Chapter 3 - The Hospital RaidI didn't sleep that night.
The guest room on the third floor of the manor was larger than my entire apartment, equipped with silk sheets, a balcony overlooking the bay, and a wardrobe filled with brand-new, expensive clothes in my exact size. But the room felt like a gilded cage.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the photograph: my mother laughing in the arms of a monster.
At 7:00 AM, a quiet knock sounded at my door.
I opened it to find Ethan standing in the hallway. He had stripped off his suit jacket, wearing a crisp white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, revealing dark ink tattoos winding up his arms. A shoulder holster carrying a sleek black firearm was strapped across his chest.
"Your father gives you twenty minutes to eat," Ethan said flatly. "The transport to San Francisco General leaves at eight."
"He is not my father," I said, stepping past him into the hallway. "He's a stranger who bought my mother's hospital."
Ethan walked alongside me, his long strides effortlessly matching my quick pace. "He saved her life, Ava. The hospital was about to turn off her specialized dialysis treatment because your bank account was sixty dollars overdrawn."
I stopped dead in my tracks, turning to face him. "Do you enjoy throwing my poverty in my face?"
Ethan stopped, looking down at me with those unreadable dark eyes. Up close, I noticed a tiny scar cutting through his left cheekbone.
"I came from the gutter, Miss Bennett," Ethan said softly, his voice losing its mocking edge. "Julian Vance threw my mother into the street when I was ten. I know what it’s like to count pennies for bread. I am not mocking your poverty. I am reminding you that in this city, money isn't just luxury—it’s armor. And right now, you need all the armor you can get."
I swallowed hard, unable to find a quick comeback. Without another word, I followed him down to the waiting SUV.
The top floor of San Francisco General was completely locked down. Armed men in dark coats stood at every elevator bank and stairwell.
When I stepped into Room 802, the sight took my breath away.
My mother lay in a massive, private hospital bed surrounded by state-of-the-art monitoring equipment. She looked tiny, pale, and fragile, but the gray tint that had plagued her skin for months was gone. She was sleeping peacefully, hooked up to a high-end filtration system.
I rushed to her side, gripping her hand, my eyes welling with tears. "Mom... Mom, can you hear me?"
Her eyelids fluttered open slowly. Her pale blue eyes focused on my face, then drifted past me... to the doorway where Damien Moretti stood silently, watching us with his hands folded behind his back.
My mother’s breath hitched. A look of profound, devastating recognition crossed her face.
"Damien..." she whispered, her voice frail as dry leaves.
"Isabella," Damien said gently, stepping into the room.
I stood up, pulling my hand back from my mother. "Why didn't you tell me, Mom? Why did you let me believe my father was dead? Why did we suffer in silence while he owned half the city?!"
My mother looked at me, tears spilling down her hollow cheeks. "Because I wanted you to have a soul, Ava..." she wept softly. "I wanted you to grow up with kindness, with honest work, far away from the blood and the fire. If Damien took you... you would have been swallowed by the dark."
"The dark has found her anyway, Isabella," Damien said, his tone grim. "Julian knows."
My mother went completely rigid, her monitors beginning to beep at a frantic pace. "No... no! Damien, you promised! You swore to me!"
Suddenly, the red emergency light above the hospital room door flashed!
The piercing sound of the building’s fire alarm began to blare throughout the corridor!
WRAAAAH! WRAAAAH!
The heavy oak door flew open, and Ethan burst into the room with his weapon drawn! "Boss! We have a breach! Power to the security elevators was cut from the basement! Three tactical teams are moving up the emergency stairwells!"
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"Julian?" Damien demanded, stepping in front of my mother's bed.
"Vance’s mercenaries," Ethan snapped, pulling a second weapon from his belt and tossing it to Damien, who caught it effortlessly. "They aren't here to negotiate. They came to wipe out the room!"
