Chapter 7 – THE HOSPITAL WARD

The emergency room was a chaos of white coats and screaming sirens, but I couldn’t hear any of it. My ears were ringing.

Adrian held my arm, guiding me through the double doors, using his imposing presence to part the sea of nurses. Leo and Ruth stayed behind at the estate to watch over Toby.

“Where is he?” I begged the triage nurse. “My brother, David Morgan.”

The nurse looked at her clipboard, her expression tightening. “Room 4. But you need to prepare yourself, Miss Morgan. He lost a lot of blood.”

I sprinted down the linoleum hallway and burst into Room 4.

David was lying on the bed, pale as a ghost, hooked up to a dozen monitors. But his eyes were open. He managed a weak, lopsided smile when he saw me.

“Hey, Claire,” David rasped. “I guess I failed my nursing practical today.”

I collapsed by his bedside, sobbing into his sheets. “I’m so sorry, Davey. I’m so sorry.”

“It wasn’t Sloane’s men who attacked me, Claire,” David whispered, squeezing my hand weakly.

Adrian stepped into the room, his dark eyes scanning my brother. “Who was it, David?”

David swallowed hard. “It was the man who claimed he was protecting me. Your security chief. Dominic.”

Adrian froze.

“Dominic?” Adrian asked softly.

David nodded. “He stabbed me. He said to tell you that the Valenti era is over, and the real boss is finally taking his throne.”

Before Adrian could reach for his weapon, the door to the hospital room slammed shut and locked from the outside.

I turned around.

Through the small glass window of the heavy wooden door, Dominic stood in the hallway. He wasn’t alone. Six heavily armed men stood behind him.

Dominic smiled through the glass, raised a remote detonator, and pressed the button.

The lights in the hospital ward went completely black.

Share