Chapter 32 - The Hospital Vigil|
“Ethan!” Natalie screamed, dropping to her knees. She pressed her hands frantically against the bullet wounds on his side, hot blood spilling through her fingers. His face was rapidly losing color, his eyes fluttering as shock set in.
“Nat...” he coughed, blood staining his lips. “I’m sorry... for lying to you...”
“Shut up, just save your strength!” she sobbed, abandoning her cold, ruthless facade. She looked up at Silas, completely desperate. “We have to get him to a hospital! Now!”
“A public hospital will flag the gunshot wounds. Victor’s men will finish him off in the ICU,” Silas said, seamlessly switching to a tactical mindset. He grabbed his radio. “Bring the medivac chopper to the roof. We are relocating to the underground clinic.”
The next few hours were a blur of screaming sirens, blinding lights, and the overwhelming smell of antiseptics. They arrived at a highly classified underground medical facility funded by the estate. Ethan was rushed into an operating theater, leaving Natalie alone in the cold, sterile waiting room.
Her hands were stained with his blood. She stared at them for a long time.
The fear and sorrow slowly drained out of her, replaced by a pure, unadulterated fury that burned hotter than the sun. Her mother’s abuse, her father’s murder, Chloe’s terror, and now Ethan fighting for his life—all of it traced back to one man. Victor Thorne.
Silas walked into the waiting room, holding two cups of black coffee. “The surgeons are doing everything they can. He’s strong, Natalie.”
Natalie took the coffee, her expression terrifyingly blank. “Where is Victor’s headquarters, Silas?”
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“A high-rise in the financial district. Heavily fortified. Why?”
“Because,” Natalie said, her voice deadly quiet. “I am tired of playing defense. We are going to war.”
