Chapter 39 - Respect Goes Both Ways

Rose sat rigidly in the plush visitor chair, her fingers clutching at the handles of her designer purse with such force that the leather strained under her grip. Her manicured nails, painted a glossy scarlet, trembled faintly against the polished surface. The tension in the hospital room had reached a point where it seemed almost physical, as if the air itself had thickened and sharpened to the consistency of glass. Everyone present felt the same suffocating weight pressing down on them. No one dared speak at first, though restless glances were exchanged across the room. All eyes inevitably returned to the figure at the center of the storm.