47. When It All Comes Crashing Down
47
WHEN IT ALL COMES CRASHING DOWN
Ford
With the realization that I had let Mara down, my heart gave a hard, painful thump. With a few carelessly chosen words, I had destroyed her dreams. She had everything in her grasp, and I had yanked it all away.
My phone rang. It was my sister. I used my smartwatch to reject her call.
“Give me some time,” I told Mara as she turned to face me. “Delay things with Destiny instead of turning her down. Buy us some time. I can fix this. I have to.”
But as the words left my mouth, they rang hollow. The weight of everything I’d destroyed pressed down on me—Mara’s devastated expression, her trust dissolving like sand slipping through my fingers. The movie, her future, the partnership with Destiny... I’d crushed it all. And now, Dad too. The whole world was spiraling, and for the first time in my career—no, in my life—I had no control. I was supposed to be the director, the one who controlled the narrative. But this? This was chaos. And I had no script to follow.
I wasn’t a money guy. I hated dealing with investors. I’d always turned that side of things over to other people. But if Dad couldn’t come through, I’d have no choice but to figure it out myself.
Mara simply stood there, gazing at me. Perhaps she could see my doubt because she started wilting before my eyes. All I could do was pull her into my arms and try to console her.
“We’ll get through this. I promise.” I kissed the top of her head, trying to console her.
But her gaze flickered, like a light dimming. She was weighing something—something that felt bigger than just the movie. Then, as if a door slammed shut, her expression hardened. She stepped back, out of my arms, the warmth between us replaced by a cool, detached posture. It was a shift I couldn’t ignore. And I didn’t like where it was leading.
“You’re trying to placate me,” she said, her voice trembling with emotion. “But the reality is, without the movie, I don’t know if I can keep my store afloat. Chris Pitt’s visit helped, but it was the prospect of a movie version of Ghost that gave me real hope. Now that’s gone. I need some time to process this and figure out what I should do next.” She gave me a sad, resigned look.
Her words cut deep. I thought of five years ago when I’d let down my family by prioritizing work over them after Dad’s heart attack. And now, I had let down Mara too. Underestimating the impact of my decisions seemed to be a pattern in my life. “I’m sorry,” I said, heavy with regret. “I’ll do everything I can to make this right.”
Mara didn’t look convinced. As she started to walk away, the sting of her rejection hit me hard. Was this only about the deal, or was something more happening? I had the sudden premonition that she was turning away from us and everything we’d started to build together.
My phone rang again. As I impatiently lifted my smartwatch to decline the call again, I stilled. I’d missed a bunch of texts from my family, and now Max was calling.
“First Hailey called, now Max,” I said, causing Mara to stop and turn. “I hope nothing’s wrong.”
Her eyes filled with worry, and she stepped closer, gesturing for me to take the call.
“Hi, Max?—”
“—It’s Dad,” Max interrupted from my watch’s speaker.
My breathing hitched. “What’s wrong?”
“He’s in the hospital. Something’s going on with his heart. They’re admitting him.”
Mara clutched my arm, and her eyes widened with worry.
My heart began to race. “Which hospital?”
“The one here in Sewickley,” Max said.
“Give me five minutes,” I said, frantically patting my pockets for my keys as I rushed for the door. “I’ll be right there.” I ended the call.
Mara snatched up her keys from the table near the front door and lifted them to eye level. “I’m driving. You’re in no condition.” Mara’s lips thinned into a line, and she glanced away. “I saw my mom earlier. She mentioned Dad’s on call tonight.” There was something in the way her hand tightened on her keys, her knuckles white, that made me wonder if something else was simmering beneath the surface.
I didn’t pursue that thought. I didn’t have the bandwidth. We tore down the stairs and I climbed into Mara’s little Mazda.
My brain ricocheted from thought to thought. Had I missed the signs with Dad? Ignored the warnings about his health? What about our investors? Would Dad’s hospitalization be the tipping point that destroyed everything we’d built? And Mara... had I completely derailed her future with Destiny? I couldn’t even think about the damage I’d done to our relationship. Could we survive this, or was I about to lose everything I cared about in one fell swoop?
Her eyes were focused on the road, but her knuckles were white as she gripped the steering wheel.
I put my hand on her knee. “I’m sorry about messing things up with you and Destiny. I want us to talk more about it, but I can’t think straight until I know what’s going on with my dad.”
She pressed her lips together and blinked a few times, tears welling up in her eyes. “Let’s deal with that later. Don’t worry about me or the movie right now. Focus on your dad.”
Mara’s soul-deep pain pulsed around her, as it had been since the moment I’d broken the news to her. She was devastated.
When I’d disappointed my ex, she’d filed for divorce within two weeks. The blow I’d dealt Mara had to be a million times worse than anything I’d ever done to Chelsea. Mara had finally found a way to fulfill all her dreams, and I’d brought it all crashing down.
Despite everything, here she was, by my side. Helping me.
Mara parked in the hospital’s garage. I jumped out of the car, my pulse racing as fast as my thoughts. The smell of antiseptic hit me the moment we stepped through the sliding doors, burning my nose as we rushed to the reception desk. It didn’t take her long to learn my dad was in the cardiac unit. When we walked into the waiting room, my mind was a jumble—what if this was it? What if I lost him? The heart monitors, the wires, the pale walls—it all felt too familiar. And just like that, the reality of how quickly things could fall apart hit me. I’d been focused on the movie, on Mara, and now everything was slipping away.
I spotted Hailey pacing, her fingers clutching her phone.
“Ford, you’re here.” Hailey flew to me, wrapping me in a fierce hug. I held her close as she trembled, losing her ever-present self-control as fear overwhelmed her.
She held tight until she stopped shaking, then pulled away, wiping tears from her cheeks. “They’re running tests,” she said. “When they’re done, they’ll let us see him.”
My mind was racing with worry. The thought of losing Dad was unbearable.
As we waited, my thoughts were consumed with all the what-ifs. What if Dad needed surgery? What if he didn’t make it? How would I cope? How would Ross Film Productions survive without him?
Hailey’s phone chimed, and she glanced at it. “It’s Max,” she said. “He’s downstairs. I’ll text him where we are.” She stepped away as her thumbs tapped at the screen.
Mara moved closer to me and took hold of my arm. “I saw Mom earlier tonight. She mentioned Dad was on call.” She licked her lips. “He’s probably with Don right now.”
I stared at her for a moment, processing what she was telling me. I hadn’t even met her father yet. From what Mara had said, he was a skilled cardiologist, as well as a perfectionist.
After that moment of hesitation, I gave a nod. “I’m glad he’s with someone who knows what they’re doing.”
As we waited in tense silence, my anxiety grew. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was seriously wrong with Dad’s heart. Mara held my hand tightly, keeping me connected to her. Grounding me.
Finally, Max entered the room and headed straight for Hailey. They hugged and talked in hushed tones. Watching them, I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of longing for their close bond, but at the same time, I deeply appreciated having siblings who supported each other in times of need. As they spoke, I was grateful to be there with them, offering some comfort during this difficult time. It was moments like these that reinforced my decision to prioritize my family above all else, rather than constantly pursuing career ambitions.
Max caught my eye and walked over. “Hey, Ford. How are you holding up?” he asked, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
“I’m okay,” I replied, grateful for the gesture. “Just worried about Dad.”
“I know,” Hailey chimed in, joining us. “But we’ll get through this together.”
Despite the circumstances, it was comforting to have my siblings by my side. “Yeah, we will,” I said, feeling a sense of unity with my family.
At least this was one thing I hadn’t screwed up—yet. I’d let Mara down. The movie was slipping away. But family... family was supposed to be different. After Dad’s heart attack five years ago, I’d buried myself in work, using it as a shield, a way to avoid the mess at home. Now, I could see the pattern clear as day. I couldn’t let history repeat itself—not this time. Not with Dad. Not with Mara.
A moment later a man in blue scrubs came out of the door leading into the cardiology wing. When he spotted Mara, he nodded at her and then headed straight for us.
“You’re here for Don Ross?” he confirmed.
We nodded.
“I’m Doctor Stellar. I’m taking care of your father tonight,” he said, his eyes flicking briefly towards Mara and then back to me and my siblings. He seemed all business, focused entirely on his patient—our father.
Mara’s resemblance to her dad was striking. He had dark brown eyes behind silver-framed glasses, and Mara’s eyes were similar but a shade lighter. She had inherited his full lower lip and slim build too.
Seeing Mara’s dad in blue scrubs felt surreal, but I needed to focus on the fact that he was a doctor, not just Mara’s father.
“How’s Dad doing?” I asked, trying to steady my voice.
“He’s resting now, and he is not in any immediate danger. No heart attack. He’s in atrial fibrillation, which means his heart isn’t beating in a proper rhythm. It’s making him feel uncomfortable and out of sorts, but we’re keeping a close eye on things.”
“Can it kill him?” Hailey asked, getting straight to the point.
Dr. Stellar met her gaze. “That’s unlikely in the short term. If it continues and goes untreated, it could potentially cause other problems. He was already on blood thinners, so that’s helping.”
I recalled that when I’d done an internet search on the pills I’d found in Dad’s bathroom a few months ago, one of them was a blood thinner.
“We’ll monitor your dad overnight,” Dr. Stellar said. “He says he’s been having symptoms for a while. He really should have gone to see his cardiologist when he first noticed the problem.”
I glanced at my siblings, surprised.
“Why wouldn’t he see his doctor?” Hailey asked.
Good question. None of us had an answer.
“What’s the best-case scenario?” Max asked.
“The best option is that his heart decides to beat properly again on its own,” the doctor said. “If that doesn’t happen, there are a couple of alternatives. The first is to wait and see if it resolves on its own. The second is to give his heart a bit of an electric jolt to get it beating normally again. Sometimes the electrical signals in the heart get confused. Giving it a shock will reboot things and get it back to normal sinus rhythm.”
“Shock it? Is that dangerous?” Hailey asked.
“Not nearly as dangerous as staying in a-fib,” Dr. Stellar said. “He could throw off a blood clot. Since he’s been having these episodes for a while, once he’s stabilized and we send him home, I’ll have him wear a heart monitor for a week so we can record heart data. If his a-fib is frequent and persistent, I can refer him to an electrophysiologist, but that’s not the first option to consider.”
“A blood clot?” I repeated. A clot could be incredibly dangerous. “That could cause a stroke, right?”
“It’s nothing to panic about,” Dr. Stellar said, his tone soothing my fears. “Yes, strokes are five times more likely when you’re in a-fib, but that isn’t the same thing as saying one will definitely occur. The fact that your dad is on a blood thinner will reduce his chances of having one. He doesn’t smoke and he isn’t overweight, so those factors are in his favor too. He needs to be careful going forward though. I’ve had some patients who’ve had good results with the breathing techniques they learn in yoga. I’ll discuss all this with your dad.”
The automatic doors leading into the patient area whooshed open. A woman in scrubs told Dr. Steller, “Mr. Ross is ready now.”
“Your dad’s back in his room,” Dr. Stellar told us. “I’ll take you to see him.”
We followed him through the automatic doors and down a pale corridor. Someone on the cleaning staff was wiping down the door handles to the patients’ rooms with a sharp-scented sanitizing solution.
As soon as we entered Dad’s room, Dr. Stellar stepped to one side, granting us an unobstructed view of the bed. My heart sank at the sight of him lying there, but also lifted slightly to see him awake and aware.
A thin, white blanket covered Dad, and his complexion looked odd—slightly flushed, but sort of mottled. Wires ran from his chest to a monitor next to him. I’d seen enough medical shows to recognize a regular sinus rhythm, and that’s definitely not what I was seeing on the screen. I could identify his solid, regular heartbeat, but I also saw additional squiggles of activity between each beat.
Despite the relief of seeing him conscious and speaking, the sight of him hooked up to machines and wires made me uneasy. “What’s happening, Dad?” I asked, trying to keep the concern from my voice.
Dad gave a sheepish half-smile. “I didn’t mean to panic all of you,” he said. “I was having dinner at the country club when my heart started feeling strange. They insisted on calling an ambulance.”
“I’m glad they did,” I said, my voice tight with emotion. “The doctor says these episodes have been happening for a while. Why didn’t you say anything?”
Dad looked down at his hands, embarrassed. “I thought it was stress. All in my mind. It didn’t feel anything like my heart attack five years ago, so I didn’t bother to call my doctor. Stupid of me.”
My chest tightened with worry and frustration. Why hadn’t he taken his symptoms seriously? We’d almost lost him five years ago, and now he was ignoring his health again. “Dad, you should’ve told us,” I said, my voice rising slightly. “We could’ve helped you. You don’t have to go through this alone.”
“We’ll get this under control,” Dr. Stellar said, breaking the tension. He checked Dad’s heart monitor and wrote down a few notes.
“How did everything go in California?” Dad asked, shifting the attention away from himself. “I was planning on calling you tonight.”
I hesitated. The last thing I wanted to do was give him something more to worry about. “We can talk about it later. Don’t worry about work right now.”
Dad waved away my concern. “I’m feeling fine. Just a bit off-kilter from this fluttery sensation in my chest. Besides, Dr. Stellar assures me it isn’t stress-related. Tell me what’s going on. I could use the distraction.”
My stomach twisted with worry. I didn’t want to stress him out more, but I couldn’t lie to him either. “It isn’t good news, Dad. The investor pulled out and took the others with him. They didn’t like my casting decision. We’ll have to find new investors, which means the film will be delayed.”
With a clatter, Dr. Stellar slid the clipboard with his notes into a slot at the foot of Dad’s bed, then hurried from the room.
Dad gave a muttered curse. “I’m sorry about that. That guy’s always been a bit of a flake. He’s been wanting to put money into one of my films for a while, but I could never find one that suited him, the prickly bastard. I never should have used him as an investor in the first place. This is what I get for doing him a favor.”
I was caught off guard. “Why didn’t you ever mention that to me?”
Dad shrugged. “I told you he was a prickly investor and had cold feet. I figured you’d charm him.” He lifted his hand as if to make a gesture, but when the IV tugged against the blanket, he grimaced and set his hand back down. “I have some other people I can reach out to. It won’t take long to replace those guys. I always have people eager to back my movies, and with you as the director, they’ll be lining up.”
I stilled for a moment, not breathing. His news took me completely by surprise. “I don’t get it. When we spoke, you made it sound as though keeping this guy happy was crucial.”
Dad’s features hardened. “It was. The guy’s been after me to put together a superhero film for years now so he could invest in it. I thought this was the perfect opportunity for him.” He started to cross his arms across his chest, then stopped again because of all the wires and the IV. He let out an irritated sigh. “What can I say? I was wrong.”
My anger and frustration flared. “Do you have any idea what kind of panic I was in when all those investors backed out? And what about Mara? When I told her I’d have to delay filming, it gutted her. I derailed all the plans she was making for her future.”
“Ford, he’s in a hospital bed,” Hailey scolded. “Let up on the guy.”
I stilled. Hailey was right. This wasn’t the time to unload my anger and frustration. “Sorry, Dad.”
I glanced at Mara, and only then did I realize she wasn’t standing next to me anymore. I’d been so focused on my dad that I hadn’t noticed she’d left.
“You’re right,” Dad said, “I should have filled you in.”
“Excuse me,” I said, turning towards the door. “I need to find Mara. She might not have heard everything you just said, and I need to make sure she knows.” What if she’d left to call Destiny? What if she was backing out of the partnership at this very moment? I needed to tell her before she did anything drastic.
When I reached the open door, I spotted Mara talking with her dad, and I nearly sagged with relief to see she wasn’t on the phone.
As I approached them, it became obvious that they were in the middle of an argument. Mara’s jaw was clenched, her lips pressed into a thin line, the same strained, overly patient expression she used when she was biting back anger. Whatever Mara and Dr. Stellar were talking about, it looked intense. This wasn’t just about Dad. There was something heavier, more personal simmering beneath the surface. Something I wasn’t sure I was ready to wade into yet. But ignoring it would be a mistake.
Dr. Stellar’s back was to me, so he didn’t see me. I overheard him say in a scathing voice, “I can’t believe you were so naive.”
That did it. Mara’s face hardened with anger.