Chapter 14: The Antidote**
While the officers pinned Eleanor to the floor and dragged her out in cuffs, David scrambled onto the bed, scooping Emma’s limp body into his arms.
""Emma! Bug, wake up! Daddy's here!""
Emma’s eyelids fluttered, her lips tinged with a faint bluish hue. ""Daddy... chest hurts... everything is spinning...""
""Paramedics are downstairs!"" Miller shouted into his radio. ""We need pediatric resuscitation in the master bedroom, now!""
Two paramedics sprinted into the room carrying emergency kits. One immediately strapped a pulse oximeter onto Emma’s finger while the other checked her dangerously fluctuating pulse.
""Severe digitalis toxicity,"" David told them rapidly, his voice cracking. ""She was given concentrated Digoxin within the last forty minutes. You need Digibind—the antibody antidote!""
""We have it in the rig,"" the lead paramedic replied, immediately prepping an IV line into Emma's tiny arm. ""Hang in there, sweetheart. You're going to be okay.""
David held Emma’s cold hand tightly, pressing it against his tear-streaked cheek as the medical team worked feverishly. ""I'm right here, baby. Daddy's not going anywhere. Keep fighting. Please, Emma, stay with me.""
Emma’s breathing hitched, then slowly, miraculously, the monitor began to stabilize as the intravenous medication countered the lethal poison in her bloodstream. Her pulse steadied into a rhythmic, healthy cadence.
She opened her eyes, clear hazel light returning to her gaze, and squeezed David’s thumb with her small, fragile fingers.
""Daddy... you came back.""
May you like
""Always,"" David sobbed, burying his face in her hair. ""Always.""
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