The lights of the hospital hallway hummed with a sterile, electric anxiety.
Sunny paced the small perimeter of her room, her pulse quickening with every passing second Alejandra remained absent.
Her phone was gone—lost in the chaos of the night before—and the silence of the room was deafening.
She knew Ariana would have called a dozen times by now, each missed ring a mounting tectonic plate of worry.
"Are you all right, dear?"
Sunny jumped. A nurse stood in the doorway, her expression a mix of professional pity and curiosity.
"I need to call someone," Sunny said, her voice thin. "But I can't find my phone. I'm stuck."
The nurse reached into her pocket, pulling out a personal device.
"That's fine. You can use mine."
Sunny took the phone with trembling fingers, the plastic warm from the nurse's hand.
She dialed the familiar number from memory.
It didn't even finish the first ring before Ariana's voice exploded on the other end.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Ariana."
"Who is this?" Ariana snapped, her voice jagged with stress.
"It's me. It's Sunny."
"Dude! Where have you been?" Ariana shrieked.
"I've called you a gazillion times! I thought you were dead in a ditch somewhere!"
"I'm sorry," Sunny whispered, glancing at the door.
"I lost my phone. I'm on a friend's. Is everything okay at home?"
There was a heavy, jagged pause. "Actually, no. That's why I've been blowing up your phone. Sofia is in the hospital."
The world seemed to tilt.
"What? How? What happened?"
"She had an allergic reaction," Ariana said, her voice dropping into a defensive, guilty register.
"There were cookies in my bag. She found them."
"She did what? Ariana, how could you leave nut cookies in your bag? You know she's a heat-seeking missile for sweets!"
"I forgot! I wasn't even home when she ate them, okay?"
"Send me the address," Sunny commanded, her fear overriding her own pain. "I'll be there."
As the text alert pinged on the nurse's phone, the nurse leaned in to look at the screen.
"Wait, isn't that downstairs? The pediatric ER?"
"They're here?" Sunny asked, stunned.
Another nurse, passing by with a tray of meds, chimed in.
"I remember a little girl coming in an hour ago. Peanut allergy. She was brought in by two women—one with black hair and one with purple."
That's them alright, Sunny thought. I leave them for one day and the whole world catches fire. "What room?"
"Room seventeen."
Sunny handed the phone back and began to move, but the first nurse caught her arm.
"Wait, you can't leave. What if your... girlfriend comes back?"
Sunny hesitated, thinking of Alejandra's sharp eyes and cold authority.
"Tell her you came in and the room was empty. Don't tell her where I went. Please."
Every step toward the elevator was a battle against the stitches in her side. The pain was a dull, rhythmic throbbing, but the image of Sofia—'Baby Bear'—struggling to breathe pushed her forward.
She clung to the handrails like a lifeline, descending into the belly of the hospital until she found the door marked 17.
She took a breath that tasted of ozone and antiseptic, then pushed inside.
Ariana and Audrey were slumped in chairs beside the small hospital bed.
When the door creaked, they both bolted upright.
"I leave you two in charge for twenty-four hours," Sunny's voice echoed, rasping but stern, "and Sofia ends up in a gown?"
"It was an accident!" Ariana blurted out.
Audrey, however, wasn't looking at Sofia. She was staring at the bandage peeking out from Sunny's hospital gown.
"Bitch, what happened to your head? And your side?"
"Nothing," Sunny said, swaying slightly.
"Did you take a big huhu yesterday?" Audrey asked, her eyebrows shooting up.
"Did some guy scare you for life?"
"Would you two stop it?" Sunny hissed. "I didn't take any huhu. Now, how is she?"
"We got here just in time," Audrey said, her playful tone finally softening. "She's stable."
"I'm so sorry, Sunny," Ariana whispered. "I was so buried in work I just... I forgot."
Audrey kept staring at Sunny's injuries. "Were you shot?"
"No," Sunny sighed. "I wasn't shot."
"I think it's more like she was stabbed," Ariana intervened, pointing at the news playing silently on the wall-mounted TV.
"I saw the report about the restaurant this morning. That's why I was calling. There's no need to lie, Sunny. We're worried."
Sunny sank into a chair, the adrenaline finally fading. "It hurts," she admitted.
"Mmm," Audrey mused, leaning back.
"I remember the first time I was stabbed. Oh, what a thrill."
"Ooh, mine too," Ariana added dreamily.
"A cute Chinese guy stabbed me after a wild night in L.A. Very cinematic."
"You guys are delusional," Sunny groaned.
"It must have been legendary, though," Ariana teased, trying to lighten the heavy air.
"To experience an event like that."
"Fuck you," Sunny retorted with a weak smile. She turned back to the bed. "What did the doctor say?"
"She'll be fine. Don't fret."
Silence fell over the room, the kind of silence that precedes a storm.
Ariana stood up, her expression turning uncharacteristically grave.
"Sunny? Can I have a word? Outside."
Sunny followed her into the hallway, leaning against the cool tile wall as Ariana loomed over her.
"How are you feeling? Really?" Ariana asked.
"I'm fine, Ariana. I already told you."
"Are you still going back?" Ariana's voice was low, urgent.
"Are you still going to work for that woman despite... this?"
"Yes," Sunny said firmly.
"She's a psychopath, Sunny! You're obsessed with her, and it's going to get you killed."
"Don't call her that. She's my boss."
"I Googled her," Ariana hissed, leaning in.
"Alejandra and her family—they aren't just 'business people.' They are the most feared cartel names in Mexico. That attack at the restaurant? That wasn't a robbery. That was a hit."
Sunny closed her eyes. "I know, Ariana. I know who they are. The brother, the parents, the grandmother... I know."
"Then why? Why won't you be reasonable?"
"Because she's the only one who can protect me from my father!" Sunny's voice cracked, the hidden truth finally spilling out.
"I don't like working for a gangster, but I don't have a choice. It's either her or I become my father's puppet again. It's her or a one-way ticket back to China to be his doll. I hate it, but she is my only safety."
Ariana's anger evaporated instantly. She pulled Sunny into a hug so tight it made the stitches scream.
"Too tight," Sunny gasped.
"Sorry." Ariana let go, looking at her with watery eyes. "What room are you in?"
"208. Upstairs."
"Wow," Ariana whistled. "The billionaire floor. I guess the 'psychopath' has a soft spot."
"She brought me here," Sunny said quietly.
"Just be careful," Ariana warned. "Don't fall for her too fast."
"I already have," Sunny whispered.
The walk back upstairs felt longer. When Sunny slipped back into Room 208, the air was cold.
Alejandra was sitting in the armchair, her silhouette sharp against the window. Her eyes were like flint.
"Where have you been?"
"The restroom," Sunny lied, her heart hammering.
Alejandra pointed to the door just two feet from the bed.
"The restroom is right there, Sunny. So, I'll ask again. Where were you?"
Sunny's mind raced. She took a shuddering breath, letting her shoulders slump to mimic a breakdown.
"I... I went outside for air, Chef. The attack... I can't stop seeing it. I'm scared. I just needed to feel like I wasn't trapped."
Alejandra's gaze lingered, searching Sunny's face for the lie.
Then, slowly, her shoulders dropped. Her voice softened into something dangerously close to tender.
"I'm sorry I raised my voice."
Sunny looked down, playing the part of the shaken survivor.
"It's alright. I understand you were worried. I'll stay in bed now."
"Get in," Alejandra commanded, but the edge was gone.
As Alejandra tucked the heavy blankets around her, Sunny lay still, her mind split between the little girl downstairs and the dangerous woman leaning over her.
She was safe for now, but in this world of grey and thin lines, safety felt a lot like a cage.