"It's like an automated vending machine for canned juice. You'll get what you want so long as you have the money, but... You get nothing in return without it. You can't buy your way into the hearts of others."

- Ai Haibara

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Chapter 42:
Beep

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ZANE

Raine suddenly left without saying where she was going. As Mrs. Hernandez was being given new medication to raise her blood pressure, I saw Raine walking down the corridor, engrossed in her phone.

"Raine—" I was about to follow her when the nurse from earlier stopped me.

"Who are you to the patient?" she asked. "We've been trying to reach the family members provided by the police since last night, but some haven't responded. Others are abroad. Her husband is paralyzed, but he should be arriving soon."

"I'm not related to her," I replied.

My attention shifted to a man being wheeled in, wearing a face mask. Raine was pushing the wheelchair, with Detective Cruz ahead of them.

"It looks like the person you've been waiting for has arrived," I said.

"There are only two visitors allowed at a time, but since it's still visiting hours, it should be fine," the nurse said, focusing on the newcomers.

"We'll stay behind with Mr. Hernandez," Detective Cruz said.

The room for Mrs. Hernandez was quite spacious, with ample distance between her and the other three patients in the room.

Raine was the first to leave, and I quickly followed. "What's the problem? Where are you going? Why do you keep going back and forth?" I asked as we walked down the corridor.

She didn't respond, remaining absorbed in her phone.

"Are we heading home? Clearly, you are the one who caught Mrs. Cassandra's comfort and not Detective Cruz," I added.

"They're there already, Zane," Raine responded.

"Visiting hours are still ongoing, so it's fine if you stay with them for now," I explained, which made her stop walking. She turned off her phone and put it back in her pocket.

"Zane, she won't last much longer," she said abruptly. I felt a shiver run down my spine.

"Stop it! You saw Mrs. Hernandez was lively earlier, didn't you?" I countered.

"You saw how she barely made it through the night. She almost had a heart attack yesterday, Zane, and it's happening again now," she replied. "So, don't tell her anything until her condition improves!"

"I won't say anything, but what about Detective Cruz?"

She sighed and started walking back. "Honestly—"

When we arrived, we were stopped again by several nurses already in the room. Detective Cruz was near the exit, still with Mrs. Hernandez's husband.

"Detective Cruz, what's happening?" Raine asked.

"Her blood pressure has dropped to 40," the nurse answered.

It was indeed critical. I hoped she would recover. I wanted to see her and her sister together again.

"The doctors said she needs to be intubated to be revived," Detective Cruz said, trying to hold back tears. "But Mr. Hernandez has said no. They had decided on this before anything like this happened."

"And also, I can't perform CPR because I can't move my body," Mr. Hernandez added, tears streaming down his face. "I don't want her to suffer like our eldest did."

The nurses were busy attending to Mrs. Hernandez, but as I looked at Raine, I noticed her strange detachment. She stood there, seemingly unaffected by the scene.

"Can't Raine and I perform CPR?" I asked the older individuals present.

"Ma'am?" I heard the nurses calling inside. "Ma'am?"

"Mr. Nuñez, you must stand by for twenty-four hours without rest," Detective Cruz interjected.

"Raine." I looked at her for advice, but she remained detached. "Raine, we can do this, right? Raine, tell me we can—"

"Ma'am, are you alright?" one of the nurses asked.

"No, kid," Mrs. Hernandez's husband cut in. "Let's respect her wishes."

Beep...

A prolonged beep from the patient's monitor captured our attention.

"Ma'ams, sirs, at the moment, her heart has stopped beating," a female doctor said as she stepped away from her colleagues to face us. Her face mask obscured her deeper emotions.

Tears began to stream down my face, matching those of Detective Cruz and Mrs. Hernandez's husband. Although I didn't know her personally, I understood the pain of being in such a situation.

"Since you did not allow Ma'am to be intubated, her chances of survival have significantly decreased," the doctor added gently. "We will attempt to revive her. Are you allowing us to do CPR?"

"Sir?" Detective Cruz asked, turning our gaze to the patient's husband.

"Yes," the man replied, still sobbing.

Without delay, the nurses formed a line around Mr. Hernandez's wife. They alternated in pressing their hands on the woman's chest, while one managed the monitor.

Beep. Beep.

"God, please, take care of my beloved," Mrs. Hernandez's husband said. I strongly suspected that if he could stand and walk, he would have embraced his loved one tightly.

Scenes of crying patients in similar rooms played in my mind. As I glanced back at Raine, she remained stoic and unresponsive.

"Excuse me." Two male nurses arrived with a screen to shield the scene from view.

At that moment, we let ourselves interpret the possible outcomes.

"Clear!" The doctor's voice rang out, accompanied by the shadows of the nurses surrounding the patient.

Beep.

I felt a deep sense of despair. If this was the situation I saw just before she passed, I might not have been able to handle it. Even though Mrs. Hernandez wasn't someone I knew well, I couldn't hold back my tears.

"Clear!"

After several more commands, the room was enveloped in a deafening silence.

Soon, the white curtain was drawn back. We were greeted by tearful nurses, their faces glistening with sweat.

"Ma'ams, sirs, we did everything we could, but Ma'am Hernandez couldn't be saved," the doctor said softly. "We're so sorry for your loss."

They covered Mrs. Hernandez with a blanket.

"Time of death: 2:35 p.m.," the doctor declared.

One by one, the nurses who had tried to save Mrs. Hernandez approached us. "Thank you," Mr. Hernandez said, his tears flowing more freely as he faced the loss of his beloved. "Thank you."

That thank you was a recognition of the nurses' and the doctor's hard work. Despite the outcome, they had done everything they could for their patient.

"Condolences," the nurses said, and the nurse who had been with us earlier approached. She wiped her tears with a handkerchief, though they continued to fall.

"Condolences, sir," she said to Mr. Hernandez.

Detective Cruz, wiping her own tears, looked at us with renewed determination. "Nuñez, De Verra, we'll handle the arrangements from here," she said. "The police will be here shortly to assist Mr. Hernandez with the necessary procedures."

Not knowing what else to do, I felt a strong desire to go home. I knew I had seen enough suffering for one day.

"Alright," I said, ready to leave when I noticed Raine had disappeared from where she was standing.

Where could she have gone?

I walked down the hallway, planning to exit the hospital, hoping she might be outside.

"Raine?"

I ran until I finally got outside. I scanned the area, but she wasn't there.

"Raine, oh no."

A notification on my phone caught my attention. It was a message from Raine.

Go ahead to the flat. I need to visit someone quickly.