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Chapter 23 - Hospice

Emma was sitting in the wheelchair in the front row of the gymnasium as Cat accepted her diploma. She clapped her hands and cried as Cat looked at her and waved before leaving the stage.

She had been feeling a little stronger lately and had more energy, but she needed the wheelchair for long trips. Dr. Singh had adjusted her chemo medication, and her side effects seemed to be better managed. She had also said the tumor was finally starting to shrink.

After graduation, Cat ran over to her mom in her little green cap and gown with a smile. Emma reached out and helped her climb onto her lap as Leo started pushing them through the crowd.

"Mommy, did you see me get my diploma? Now I get to go to the big part of the school with the big kids."

"Yes, I saw you, sweet girl. I'm so proud of you. How about we have Leo take us out and get some ice cream before we go home?" Emma looked up at Leo, and he nodded.

"Mommy, are you sure you're not too sick?" Cat looked at Emma in concern.

"I'm sure. I feel pretty good now, so let's go have some ice cream."

Leo watched as Emma and Cat ate their ice cream, talking about the graduation and Cat's birthday that was coming up. With Emma getting better, he had decided tomorrow would be the day he showed his hand. He was done playing nice.

Emma laughed as Cat went on and on about how big she was now that she wasn't in kindergarten anymore. She talked about all the things she could do as a big kid that she couldn't do before.

When they got home, Leo left them to enjoy the evening alone. Emma was okay with that now that she was feeling better. She and Cat read books and played games; it almost felt like old times.

The following day, Leo returned to check on them and found them both asleep in the bed. When he heard them getting up, Leo made Emma some hot tea, putting an emetic in it to ensure that she began to vomit so he could call an ambulance to take her away.

He looked up from the tea to see Emma and Cat walking out of the bedroom holding hands. Emma smiled, but Cat's face fell. Leo winked at Cat, and she looked away.

He knew she would keep the secret, not that it would matter anyway now that this was the last time she would see her mother. He hadn't touched her as he planned to yet, but Cat told him what he was doing was wrong. Leo planned on showing her that he could do whatever he wanted.

"Good morning, ladies. I made you some of your favorite tea Emma." He slid the cup over to her and smiled when she took a sip.

"Thanks, Leo. Cat and I were talking about what we wanted to do today." Emma noticed Cat stayed behind her like she didn't want to go near Leo.

"Let me know if you need me to take you anywhere. I'm free all day." Leo looked at Cat, who clung to her mother's arm. After today she would be all his.

Emma sat with Cat on the couch while they talked. Emma started feeling nauseated when she turned to ask Leo if he could take them to the park. Cat ran and got the little trash can for her just in time.

Emma felt sicker than she had in a long time. She couldn't stop vomiting, and Leo finally convinced her to go to the hospital.

"I love you, Cat. I hope to be home tomorrow." Emma held Cat's hand.

"I love you too, mommy." Cat kissed her mom on the cheek and cried as the EMTs took her away. Leo walked over to Cat and put his hand on her shoulder. When she tried to walk away, he stopped her.

"Don't do that, Cat. You're mine now." Cat looked up at him angrily.

"My mommy is coming back when they make her feel better." Leo grabbed her arm, squeezing until she screamed for him to stop.

"No, she's not. Your mom is going to die this time." Cat got loose from him and ran to the bedroom, throwing herself on the bed, crying.

Leo laughed as he watched her. She thought that was bad; just wait. His next step was to go to the hospital while Emma was still out of it. He got a small cup of milk for Cat and put in a tasteless sleeping medicine.

"Here, Cat, I brought you some milk. I'm sorry, I didn't mean what I said." He could tell she didn't want to take the milk from him, but eventually, she did. After she drank it, she laid back down on the bed and continued to cry. Leo left after she had fallen asleep; he knew he would be back before she woke up.

Once Leo arrived at the hospital, they already had Emma admitted into a room. He called in the doctor, who was luckily not one of the ones from before. This doctor was very young, and Leo knew it would be easy to convince him to do what he wanted.

"Hello, I'm Leo, Emma's brother and medical power of attorney. Can you tell me how she's doing?" Leo tried to sound official, and it worked.

"She's not doing well. On the way here, she continued vomiting and started vomiting blood. We have given her something to help her rest, so she'll probably be out for a while. Once we control her symptoms, she should be able to go home. Most likely, it won't be until tomorrow." Leo nodded and tried to look concerned as they looked at his sister.

"I'm actually here to let you know there has been a change in plans. My sister and I talked at length about what we would do if she continued getting sick. At this time, I think it is best to stop her chemo treatments and send her to hospice. We have already made arrangements for her at a facility outside of Indianapolis. They will make her comfortable and be a good place for her daughter to visit in her final days." Leo pretended to wipe away tears.

"Are you sure that's what she wanted? From her labwork, it looked like this last round of chemotherapy was having positive results." Dr. Mills looked from Leo to Emma uncertainly.

"Yes, I'm sure that's what she wanted. Also, as I said, I'm her medical power of attorney. The hospital has the paperwork on file if you want to verify it. I would like to get her moved to the hospice facility as soon as possible, even before she wakes up. That way, she can sleep through the transfer without being sick."

Dr. Mills was still unsure, but he looked in the computer and found the signed medical power of attorney. It named Leo as the person to make all medical decisions for her. He also found the documents that Leo had given medical records with the name and address of the hospice facility. The information was scanned into the system a couple of weeks ago, so he assumed Emma knew what she wanted.

The nurses were shocked when Dr. Mills said Emma was being transported to a hospice facility. They were very familiar with her and knew she had a young daughter. However, when Dr. Mills showed them the medical power of attorney and the hospice information, they agreed it looked like that was what she had planned.

The discharge didn't take long, and Emma slept through the whole thing to Leo's delight. A medical van from the hospice facility came to pick Emma up.

Leo followed the van and whistled as he drove. He wanted to ensure he was there when Emma woke up. The facility they were taking her to was one of the worst in the state. It had multiple citations and was on the verge of being closed down.

He picked that one because they would turn a blind eye to anything suspicious as long as they were paid well. Luckily for Leo, he had a lot of money, so they were being paid to keep her drugged and away from any phones.

When they arrived, he followed them to a small single room. Emma woke up after they transferred her from the gurney to the bed. She looked around in confusion, and Leo smiled.

"Leo, where am I? This doesn't look like the hospital." Emma's throat was dry, and she felt fear in the pit of her stomach from how Leo looked at her.

"It's not the hospital. As your medical power of attorney, I made the decision to stop your treatments and have you admitted to a hospice facility." Leo watched as the realization hit Emma.

"What are you talking about? I was getting better, Leo. Let me out of here. I have to get back to Cat. They can't keep me here." Emma tried to get out of bed, and a bed alarm sounded. To her horror, a nurse came in, and without saying a word, she gave Emma a shot of something that immediately made her feel drowsy. Leo walked over to her and looked into her face. He wanted to make sure she heard him.

"They will never let you out of here. I have paid them to keep you here and away from a phone. You will never see Cat again, and as a birthday present for her, I'm going to tell her you're dead. Emma, this is payback for you getting my dad killed and putting me into foster care. I got into trouble in foster care when they found me in bed with one of the little foster girls. Have you ever wondered why I don't have a girlfriend? It's because I like them much younger. Cat is the right age."

Emma felt her eyes getting heavy as she listened to Leo talk, but when he said the last part, her eyes shot open, and she screamed. These last few years, he had been using her to get to Cat. She tried to move, but she felt paralyzed and realized she would never see her daughter again. Not only that, but she left her in the hands of a monster.

"Well, I have to go, Emma. Cat should be waking up from the sleeping medicine I gave her. Don't worry; I'm not going to touch her yet. That will be her second birthday present." Leo waved as he walked out of the room, and he could hear Emma screaming as he went out the door.

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