Chapter 97BIANCA I pushed past Rivera before he could stop me, my doctor's training overriding caution.The room was a disaster. Furniture overturned, lamp shattered, signs of a serious struggle. And in the center of the chaos, collapsed against the far wall, was Vera.Blood. So much blood.I was moving before conscious thought, dropping to my knees beside her, my hands already assessing injuries."Vera. Vera, can you hear me?"Her eyes fluttered open, unfocused and pain-glazed. "Bianca...""I'm here. I've got you." I was already pulling off my jacket, pressing it against the worst of the bleeding—a deep laceration across her abdomen. "Rivera, I need towels, anything clean. And call an ambulance—""No hospital." Vera's hand caught my wrist with surprising strength. "Can't—they'll find me—""Vera, you need surgery—""No hospital," she repeated, her voice fading. "Please. They'll kill me. They'll finish what they started."Rivera was already on his phone. "I need a medical team at my
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