All Chapters of The Surgeon's Debt : Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

Chapter 61: The ShiftClaraThe silent hum of the SUV’s engine was the only sound keeping me anchored to reality as we sped down the dark, quiet highway.After the chaos at the mansion, Dante hadn't wasted a single minute. The estate was compromised, and even though his men had already begun cleaning up the bodies and locking down the perimeter, Dante refused to let me stay there another hour. He had personally ushered me into his armored, tinted SUV—leaving Luca, Marco, and the rest of his tactical team behind to manage the aftermath.Now, it was just the two of us.Dante sat in the driver’s seat, both hands gripping the leather steering wheel with relaxed, practiced authority. The dashboard lights cast a soft, amber glow across his sharp profile—his jaw set, his golden eyes fixed on the empty road ahead.I sat in the passenger seat, my left hand nervously twisting the hem of my sweater while my right wrist throbbed in its beige bandage. The air inside the cabin felt ridiculously thi

Chapter 63: The Weight of Breathing Dante I had never known terror like the kind that seized my chest three hours ago on the southern highway.I had been shot, stabbed, ambushed, and cornered by entire syndicates. Pain was a familiar currency. But when Marco’s voice cracked over the comms reporting a breach in the North Wing—where Clara was supposed to be sleeping—my mind didn't just snap. It burned to ash.For twenty agonizing minutes on that drive back, I was a ghost operating on pure, feral instinct. I would have mowed down a wall of armed men with my bare hands if it meant getting to her. Finding that ruined foyer empty, smelling blood in the hallway, and believing for five horrific seconds that the Costa cartel had dragged her into the dark... it was an agony I never wanted to feel again.And then she had stepped out of the shadow of Luca’s vehicle, alive, unbroken, and looking at me with those wide, clear eyes.I shifted the SUV into park near the secluded driveway of the ridg

Chapter 65: Five Months Clara I made sure every single button of Dante’s dark grey t-shirt was pulled tight and the drawstring of his oversized sweatpants was tied securely before I even opened the bedroom door. The fabric swallowed my frame, carrying the faint, intoxicating scent of cedarwood and faint tobacco that belonged entirely to him.Walking down the grand wooden staircase, the low, grave hum of Dante’s voice bounced off the high beams of the living room. He was standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows, staring out into the pitch-black pine forest with a glass of amber liquid in his hand, his phone pressed to his ear."...make sure Marco secures the south ridge before sunrise," Dante commanded, his tone dropping into that familiar, unyielding steel. "If anyone breaches the perimeter, shoot first. I don't need survivors tonight, Alex."He paused, listening to the speaker, before his golden eyes flicked toward the stairs. The moment his gaze landed on me, the edge in his postu

Chapter 67: Over a Dinner Table Clara I leaned my forehead against the cool, wet tiles of the glass shower, letting the hot water cascade down my back.You are losing your mind, Clara. You are genuinely, completely losing it.I grabbed the soap, aggressively scrubbing my arms as if I could wash away the ghost of his thumb on my jaw, his warm breath against my skin, or the feeling of his large hand holding mine while we ran through the rain."He is a mafia boss," I muttered aloud to the empty, steamy bathroom, my voice echoing off the glass. "He is literally a criminal. He orders hits over the phone. He held you hostage!"Yes, but he held your hand in the rain. And he smiled."Shut up!" I snapped at my own brain, turning the knob to blast myself with freezing cold water. "It’s stockholm syndrome. It has to be. You’re trapped here, so your brain is just making things up to cope!"He literally told you protecting you is the only thing that matters.I let out a frustrated groan, shuttin

Chapter 69: Between the PagesClara I ran my fingers lightly along the smooth leather spines of the top shelf, my eyes scanning the titles before stopping at a sleek, dark hardcover: The Psychology of Human Behavior and War.I pulled it from the shelf, flipping it over to read the brief blurb on the back cover."The author argues that true tactical dominance isn't physical strength, but the ability to anticipate an enemy's psychological breakdown under extreme isolation," a smooth, deep voice rumbled right beside my ear.I jumped slightly, clutching the book to my chest as I turned to find Dante leaning casually against the adjacent bookshelf, his arms crossed over his chest, his golden eyes fixed on the volume in my hands."You've read this?" I asked, my eyebrows shooting up in surprise."Twice," Dante replied smoothly, a tiny, amused smirk touching the corner of his lips. "Chapter four on cognitive dissonance is a bit dry, but his analysis on decision-making under high-stress isola