Chapter 134 Chapter One hundred and thirty-three
ARA
When the doctors finished their explanation, rage scorched through me so fast it made my vision blur.
“So why hasn’t she been moved into surgery?” I demanded. “Why haven’t blood samples been taken to identify the poison? I’m supposed to just stand here and—”
Stuart cleared his throat, and I stopped. Something shifted behind me. A sound too soft to belong in a sterile room.
Instinct screamed at me to move, I stepped sideways just as a nurse in blue scrubs lurched forward.
Her balance was off, and her eyes were wide with shock. In her hand was a neatly folded white cloth. A cloth she had clearly been trying to press over my nose. Seriously?
Time slowed, and the cloth fluttered to the floor between us, useless now.
“You were not supposed to miss,” the two doctors said in eerie unison.
The nurse spun on them, fury flashing across her freckled face. “How was I supposed to know she had the instincts of a sniper bullet?” she snapped. “She moved before I even touched her.”
My heart was pounding so violently it hurt. I turned slowly, my eyes dragging over every detail I’d ignored before, the lack of ID badges, the too-clean coats, the way the machines hummed without ever changing rhythm.
How had I missed it? It had felt wrong from the beginning. Poisoning, coma, urgency, yet no real treatment. No sense of panic. Just… waiting.
Liliana wasn’t the patient.
I was. Gosh! I'd been so foolish and ignorant.
“She’s not in a coma,” I said, my voice cold, steady, terrifying even to my own ears. “None of the information you gave Thayne was real. And none of you are medical practitioners.”
Silence slammed into the room. The doctors exchanged short glances, confirming my statement. Then one of them smiled.
“Well,” he said, unclasping his gloves and letting them drop to the floor, “you’re sharper than we anticipated.”
Stuart moved instantly, stepping in front of me, his hand sliding under his jacket.
“Touch her,” he warned in a stern tone, “and you won’t leave this room breathing.”
“What did you do to her?” I asked, my eyes on Liana's still body.
The nurse laughed softly, backing away toward the door. “Relax. She was only meant to sleep. Long enough.”
“Long enough for what?” I asked.
“For leverage,” the other doctor replied calmly. “You and your husband are very difficult people to corner, and Mr. Slade is growing weary of the long game.”
My gaze snapped to Liliana. Rage unlike anything I’d ever known tore through me.
“You used her,” I whispered. “You turned her into bait.”
The first doctor shrugged. “Effective bait.”
I took a step forward before Stuart could stop me.
“If she so much as has a scratch on her because of you,” I said, each word shaking with fury, “I will make sure hell feels merciful in comparison.”
“If you try to use your earpiece to reach anyone, we'll play dirty.” The fake doctor who'd asked if I was a legal representative earlier asked.
“I don't need to reach anyone to flatten all of you.” Stuart scoffed.
“We breached management and security. The exits and entrance are locked. Do you think we came unprepared?”
Stuart let out a cold, military laugh. ‘And you think we didn't?”
Okay, was there something Stuart had prepared in advance that I was unaware of?
Something flickered in the man's eyes then, uncertainty. Good.
He started coming our way, but his partner suddenly pushed him sideways roughly, he nearly collapsed on top of Liana's frail form.
“Sorry, bro, but Jimmy wants her first.” He didn’t say it with bravado. There was no smug grin, no dramatic flair.
He said it flatly, almost bored, like he was correcting a minor detail on a checklist.
The words were clipped, efficient. Possessive in a way that made my skin crawl, like I was cargo with a priority tag slapped on it.
Everything about this was messy. The two clearly weren't on the same team. The fake nurse's face said as much, especially the way her jaw was still hanging open.
Stuart’s jaw tightened. I felt it beside me, the shift in his stance, the way violence settled into his bones like muscle memory waking up.
“First?” I echoed quietly. “What happens after?”
The man’s lips twitched, not quite a smile. More like an acknowledgment that I already knew the answer.
“That depends,” he said, shrugging one shoulder.
“On how cooperative you decide to be.”
Behind him, the nurse flexed her fingers, rolling her shoulders like she was preparing for a long night.
Liliana lay motionless on the bed, still, fragile, completely at their mercy.
His partner, who'd finally recovered from the rough shove, cracked his neck.
“We were paid millions of dollars for this, Lawrence.” He called out. “Double-crossing Slade Senior won't go well for you.”
“He's right, Lawrence. Listen to him.” The fake nurse pleaded.
“The drugs are wearing off. She moved her hand.” Stuart whispered to me.
I turned, my eyes widening slightly when I saw Liliana’s eyes flutter open.
As soon as she spotted the man leaning by her bedside, she sprang from the bed and grabbed him, wrapping her legs around his waist.
“Oh my God, Stuart.” I whispered to Stuart who whipped out his pistol and shot it into the ceiling.
“Oh my God!” I screamed again.
“Shit, shit, shit. Gwen, I can't breathe, help me!” The guy under Liliana's death grip choked out to his female partner.
She looked at their leader whose gun was trained on Stuart.
“I'm sorry, I can't.” She said.
How did Liliana wake up and go into beast mode so fast? The drugs had to be messing with her system.
“I'm going to shoot Gwen if you don't lower that gun.”
“Oh, shut up–”
Stuart fired, the bullet missing Gwen's head only by an inch and going through the glass behind her.
It shattered, and Liliana shrieked, slumping back on the bed and releasing the guy.
Lawrence cursed loudly. “You’re not leaving this place, don't bother with the threats. You can try again and shoot her, I don't care. Try not to miss this time.”
“Stuart, wait, he'll shoot.” I begged Stuart.
There was a loud click before Stuart grabbed me and spun, we fell, Stuart's hands wrapping around my middle to cover my stomach.
Bullets rained on the door, and it fell flat forward.
Thayne stepped into the ward like a dark angel, five armed men I recognised from his security unit
following suit.
His presence here meant he'd found my sisters and decided to swing by, or that Stuart had somehow managed to reach him without even saying a word to his earpiece.
His eyes went to his mother first, who was muttering to herself on the bed, then to me, still in Stuart's arms and shivering from shock. His eyes darkened with a violent promise, especially when he looked at me again.
Gwen tried to run, but she stopped when Thayne's men lifted their guns.
“Call Jimmy right now and tell him you have my wife.” Thayne said to Lawrence, unperturbed by the gun he'd aimed at him.
“I will do no such thing.” Lawrence barked.
“I thought as much,” Thayne murmured.
Then he fished out something from his pocket and trained it on Lawrence. A pointed red light centered on his forehead, and he froze.
“One pull of the trigger and the bullet will tear you into huge chunks of meat. Choose wisely. Call him or die.” Thayne warned him.
Lawrence but his lip, then grumbled out his response. “Fine. I'll call him.”