The nurse blinked. “Okay. We can look. Sometimes jewelry is removed during.”
“No,” I cut in. “They were on. They don’t fall off.”
She softened. “I’ll contact security.”
Dad and Celeste came in minutes later.
Dad looked worried. Celeste looked annoyed, like my medical emergency had messed up her schedule.
Celeste gasped loudly and dramatically.
I said, “My earrings are gone.”
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“What earrings?”
I stared at him. “Mom’s diamond earrings. The ones I wear every day.”
“Oh,” he said, as if he only then remembered I’m a person. “Those.”
Celeste gasped loudly and dramatically.
“It’s the nurses,” she said quickly. “Hospitals are full of thieves. People get robbed all the time.”
Celeste squeezed my hand like we were allies.
She said it so smoothly it almost worked. Almost.
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Both earrings. Gone. While I was unconscious.
I nodded like I believed her. I played tired.
“Maybe,” I said softly.
Celeste squeezed my hand like we were allies. “I’ll handle it. This is unacceptable.”
Dad patted my shoulder. “We’ll sort it out.”
“We can check hallway footage.”
They left.
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I stared at the ceiling until my eyes burned. Then I pressed the call button.
A security guy came in. Calm, professional. His badge said Hector.
He asked, “Walk me through what happened.”
I told him. “I fainted at home. I woke up here. My earrings were gone.”
About an hour later, Hector returned with a tablet.
“Any visitors?”
“My dad. And his wife. Celeste.”
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Hector nodded. “We can check hallway footage. Entry logs.”
My heart started pounding again. Not panic. Focus.
“Yes,” I said. “Please.”
About an hour later, Hector returned with a tablet. His face was careful.
And then Celeste appeared. Alone.
“We have footage,” he said.
I swallowed. “Show me.”
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He turned the tablet toward me.
Hallway outside my room. Time stamp.
And then Celeste appeared. Alone.
She looked left and right like she knew exactly what she was doing. She slipped into my room.
“If she refuses, law enforcement gets involved.”
A few minutes later, she came out smoothing her shirt, clutching something small, and tucked it into her purse.
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I went cold.
Hector’s voice was gentle. “I’m sorry.”
It wasn’t just the theft. It was the nerve. The way she’d smiled at my grief and blamed “nurses.”
“What happens now?”
Hector said, “You can file a police report. We can request that the item be returned. If she refuses, law enforcement gets involved.”
I made my voice shaky and trusting.
I nodded. “I want witnesses. And I want her to look at me when she realizes she’s caught.”
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Hector studied me. “We can have a charge nurse nearby. I’ll stay close.”
“Don’t come in right away,” I said. “I need her comfortable.”
Hector nodded. “Understood.”
I called Celeste.
I made my voice shaky and trusting.
At 4:45, my best friend Mia arrived.
“Celeste,” I whispered, “I need your help.”
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