“Stay with us, Leo. Come on, you have to fight.”Elena held Leo’s hand tightly as the hospital bed rolled down the hallway. The wheels made soft sounds on the clean floor. Doctors and nurses moved fast around them, shouting numbers and instructions. Leo lay completely still, eyes closed, face pale under the bright lights. Blood still stained his clothes in dark patches. The machines hooked up to him beeped steadily, showing numbers that made Elena’s stomach twist.Her mother walked right beside her, one arm around Elena’s shoulders. Martha’s face looked tired but strong, her eyes fixed on Leo with quiet worry. She had rushed to the hospital the moment Elena called, still wearing her old coat over her night clothes.“He lost a lot of blood,” one doctor said, voice calm but urgent. “We’re taking him straight to surgery. The shoulder wound is through and through, but the one in his side is deeper. We need to stop the bleeding now.”Elena nodded, tears running down her cheeks. She squeeze

Elena sat on the edge of the bed, her hand never leaving Leo’s. The small lamp on the nightstand cast a soft yellow glow over his face. He looked peaceful in his unconscious state, but his skin still felt too warm under her fingers. The fever had climbed again during the last hour. She dipped a clean cloth in cool water and gently wiped his forehead, her movements slow and careful.“Mom, the fever’s back,” she said quietly. Her voice carried the exhaustion of the long night but also a quiet strength. “He’s burning up. We need to bring it down more.”Martha came over from the kitchen area, carrying a fresh bowl of water mixed with medicine. Her face showed deep lines of worry, but her hands stayed steady as she handed the bowl to her daughter. “Keep sponging him. We can’t let it get too high. I’ll make another batch of the broth. He needs fluids.”Elena nodded and started wiping Leo’s neck and chest with the cool cloth. His breathing remained shallow but steady. She leaned closer, spea

Rosa stepped through the back door quietly, carrying two heavy bags filled with supplies. She locked the door behind her with a soft click and set the bags on the small wooden table in the corner. Her face looked tired from the long night, but her eyes were sharp and focused. She had the look of someone who had handled situations like this many times before.“I brought more things we need,” Rosa said, her voice low so she wouldn’t disturb the quiet room. “Stronger antibiotics, fresh bandages, pain medicine that won’t make him too sleepy, and some fluids. Also soup and soft food that should be easy for him to take when he’s ready.”Elena looked up from where she sat beside Leo. She had been gently wiping his forehead with a cool cloth, her hand moving slowly and carefully. Her eyes were heavy with exhaustion, dark circles forming underneath, but a small spark of hope appeared when she saw the bags. “Thank you, Rosa,” she said softly. “He’s still warm. The fever keeps coming back, but t

Maya sat alone in her luxury apartment, legs crossed on the wide leather couch, phone resting on her knee. The city lights outside the tall windows flickered like distant stars, but she barely noticed them. Her eyes stayed fixed on the screen, reading the latest message from Kane again and again. Her face showed a mix of frustration, burning jealousy, and a dark kind of satisfaction that made her lips curve slightly.The ambush had happened. Guns had gone off. Leo had been hit. But they never found his body.“He got away,” she whispered to the empty room. Her voice came out low and rough. “Or someone helped him. Of course someone helped him.”She stood up slowly and walked to the large mirror on the wall. She stared at her own reflection. Her eyes looked sharper than usual, colder. The woman looking back at her had changed. The love she once felt for Leo had twisted into something harder, something that hurt every time she thought about Elena.She remembered the garden night clearly.

“Tell me he’s dead.”Thomas Blackwood’s voice cut through the quiet room like a whip. He stood by the large window of his exile villa, hands clasped behind his back, staring out at the distant hills. The luxurious house felt more like a golden cage every day...marble floors, expensive furniture, but every door and window monitored by the guards he was forced to accept. The message on the tablet in front of him had just arrived from one of his few remaining loyalists. His face was already darkening as he waited for the answer.The aide, a thin man named Harlan who had followed him into exile, shifted uncomfortably. “Sir… the ambush happened as planned. Leo was hit. Multiple times. But… they never found the body. Someone took him before our people could confirm.”Thomas turned slowly. His silver hair caught the light, but his eyes burned with raw fury. The tablet cracked in his grip as he slammed it down on the table. “They never found the body?” His voice rose, shaking with anger. “You