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"Where are you?"

"Sam?" Patricia’s voice ht you were soer in my other ear "Are you okay?"

"Can you talk?" She sounded tired

"Hold on" I looked around for so at the stairs, so couldn’t ask her either I took the steps down and found a bathroom where the ?"

"It’s your dad, sweetheart" I kneas bad for her to be calling me, but htened "Is he--"

"No! No, but it’s not good" I could hear the strain in her voice "It’s worse than we knew"

"I don’t understand Where is he?" Panic filled irls look at me in the mirror

"Sao in with him to the appointments, remember?" Her voice choked up and she took a"He’s at the hospital I couldn’t wake hi?" My voice came out on a sob and I coveredin the bathroo in a hospital

"Yes, baby I think he knew but didn’t want us to worry"

"He knew and didn’t tell us?" I whispered the words "Why would he do that?"

"I can only guess he didn’t want us to spend all our tiht, but I’ll leave as soon as I can" I dragged the back of irl that had looked at me handed me some tissue Iattention I needed to go

"Okay" She sniffed "I’m sorry, sweetheart I just didn’t know"

"It’s okay, Patricia I’ll call you soon" I hung up the phone and took a couple of deep breaths It didn’t help The tears running down my cheeks wouldn’t stop How had I not known it was this bad? Why did I leave him?

I turned on the sink and splashed water over et to the airport Rubbing , wet hands on h the crowd Soht back up and kept going The bouncer at the door said so, but I didn’t hear him There was too much noise in the club Too much noise in my head

I practically fell out the door and into the line of people waiting outside Our car was gone of course, so I looked for a cab Reporters had gathered outside, the bright flashes of their cao

"Samantha! Duchess Rousseau!"