Alice

I shook Xavier's shoulders, my voice escalating into a frantic scream. "Xavier, wake up! Xavier, please!"

But he lay motionless, his eyes closed, his chest still. I slapped his face, my fingers trembling with desperation. "Xavier, wake up!" Still, there was no response. No flicker of movement. No whisper of breath.

Panic set in, my heart racing like a jackhammer. I leapt out of bed, my legs buckling beneath me. I stumbled out of the room, down the hallway, and into the doctor's office, my screams echoing off the walls. "Please help me! My husband isn't waking up! What's happening?"

The doctor's face turned ashen, and he sprinted after...