#Chapter 224: Trickery

Olivia Morning light filtered through half-closed blinds, painting streaks of gold across the cold tiled floor. Machines beeped in rhythmic succession, and the distant murmur of nurses and doctors beyond the door provided a constant, albeit faint, backdrop of noise. I had been awake for hours. It wasn’t easy sleeping in a hospital room, especially not when I knew that my twins were at home without me. I was studying the intricate patterns on the ceiling when Angela suddenly burst through the door. Her long hair, usually neatly tied up in a ponytail, was in a state of disarray, and her normally sharp, discerning eyes were red-rimmed and swollen. “Olivia! Nathan!” She rushed to the space between our adjacent hospital beds, clutching her bag. “When the message reached me... I just... What happened?” “Car accident,” I said vaguely, not wanting to go into too much detail. “We’re okay, Angela,” Nathan tried to reassure her, but his voice, usually so strong, wavered sl