Rebecca’s hands trembled as she pulled the cloth completely away from the woman’s face. The familiar features made her stomach drop like she had fallen off a cliff.“Ava,” she gasped, the name barely a whisper.Her best friend lay unconscious on the bed, pale and fragile in ways that Rebecca had never seen before. Dark circles shadowed her eyes, and her skin had the waxy pallor of someone who had lost too much blood. But it was definitely Ava - the woman she had been worried sick about for weeks.A thousand questions crashed through Rebecca’s mind at once. How had Ava ended up here? Why was she injured? What did her father have to do with any of this? And why had he insisted she come treat a patient without telling her who it was?.Rebecca checked Ava’s pulse one more time, then pulled the sheet back up to keep her warm. Her friend was stable for now, but she needed answers. She needed to understand what was happening.She found Roberto Don in his study, sitting behind the massive oak
Rebecca moved methodically through the cardiac unit, her clipboard in hand as she reviewed the morning’s patient files. Mrs. Rowen in room 301 was responding well to her new medication regimen - blood pressure down, swelling in her ankles reduced. She made a note to continue the current dosage for another week. Mr. Thompson’s post-operative recovery was ahead of schedule. His surgical sites were healing cleanly, and his cardiac function tests showed steady improvement. Rebecca updated his file with the latest lab results and scheduled him for discharge evaluation in three days.The Westley’s case required more attention. The elderly gentleman had been admitted with chest pains that turned out to be anxiety-related, but his underlying cardiac condition needed monitoring. Rebecca noted the psychiatrist’s recommendation for anti-anxiety medication and coordinated with Dr. Michael about adjusting his heart medications accordingly.After completing the file updates, she began her weekly
Rosa Havier had been cleaning houses for forty-three years, but she had never worked in a home that felt as empty as the Santos penthouse did now. Every room echoed with absence, every carefully arranged piece of furniture seemed to wait for people who weren’t coming back.She moved through the master bedroom with mechanical precision, changing sheets that hadn’t been slept in for days. The bed was enormous, king-sized and covered in Italian linens that cost more than most people made in a month. But without Ava’s presence, it looked cold and unwelcoming.On the nightstand sat a bottle of prenatal vitamins that Ava had been taking faithfully every morning. Rosa picked it up, rattling the pills inside, and felt tears prick at her eyes. Somewhere in this city, that sweet girl was carrying the next generation of the Santos family, and no one knew if she was getting the care she needed.“Miss Rosa?”She turned to find Camilia standing in the doorway, looking lost and fragile in her ex
The command center buzzed with quiet activity as dozens of masked operatives worked at their stations. Monitor screens displayed feeds from across Northshore, tracking everything from police movements to financial transactions. The Shadow organization had spent decades building this network, and now it was finally paying dividends.At the center of it all stood the leader, still wearing his black mask despite being surrounded by his most trusted subordinates. He studied the main display screen, which showed a map of the city marked with various colored pins representing their operations.“Status report,” he said without turning around. Dexter, his second-in-command, stepped forward with a tablet in his hands. “Our contacts inside the Santos organization report continued unrest. Three more lieutenants have questioned Dario’s legitimacy since yesterday.”“And his response?”“Nothing. Complete silence. He hasn’t called any meetings, issued any statements, or made any moves to reassert
Carissa Santos opened her eyes to the steady beeping of a heart monitor and the harsh fluorescent lights of a hospital room. Pain shot through her back with every breath, reminding her of the three bullets her mother had put there. Her mouth tasted like metal and medication, and when she tried to move, restraints around her wrists stopped her.“You’re awake.”The voice belonged to a doctor she didn’t recognize, a middle-aged man with kind eyes and graying hair. He approached her bed cautiously, like someone who had been briefed on exactly who his patient was.“Where am I?”“Northshore General. You have been unconscious for two days. The surgery to remove the bullets went well, but you lost a lot of blood.”Carissa closed her eyes, remembering the shock of her mother’s betrayal. She had known Cecile was ruthless, had watched her manipulate and destroy people without hesitation. But she had never imagined that ruthlessness would turn on her own daughter.“Are there guards outside my d
Rebecca Chen finished updating her last patient chart and glanced at the clock on the wall of the cardiac unit break room. Three-thirty. Her shift had officially ended, but she had stayed late to catch up on paperwork and avoid the usual afternoon traffic.She pulled out her phone and scrolled through her messages, hoping to see something from Ava. Nothing. Just like there had been nothing for the past week.It wasn’t like Ava to go silent for this long. They had been friends since college, had maintained regular contact even through their busiest residency rotations. Even when Ava had started dating that Santos man and her life had become more complicated, she had never disappeared completely.Rebecca hit the call button beside Ava’s name, listening to it ring once before going to voicemail. The same cheerful message she had been hearing for days.“Hi, you have reached Ava. I can’t come to the phone right now, but leave a message and I will get back to you soon.”“Ava, it’s me agai