All Chapters of HIS TO DESTROY: Chapter 61 - Chapter 65

GABRIEL'S POVThe room was yellow. Gabriel liked this room better than the white ones, better than the gray ones, better than the dark ones with symbols that made his head ache.Dr. Mendoza sat across from him at the small table. She had kind eyes, the kind that crinkled at the corners when she smiled. She smiled a lot, but not the fake smiles the Church people used. Real ones."Good morning, Gabriel," she said.He nodded. He could do that much. Nods were safe. Nods didn't require his mouth to work.His mouth was broken. Not physically—the doctors had checked. But somewhere between his brain and his tongue, the words got stuck. They piled up inside him like rocks in a river, damming everything until nothing could flow.He could hear the words in his head. He could think them clearly. He could form whole sentences that made sense. But when he tried to push them out, his throat closed and his tongue went heavy and nothing came."I brought something new today," Dr. Mendoza said. She pull

CATALINA'S POVThe call came at dawn.Catalina woke to someone knocking urgently on her door. She'd returned to her own room after falling asleep with Lucien, not wanting to crowd him or make him uncomfortable. Her body ached from sleeping in strange positions, and the baby had been restless all night."Miss Cruz?" A nurse called out. Her voice was tight with urgency. "Your father. You need to come now."Catalina was on her feet before the words fully registered. She didn't bother with shoes, just ran down the hallway in bare feet, her heart pounding against her ribs.Not yet. Please, not yet.Miguel's room was at the end of the medical wing. The door stood open, and Dr. Reina was inside, checking monitors with quick, efficient movements.Miguel lay in the bed, his skin looked pale, his breathing labored. Each inhale sounded wet. The infection had spread despite the antibiotics and everything they'd done."Papa." Catalina was at his bedside immediately, taking his hand. It felt cold.