Chapter 3: The Truth That Was Buried
Sirens wailed in the distance.
But no one moved until Damien allowed it.
When the paramedics finally rushed in, Damien carried Maren himself, refusing to let anyone else touch her.
At the hospital, time slowed.
Machines beeped.
Doctors spoke in careful tones.
Damien stood outside the operating room, his hands stained with dust from the marble floor—unwashed, unmoving.
Vincent Hale appeared beside him.
“You’re alive,” Vincent said quietly.
Damien didn’t look at him.
“You told her I was dead.”
Vincent exhaled. “It was the only way to keep her safe. The attack wasn’t random. Someone wanted your bloodline erased.”
Damien’s eyes darkened.
“And now they know she exists,” Vincent added.
A long silence.
Then Damien spoke.
“Then they’ve already lost.”
The doors opened.
A doctor stepped out.
“She’s stable,” he said. “The baby too. But stress like that… she needs peace.”
Damien nodded slowly.
Peace.
May you like
For the first time in his life, that was something he intended to give.
At any cost.
