Chapter 6

When Tyler woke up again, all he could see was a blinding white light. Annaliese was sitting by his hospital bed, resting with her eyes closed. There were dark circles under her eyes, and she hadn't even had time to change. She looked exhausted. When Tyler opened his eyes, she lunged at him and pulled him into her arms. "Ty, you're finally awake!" Tyler paused and pushed her away with difficulty. There was no greater grief than utter despair. When he thought about how she had hung up on his calls for help countless times, he felt a deep hopelessness. Tyler did not say a word to her. He stared up vacantly at the ceiling, wondering how he could escape from the hospital to call the police. However, for the next few days, Annaliese acted as if a spell had been cast on her. She remained glued to his side at all times. She gave him sponge baths, fed him, read to him, and told him jokes. She was trying to make him happy. However, he could not smile. His heart felt dead. He looked up coldly at Annaliese. "You don't need to stay with me. I'm fine." Annaliese was startled. She said in a hoarse voice, "I'm sorry, Ty. I was in a meeting that day, and I didn't get your call—" Tyler laughed. He laughed and laughed until his eyes turned red. She hadn't gotten his call? She just hadn't wanted to answer. "Oh?" He turned his back to her and dashed his tears away. "How do you plan to make up for it then? What are you going to do with Jonathan?" Annaliese's brow wrinkled slightly, and she looked discomfited. "Jon just started working. He doesn't know anything. Ty, can you forgive him for my sake? I promise that he'll never hurt you again." Tyler glared at her in disbelief. Was she joking? Jonathan had almost killed him, and she was pleading for him. Tyler's brows furrowed deeply. "So, you've been staying with me for the past few days just to find a chance to plead on his behalf?" Annaliese paused but denied it quickly. However, Tyler knew that it was her real motive. "Get lost!" he yelled in fury. "I don't need your company. Get out of here!" Annaliese immediately started forward to try and embrace him, but he pushed her away roughly. He used too much force, and it made his wounds burst open once again. Blood seeped out of his bandages and began dripping everywhere. He was sweating from the pain, and he lay on the bed, unable to move. However, he was still shouting, "Get lost! Get out of here!" Annaliese had no choice but to leave the hospital room. She decided to talk to him once he calmed down. Tyler was left alone in the hospital room. He lay on the bed, taking in huge gulps of air. He felt as if there was a huge hand squeezing his heart, and it was so painful that he felt as if it was bleeding. It took him a while to calm down. Finally, he felt for his phone with trembling hands to call the police and ask about the progress in their search for his child. At that moment, the police called. "Hello, Mr. Stone. We have good news for you. We have a rough estimate of where your child is and we're planning the next step to rescue him." "Really?" Tyler asked joyfully as he hastily dried his tears. The call felt like a boost of morale that dragged him back from the edge of death. Ignoring the pain he felt, he called the embassy and Amaris. He wanted the embassy to get a temporary visa for his child, and he was calling Amaris so that she could collect evidence of Jonathan abducting him.