Chapter 16 Sixteen
IDALIA SOLENE
My private office smelled strictly of fresh white lilies and heavy chemical disinfectant which the cleaners seemingly couldn't use like they were supposed to. It was a sharp, conflicting smell but it also kind of matched my life perfectly.
I was sitting in the plush leather chair behind my desk. Cassian Vale sat across from me. He held a ceramic cup of black coffee in his hands.
He was dead drop gorgeous. He had dark hair, sharp features, and a calm, grounded presence and knew every single one of my secrets. He was the man who pulled me out of the darkness in Europe and handed me a scalpel. He was the reason I was here, alive.
"This PR stunt is incredibly dangerous, Solene," Cassian said. His voice was smooth, but it carried a heavy warning. He took a slow sip of his coffee. "Playing the 'Hero Doctor' who swoops in to save the billionaire’s dying mother. It is the perfect cover story for your revenge. But you are playing with fire. If you stand too close to the flames, you will get burned."
I looked down at the smooth surface of my desk. I thought about Leo’s bright blue eyes. I thought about Mia’s sweet, innocent laugh. I thought about the sheer terror I felt when the hitman’s bullet hit my chest five years ago.
"I am already burned, Cassian," I said. My voice was serious. It was heavily guarded. "I am doing this for my children. They need to be safe. The only way to ensure their safety is to dismantle the people who tried to bury us. I need to be in the spotlight. I need the hospital board to love me. I need the press to praise me. Power is the only armor I have left."
Cassian looked at my face. He saw the unyielding mother sitting across from him. He nodded slowly and then set his coffee cup down.
"Just be careful," Cassian said softly. "He is not a stupid man."
I got a call right after that about something going on in the ICU, after which I stood up. Then I smoothed the front of my white coat. "I have rounds to make."
I walked out of my office and stepped into the busy hospital corridor.
Minutes later, I walked into a crowded ICU room. A team of four doctors stood around a bed, arguing over a complex chart. The patient’s monitor was beeping rapidly. I did not ask for permission. I stepped through the group. I picked up the chart. I scanned the numbers for three seconds.
"He is throwing a microscopic clot in his descending aorta," I stated clearly. "Push fifty units of Heparin immediately and prep the cath lab. You have exactly four minutes before his heart stops."
The doctors stared at me in surprise. Then, they moved. They scrambled to follow my orders and I waited to make sure it worked before I turned around and walked out of the room and away from the minor inconvenience.
I walked back toward the executive wing. My phone vibrated in the deep pocket of my coat. I pulled it out. It was Cassian.
I answered it. "Hey, Cassian. What's-."
"I just got a call, Lia. Someone is sniffing around the hospital’s main servers," Cassian said. His voice was incredibly tight. The calm demeanor was gone. "The IT director just flagged a massive security breach in the administrative records. Someone forced their way into your private file. They bypassed the European blocks. They are searching for the name Idalia."
My stomach dropped completely. A cold, heavy sweat broke out directly on the base of my spine. The hospital hallway suddenly felt too warm. The air felt too thin.
My grip on the phone tightened until my knuckles turned white. I asked myself the terrible question:
Is he that smart? Or is he just that obsessed?
"Lock it down," I ordered. My voice shook for a fraction of a second, but I forced it back into a commanding tone. "Erase the logs. Do not let them track the IP addresses back to Zurich."
After our conversation, I hung up the phone but I was still very worried, my heart hammering. I walked quickly down the hall. I needed space. I needed to breathe.
I stepped into the executive lobby whose entire front wall was made of floor-to-ceiling glass. I walked up to the thick pane and looked down at the busy New York street fifty feet below me.
And it was just in time to witness a massive, black SUV pulled up to the curb directly in front of the hospital’s main entrance. The heavy tires screeched slightly against the concrete.
The back door opened.
Thane Devereux stepped out. I knew it was him because I could recognise the bastard anywhere.
I stopped breathing.
He looked massive. He wore a custom-tailored charcoal suit that stretched tightly across his broad shoulders. The wind caught his dark hair. He did not look around. He walked directly toward the glass doors. He moved with a heavy, arrogant stride. He moved exactly like a man who owned the concrete beneath his expensive shoes.
A sudden, violent surge of pure hate exploded in my chest. He was the man who threw me out like trash. He was the man who replaced me with a cheap copy.
But beneath the hate, a dark, traitorous pull twisted deep in my stomach. My heart began to beat entirely too fast. It hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird.
God…not now.
I raised my right hand and pressed my palm flat against the cold, hard glass of the window as I watched him disappear under the concrete awning. I wondered if I should walk down to the lobby and confront him. I wondered if I should meet him face-to-face and watch the confusion break his heavy jaw.
Or maybe, I should stay in the shadows a little longer and let him keep hunting me.