My Family Chose My Sister Over My Love And I Disappeared Chapter 06
The moment those words were out, the room went silent.
Richard and Diana exchanged a look, and decided to go check for themselves.
The whole group headed over to Sloane’s rental in a caravan.
The second they got inside and realized she really wasn’t there, Diana snapped.
“That little brat. What is this, some princess tantrum? A miscarriage and she can’t even pick up a phone to tell us?”
Richard nodded.
“Pregnant out of wedlock. She’s a disgrace to the Carter name.”
Julian’s voice was pure complaint.
“Sienna’s still lying in a hospital bed. Can she please give it a rest?”
Only Ethan stood off to the side, fists clenched, saying nothing.
Just then, the old woman from across the hall came back with a grocery bag, taking in the crowd on the landing.
“You people… are you Sloane’s parents?”
Diana blinked, then nodded.
The woman’s face went hard.
“So her parents aren’t dead after all? Here I thought the poor girl was an orphan.”
Richard’s brow shot up.
“Excuse me? Watch your mouth.”
She wasn’t the slightest bit rattled. She planted her hands on her hips and jabbed a finger at his nose.
“Am I wrong?”
“The day Sloane collapsed at her door from that miscarriage, I called every one of you. Fifteen times. Not one of you picked up.”
“In the end, it was me, an old woman, who called 911 and got her to the hospital.”
“You people are cold, black-hearted things. You don’t deserve to be anyone’s parents.”
Madison was rattled and pushed in.
“Wait. Collapsed? What are you talking about?”
The old woman didn’t even glance at her. She slammed her door shut.
The hallway went dead quiet. Richard and Diana stared at each other, color coming and going in their faces.
After a long moment, Julian was the first to speak.
“Mom. Dad. This isn’t on you.”
“If Sloane hadn’t gone off in the middle of the ceremony, you wouldn’t have needed to spend all that energy calming the guests down.”
“Honestly? She brought it on herself.”
Madison shook her head.
“Ethan. Be honest with me. What actually happened that day?”
Ethan kept his head down and laid it all out. Everything, from the moment he’d chased Sloane out of the ballroom.
“All I could think about was Sienna and the baby. Nothing else was in my head.”
“I swear I didn’t know Sloane was pregnant too. This is my fault.”
“If I had just turned around and looked at her one more time, even once, I might have noticed she was bleeding too.”
The hallway was dead silent.
After a while, Madison sighed.
“What good does saying any of this do now?”
“Come on. Stop standing around. Get to the hospital. There might still be time to fix this.”
They piled back into the car and rushed to the hospital.
Ethan sprinted ahead and grabbed the arm of the first nurse he saw.
“Please. Do you have a patient here named Sloane Carter?”
The nurse, startled by the crowd, stammered out an answer.
“Sloane Carter? She checked out yesterday.”
Julian lost it.
“Checked out? She just came out of surgery. Nobody at this hospital thought to stop her?”
Madison’s voice shook.
“Where did she go? Tell us. Now.”
The nurse shook her head, flustered.
“That… we honestly don’t know.”
They closed in around her until she looked ready to burst into tears.
Then something clicked for Ethan. He stepped away and called a friend who worked at the airport.
“Kevin, it’s me. Can you look up a passenger for me?”
Keys clacked on the other end of the line.
“Got her. Your girlfriend flew to Portugal. Red-eye out last night.”
Ethan’s legs gave out. He slid down until he was sitting on the floor.
Sloane was really gone. In that state.
Whatever it had taken for her to leave like that. He couldn’t even imagine.
Right then, his phone started buzzing violently, breaking his train of thought.
It was Sienna.
“Ethan, where are you? Where did everyone go?”
“My sister just barged into my room. She hit me. Over and over. My face hurts so bad…”