaze. I know you love her, and you do not want to lose her, but you will unless you listen to me. The night Caroline died, I tried to help her, but they called me a crazy woman and threw me out of the hospital. I am not crazy. Please listen to me, or you’ll be burying her beside Caroline.

Caroline died from an aortic rupture caused by childbirth, Chad contradicted.

No, she bled to death because they could not stop the bleeding. Marion held up the flask and continued. This would have stopped it. I wanted to talk to the doctors, but they would not even allow me on the premises. Almost, every cure is a derivative of a plant. This one grew on Willow Isle, and the Willoweens used it for ages before the earthquake swallowed them. Before we left Willow Isle, we packed it into suitcases because we knew that wherever we went, we would need it. Without it, I would have died many years ago. Caroline did not know about her past, and she never learned the value of her suitcase, but she left it for the child she knew she would have some day. Dru is that child.

Delamar tugged at Chad’s sleeve. Daddy, we have to listen to her. Let’s take Mommy home so we can take care of her.

Chad turned to his son, but the comment lingered on his tongue when another voice intruded on the moment.

What have we here? said Dr. Albert Jones, barging into the room without an invitation. He did not even bother to knock.

Albert was in his late fifties with an aquiline nose, brown eyes, and a crooked smile on his ferret-like face. He had recently joined the hospital’s staff, and Chad was not a fan of his crude and vulgar attitudes.

Dr. Ogilvy, you know better than to allow a child in this room, he chided, pointing at Delamar.

Chad glared at Albert, desperately trying to keep his self-control. This is my son; this is a private room, and you are not my wife’s physician. Therefore, would you please explain the reason for your intrusion?

Albert ignored the question, stared at Drulietta, and picked up her chart. So, this is the scorpion victim who will not respond to modern medicine. He replaced the chart and looked at Chad. You need to increase her prescription intake, he informed him.

No, that will kill her, gasped Marion.

Albert Jones gawked at her. You are not a doctor, you crazy old woman. Get out of here, right now, and take that pickaninny with you.

Chad’s eyes narrowed with glinted fury. Who the hell do you think you are talking to? he hollered. Allow me to shed some light on your stupidity. We are a family, and you are the only one here who is trespassing. I think you better leave before I relieve you of your ability to walk.

With a smirk on his countenance, Albert focused his awareness on Delamar and Chad, searching for the resemblance between them. Then, he contemplated Drulietta’s age, wondering if he could bring charges of statutory rape against Chad. He wanted to voice his opinion but decided to keep his accusation for a more appropriate time.

I’m going to request that Director Callaghan take you off her case, Albert continued. There is a reason why doctors should not treat members of their family. You are too close to her to be objective.

I’m tempted to tell you what to do with your objectivity, but not before my family, said Chad. Not that it is any of your business, but Dr. Spencer is her physician, not me.

Same difference, Albert countered. He’s a bigger problem than you are, and he listens to everything you tell him.

The only problem I see is you, Chad responded. Now, get out of here before I do something I will not regret.

I’m going to talk to the director about you. You have no respect for authority, Albert chided.

Let’s go, said Chad.

Chad moved along the corridor with a sense of purpose in his strides. Doctors, patients, and nurses regarded his unsmiling countenance. Whispered assumptions floated around him, but Chad was oblivious to all their interjections. He knocked on the door that had a golden tablet embossed with the words "Director Mercurio Callaghan," hanging above it.

Come in, Chad, said Mercurio.

Chad opened the door and entered a spacious room with plants hanging from the ceiling. Shelves of medical books lined the walls, creating a studious atmosphere, and the soft beat of country music hummed from the four speakers. He turned his attention to the center of the room where Mercurio was reclining behind a mahogany desk. How did you know it was me? he asked.

Mercurio observed Chad over the horn-rimmed glasses, perched precariously on his nose. Mercurio was in his early fifties and slightly balding with an oval-shaped face and soft brown eyes. He placed his hands under his chin. I heard the Ogilvy fury in the knock, he grinned. Then, a frown replaced the smile when Albert puffed into the room.

Even with labored breathing, Albert did not waste time on the preliminaries of good manners. As always, he jumped mouth first into the issue at hand. He must be taken off her case, he gasped.

With controlled tolerance, Mercurio regarded Albert. You are lucky that you are still standing. I asked you to leave them alone, but you would not listen. Chad is even-tempered, but he will defend his family at the slightest annoyance.

This youngster is no match for me, Albert uttered with a sarcastic laugh. I want Dr. Ogilvy and Dr. Spencer off the case of the scorpion victim.

Chad placed his hands akimbo, as he shouted at Albert. You are referring to my wife, and as long as she’s in a coma, I’m her voice. I have the right to say who can treat her and who cannot. I am telling you right now; I do not want you near her. If you pass that room again, I will throw your backside out of this hospital.

Albert Jones matched his forcefulness. If you don’t obey my orders, I will report you to the Disciplinary Board, and have you terminated for insubordination.

Chad shook his head. A mixture of worry, sleeplessness, and annoyance was churning inside him, tumbling over one another, and there was no escape for any of them. He scowled at Albert, intending to dump his aggravation on top of him. I have had it with you, he raged. Hear this, when it comes to my family, my job comes in at a remote second, and I’m too much of a gentleman to tell you where you can stuff your orders. I would do it for you because it would be anatomically impossible for you to do it yourself.

Albert Jones turned to Mercurio, expecting him to redeem his injured pride. Director Callaghan, you need to reprimand him. He should not be allowed to talk to a senior doctor in that manner.

Chad did not wait for Mercurio to respond. As a senior doctor, you should know that respect, begets respect. You walked into a hospital’s private room, and in your first sentence, you disrespected my wife, my son, my grandmother, and me. How dare you talk about respect?

Chad walked toward the window and stared at the horizon, which seemed so close he could almost touch it. The illusion of proximity reminded him of his existence. Happiness was within his grasp until the barbed tail of a scorpion placed it beyond his reach. Tears clouded his vision, but he blinked them away. He would not give Albert the satisfaction of seeing how much the experience was affecting him. Ruefully, he returned his attention to his problematic life.

Don’t walk away from me, Albert shouted. I’m not through with you. There is still the matter about your son. I want to know how old she was when you gave her that little boy.

Chad combed his fingers through his black wavy hair. None of your damn business, he retorted.

Mercurio looked at Albert and wagged his finger. You are assuming things that could get you into trouble, he advised. Do you remember the meaning of the word assume? We used to laugh about it in college.

Chad’s eyes widened with astonishment. You went to college with this idiot? he asked. He did not wait for an answer. Forget about you and me; he is just making an ass of himself, and it doesn’t matter how much explanation you give; a jackass will still be smarter than he.

For the first time, Albert seemed beaten, but that was only a delusion. He had another insult to hurl at Chad. This young chap reminds me of that young man who was in college with us. He was one of those child geniuses who thought that he knew everything. What was his name again?

Chamberlain Van Hamilton, Mercurio laughed. I can still see your face after he performed his first architectural restructuring on your nose. Bear in mind that Chad is not an architect. Therefore, his work will not be as polished.

In spite of the controversies around him, Chad uttered a laugh. He did what? I knew there was something about that man that I admired. He was not afraid to put out the trash and burn the rubbish.

Albert ignored the statement. Yes, this girl resembles Chamberlain’s childhood sweetheart, Caroline. What happened to them?

You already know the answer to that question, said Mercurio.

Yes, I learned that she died, and Chamberlain was so obsessed with her, he did not remarry, Albert remarked.

Chad gritted his teeth. What is the matter with you? You are the only person I know who would take a beautiful relationship and label it an obsession. Tell me, why did Chamberlain punch you? I’m curious.

He told Chamberlain that Caroline was not good enough for him, laughed Mercurio.

Albert grimaced at Mercurio, You were also infatuated with her, he accused.

Mercurio rearranged the papers on his huge mahogany desk, as memories of Chamberlain and Caroline filled his thoughts. In life, he was Chamberlain’s best friend. He was one of the surgeons who assisted with the delivery of their children, and he could still see Caroline’s face when she glanced at Drulietta and said, She must live.

Mercurio had looked at the child and back at her, but she was gone. He had refused to accept her death, and he was so intent on breathing life back into her body, the staff had to drag him away from her. Together, they had buried Caroline. He was the godfather of their children. He had helped Chamberlain to raise his motherless children, and when fifteen-year-old Drucilla died from an accident, he had aided in the delivery of Delamar and had helped Chamberlain to bury her.

Then, a year ago, he laid Chamberlain to rest in the Home of the Monument. Mercurio believed that Chamberlain became a victim of a massive heart attack caused by his stressful existence. Now, their only surviving child was in a coma, and that eccentric remnant of a person was standing in his office, trying to determine her fate.

Are you listening to me? Albert asked, interrupting Mercurio’s nostalgic reflections.

Mercurio looked at him and tried to enlighten him on the laws of interference. Albert, if I were you, I would allow the dead to rest in peace. It is not wise to wake up sleeping memories.

Mercurio, you have not changed much, Albert scoffed. You would not stand up to Chamberlain, and you are still lying down before this young man. Are you ever going to stand up and tell people when they are wrong?

This time I will, said Mercurio. Albert, you are wrong, and if you say another derogatory word about Chamberlain’s family, I will help Chad to throttle you. They have suffered enough. They do not need any more poison in their lives. Leave them alone!

I will leave them alone when I get some answers, said Albert. I still want to know how old that girl was when Dr. Ogilvy gave her that baby. It is hard to believe that Chamberlain did not castrate him for impregnating his child. Mercurio, you are hiding something, and I want to know the truth. That child resembles Chamberlain as well as Dr. Ogilvy. He stopped, and a smile covered his ferret face. Tell me, is Chamberlain the father of that little boy? Maybe that is the reason he never remarried. Maybe he thought she was Caroline.

That does it, Chad shouted. He gripped Albert by the collar. Not all scorpions have tails, but they are all vicious and lethal, and you are one of them. I will show you what I do to an arachnid who tries to destroy my family. I crush it until it disappears. Chad held his hand above Albert’s face, shoving him to the ground as another voice overrode the intentions of the moment.

Daddy, Daddy, come quick, the voice of a young child, echoed through the hospital.

Chad’s heart somersaulted against his ribs. It was Delamar! Something terrible must have happened to Drulietta!

CHAPTER 2

*Was it a Coincident or a Conspiracy!*

Chad raced along the corridor, his gait trying to keep abreast his pounding heart. Then, the cold tentacles of horror gripped his core when the reason for Delamar’s plaintive cries, unfolded before him. Marion Wright was on the floor, and Dr. Alec Vincent was standing beside Drulietta with a syringe in his hand. He was injecting a liquid into her intravenous apparatus!

Without a word, Chad leaped to the defense of his wife. With the alacrity of a striking cobra, he knocked the syringe to the floor, detached the drip from Drulietta’s arm, and crashed his fist into Dr. Vincent’s face. Fleetingly, he glanced at Albert. If I see any of you near her again; I will kill you! He picked up the Syringe and put it to his nostrils. What did you give her? he screamed.

Alec Vincent looked at him with a leer on his face but did not reply. Alec was an intern from a neighboring island who thought that his handsome physique made him the perfect gift for every woman’s fantasy. He was tall with curly black hair and a turned up nose, which appeared to be always sniffing his surroundings. He was in his late thirties with an unhealthy obsession for young women and especially for Drulietta Ogilvy.

Chad grabbed him and pushed him against the wall. Tell me or so help my God, I will thrust this syringe into your neck! Chad’s arm was hovering above Dr. Vincent’s throbbing jugular, and his thumb was lingering on the plunger.

Marion Wright uttered a mournful sound. She was trying to steady her trembling fingers on the walker, but to no avail. Mercurio rushed to her aid, assisting her with the walker.

Thank you, Marion whispered. Her hands were shaking, and the teardrops on her cheeks trickled on her blouse. With her wizen fingers, she covered Mercurio’s burly, hand. Delamar saved her. Bless his little heart, she stuttered.

Two guards heard the commotion and rushed to the scene. They glanced around the ransacked room, trying to garner some understanding for the turmoil. The taller of the two turned to Mercurio. What happened here? he inquired.

Get him, shouted Albert. He’s going to kill, Dr. Vincent.

Mercurio held up his hand, detaining the guards. Tell him, Dr. Vincent, or I will help Chad, and with my directives so will these two guards.

I did not hurt her, Alec stammered. I was merely increasing her medication because she was not responding to the smaller dose.

Fury and frustration intermingled inside Chad. You are not her general practitioner. You know nothing about her case. Who told you to increase the dosage?

He did, said Alec, pointing at Albert. We decided that you should not be her physician because you are her husband. You are too close to her to be objective. You are a doctor. You should know the code.

If I hear the word objective one more time, I will shove it down the throat of the speaker! Chad raged. Without knowing anything about her, you went behind my back and almost over-medicated her. Where did you two idiots get your licenses to practice medicine? Did you purchase them at a food market or win them in a domino game? Answer me! I want to know!

Amid the confusion, Delamar sneaked the flask from Marion, crept to Drulietta’s side, put his head on her chest, and pleaded for her to wake up. The tears flowed down his face as he stuck his finger in the flask and wiped the liquid across her lips. Taste this, Mommy, it is good for you. He picked up her hand and put it to his cheek. Mommy, wake up, you cannot die. I will not let you.

The image of the child’s desperate efforts to save his mother was heart-rending, but Albert was unaffected by the gestures.

Get that child away from her, Albert shouted.

Leave him alone, Chad commanded. He may be the only one who can reach her, and I will personally break the arm of anyone who touches him.

Chad took the flask from Delamar, poured some of the liquid on a rag, and proceeded to wipe the beads of perspiration from Drulietta’s brow. Her skin was scorching to his touch, and he could tell that her temperature was out of control.

Mommy, please taste it. I can see you, and you are in a bad place. Please come back to us, Delamar pleaded.

Chad placed his arms around his son and gazed at his wife as reality dawned on him. Recently, she had aided in the capture of The Council of Friends in High Places who were partly responsible for the extinction of her Willoween past. The trials and punishments of those culprits were still in the offing, and disturbing thoughts overwhelmed him. Were they working with other friends on the outside? Were they trying to eliminate the last remnant of the Willoweens?

Chad looked at Albert as perturbation filled his guts. Albert knew her parents. Was his sudden appearance in their lives a mere coincidence, or a carefully formulated plot to avenge the humiliation that Chamberlain inflicted on him? However, that incident occurred over twenty years before. Why would he come back now? Worse yet, was he connected to The Council?

His thoughts journeyed back to the day of the incident. He had never seen that stone before. Did someone know the repercussion the sting of a scorpion would have on the delicate metabolism of a Willoween and put it there to hurt Drulietta? Hard cold possibilities wrapped their tentacles around his being. Nevertheless, he did not want to spend his existence thinking that every occurrence in his life was a conspiracy.

A knock appeared at the door, and upon an invitation, Justin Davenport strode in the room. Towering, above the group, his dark-brown eyes scanned the shambled surroundings and settled on Chad. From the looks of this place, I don’t have to ask if someone interfered with your chameleon, he chuckled.

Justin was an ex-basketball player with an affinity for running which gave him a taut frame. He was in his early forties, and he was the owner of the Davenport Farm, which he recently created on the Van Hamilton estate. He regarded the group and continued, I’m Justin, Dru’s cousin. Take this as a friendly warning. Chad is one of the calmest people I know, but when it comes to Dru, he does not need a sensible reason to be all over you like red on a ripe tomato. Would someone like to explain what is going on? he added, on a more serious note.

Albert peered at Justin’s face. We all know that you live on her eyelashes and if she blinks you fall off. Are you helping Dr. Ogilvy to kill her for her inheritance?

Justin looked at Chad. Who is this idiot? he asked. If he’s a member of the staff, it is no wonder she cannot wake up. He combed his fingers through his dark hair, his brown eyes incensed with annoyance.

Delamar tugged at Justin’s shirt. Uncle Justin, they don’t like us, he informed him.

Justin picked him up and stared into his eyes. Who doesn’t like you? he queried.

Him and him, Delamar pointed to Albert and Alec. They are trying to kill Mommy. He handed the flask to Justin. Please give Mommy some of this, and she will be all right.

No, you don’t, said Albert. This is a hospital, not a bush doctor’s commune.

Justin put Delamar beside Chad, and with a single stride, he was standing before Albert. He looked closely at Albert’s face, snapping his fingers as recognition popped upon his scrutiny. You were one of Chamberlain’s nemeses. He did a job on your face when you started to harass Caroline. Leave us alone, or I will finish what he started.

On that note, Justin took the flask from Delamar and walked toward Drulietta. He knelt beside her and started to whisper in her ears. He pointed at Mercurio. Uncle Merc, would you please give me that handkerchief, hanging from your pocket? He proceeded to wrap it around his finger, poured some of the liquid on it, and wiped it across her lips. He repeated the application several times. Then, his tone became louder.

"Dru, you have been in this bed for four days; it is time to get up. Do you hear me? Are you going to lie there like a limp rag, or are you going to fight? You have never given up on anything in your life, and I will not let you give up, now. You have a husband