MasukThe decision didnât come immediately.Of course it didnât.Systems like this didnât rush.They processed.Reviewed.Deliberated.But the waitingâThat was where the real pressure lived.âAriana stopped checking her phone.Not because she didnât care.But because every notification felt like impact.And she neededâJust a little distance.Even if it was artificial.âThe hospital had officially removed her from all schedules.No shifts.No rotations.No access beyond administrative clearance.She existedâIn between.Not active.Not dismissed.Just⌠suspended in process.âMateoâs situation was different.He still moved through the building.Still held presence.But without authority.Without decision-making power.Without control over anything that mattered.And thatâWas new.ââTheyâre going to make a statement.âDiego stood across from him again.Same position.Different weight now.âWhen?ââSoon.âA pause.âBefore the final ruling.âMateo nodded once.âOf course.âPublic narrativ
The line had been drawn.Not vaguely.Not emotionally.Clearly.And nowâEverything moved according to it.âThe notice for the first formal hearing came two days later.Scheduled.Mandatory.Non-negotiable.Ariana read the time twice.Then closed the email.Because reading it againâWouldnât change anything.âThe hospital didnât feel like a place she belonged to anymore.Not because she was removed.But because she was now⌠observed.Defined by something outside her work.Outside her capability.Reduced to a case in motion.âMateoâs day looked different.Meetings.Legal.Administrative.Contained conversations behind closed doors.Nothing spontaneous.Nothing unplanned.Everything documented.Everything deliberate.Even his movementsâFelt monitored.ââYou should prepare for suspension.âThe legal advisorâs voice was calm.Too calm.Mateo didnât react.âTemporary,â the man added.âBut public.âThat mattered more.Because publicâShifted perception permanently.âTheyâll make an exa
The pressure didnât spike.It tightened.Slowly.Deliberately.Like something designed to constrict over time instead of collapse all at once.And that made it harder to fight.âAriana sat in a room that didnât belong to her anymore.Administrative holding.Neutral walls.No patients.No urgency.No purpose.Just time.Too much of it.Her phone rested face down on the table.Silent now.Because everyone who needed to reach herâAlready had.And everyone elseâWas waiting.Watching.Deciding where she stood.âA soft knock.Then the door opened.Not Elena this time.Not administration.Cami.Arianaâs chest tightened instantly.Not from surprise.From inevitability.âYou found me,â Ariana said quietly.Cami stepped inside.Closed the door behind her.âI wasnât looking,â she replied.A pause.âYouâre exactly where I expected you to be.âThat landed.Because it wasnât just observation.It was prediction.And Ariana knew exactly where she learned that from.Cami didnât sit immediately.Sh
The silence didnât last.It never did.Because once something like this started movingâIt demanded response.From everyone.âThe email came first.Official.Cold.Structured.Ariana read it twice.Then a third time.Subject: Notice of External Review CoordinationHer name.Mateoâs name.Attached documentation.Legal language.Timelines.Deadlines.Mandatory appearances.It wasnât a warning anymore.It was process.Already in motion.Already beyond them.âAcross the apartmentâMateo had received the same thing.He didnât sit.Didnât pause.He read it once.Then placed his phone down.âItâs faster than expected,â Ariana said quietly.âYes.ââThatâs not good.ââNo.âA pause.âTheyâre coordinating with the medical board.âThat landed.Hard.Because that meantâLicensing.Certification.Career.Everything.Ariana exhaled slowly.âThis isnât just the hospital anymore.ââNo,â Mateo said.âIt isnât.ââAt the hospitalâThe atmosphere had changed again.Not whispers.Not curiosity.Distance
The document didnât leave the table.But its weightâSpread everywhere.Ariana could feel it without reading it.Legal.External.Permanent.Something that wouldnât disappear with time or careful handling.Something that would stay.Follow.Define.âWhat exactly did you file?â Ariana asked.Her voice was steady.But thinner now.Less shielded.Cami didnât answer immediately.She watched her instead.Like she was measuring whether Ariana deserved the full truth.ThenââEthics violation. Abuse of power. Professional misconduct.âEach word landed separately.Deliberately.Arianaâs chest tightened.âThatâs notâââIt is,â Cami cut in.Not loud.Not emotional.Just precise.âYou were under his supervision.âA pause.âYou hid it.âAnother pause.âYou continued it.âSilence.Because stripped down like thatâThere was no room to reshape it.No softer version.No reinterpretation.Just fact.Mateo placed the document back on the table.Carefully.Like it was something fragile.Or dangerous.Bot
The quiet didnât last.It never did.A sharp knock hit the door.Once.Then again.Ariana froze instantly.Her hands were still gripping Mateoâs shirt, her back still pressed against the wall, his body still too closeâToo familiar.Too dangerous.The knock came again.More impatient this time.âMateo?âCamiâs voice.Clear.Right outside.Everything inside Ariana dropped.Her hands released him immediately.Her breath caught so sharply it almost hurt.Mateo didnât step back right away.For half a second, he stayed exactly where he wasâeyes locked on hers, expression unreadable.Calculating.ThenâHe moved.Fast.But controlled.Distance returned like it had never been broken.By the time the door handle shifted slightly, he was already a step away.Composed.Untouchable.Ariana pushed herself off the wall, heart racing violently now, trying to steady her breathing.The door opened.Cami stepped in.Bright.Alive.Completely unawareâOr maybe not.Her eyes moved between them instantly.
The castle walls had never felt so aliveâor so fragile. The aftermath of the canyon battle lingered like a shadow, echoing through the corridors in the soft murmurs of soldiers and the anxious footsteps of advisors. Hazel walked beside Damon, her boots clicking against the polished stone, their rhy
The first rays of dawn crept over the canyon, bathing the scorched earth in a pale, golden light. Hazel stood atop a jagged rock, surveying the aftermath of the battle. Twisted forms of defeated creatures lay strewn across the canyon floor, their eerie, greenish glow fading into nothingness. The ai
The canyon echoed with the relentless roar of battle, steel clashing against sinew, and the guttural cries of the twisted creatures. Hazelâs muscles burned from exertion, her dagger slick with the ichor of the monsters they had already felled, yet she refused to relent. Every movement, every strike
The canyonâs jagged cliffs loomed like silent sentinels in the pale light of the moon, their shadows stretching across the ground like dark fingers. Hazelâs heart pounded in her chest, a rhythmic echo of the tension that gripped every soldier around her. She tightened her fingers around the hilt of







