Chapter 211
Elena‘s POV
The fluorescent lights of the emergency room burned my eyes as Adrian and I half-carried, half-dragged Julian through the automatic doors.
Adrian had his arm firmly around Julian's other side, taking most of the weight, but I could still feel Julian growing heavier with each step, his breathing shallow and labored.
"I need help!" Adrian shouted, his voice sharp and commanding. "We need a doctor now!"
A nurse looked up from her station, her eyes widening as she took in the blood soaking through Julian's shirt—fresh blood mixing with older stains from where he'd torn his surgical stitches fighting Alexander's men.
She was moving before Adrian could say anything else, calling for a gurney and a doctor.
Julian's knees buckled just as the gurney arrived. Strong hands caught us—orderlies appearing from nowhere to ease Julian onto the gurney with practiced efficiency.
"Julian," I said, gripping his hand as they started to wheel him away. His eyes were half-closed, his face the color of old paper, lips tinged with blue. "Julian, stay with me. Please."
His fingers twitched in mine, but he didn't respond. Couldn't respond.
"Ma'am, sir, we need you to step back," one of the orderlies said firmly. "Let us do our job."
Adrian's hand closed around my shoulder, pulling me back as I tried to follow the gurney. I watched helplessly as they rushed Julian through double doors marked "Authorized Personnel Only." A doctor appeared, barking orders about reopened surgical wounds, blood loss, emergency surgery.
The doors swung shut with finality.
I stood there in the middle of the emergency room, suddenly aware that I was shaking. My hands were covered in Julian's blood—dark and sticky, already drying in the cracks of my palms.
The metallic smell filled my nose, making me dizzy. The fluorescent lights felt too bright, the sounds too loud—machines beeping, people talking, all of it crashing over me in waves.
"Elena." Adrian's voice was gentle. "You should sit down. You're in shock."
I shook my head, unable to tear my eyes away from those closed doors. What if Julian didn't make it? What if tearing out his IV and fighting through his injuries to save me had cost him his life?
"I can't leave," I whispered. "What if they come out and I'm not here?"
"He's going to be okay," Adrian said, but I could hear the uncertainty in his voice. "Julian's stubborn as hell. He survived the initial knife wound—he'll survive this too."
Minutes ticked by—five, ten, fifteen. Each one felt like an eternity.
"I have to make some calls," he said quietly. "There's been some trouble at the company."
"Go," I said. "I'll be okay."
"Sophia's on her way," he said. "She has Lila."
I nodded, wrapping my arms tighter around myself. The shaking wouldn't stop. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Alexander's face, felt his hands on my skin. Then I saw Julian—bleeding, fighting, throwing himself between me and danger despite barely being able to stand.
"Elena!"
I flinched at the voice, spinning around. Sophia rushed toward me, Lila cradled in her arms. My daughter was awake, her eyes wide and frightened.
"Mommy?" Lila's voice was small and scared. "Why are you all red?"
I looked down at myself—Julian's blood had soaked into my shirt, smeared across my jeans. I must look like something out of a nightmare to her.
"It's okay, baby," I said, reaching for her. Sophia transferred Lila into my arms, and I held her tight. "Mommy's okay. Everything's okay."
"Are you okay?" Sophia demanded, scanning me for injuries. "Adrian said you were missing. He tracked your location to some estate outside the city."
I nodded, unable to find words.
Sophia's expression shifted to alarm as she took in my appearance—the shaking, the glazed look in my eyes, how I was holding Lila like a lifeline. "Elena, you're in shock. What happened? Did Alexander—" She stopped, glancing at Lila, then lowered her voice. "How did you even get involved with Julian's uncle? Did he hurt you?"
"My relationship with Alexander is complicated; I don't want to talk about it right now," I managed, though the words came out strangled. "Julian got there in time. He saved me. But he'd just had surgery four days ago, and fighting tore open all his stitches, and there was so much blood, Sophia."
"Adrian told us," Sophia said gently, guiding me toward the waiting area. "He said Julian ripped out his IV and discharged himself against medical orders the moment he heard you were missing. The nurses tried to stop him, but he fought past them. Adrian said he'd never seen anyone so determined—or so reckless."
The image of Julian—only four days post-surgery, tearing out medical equipment and forcing his broken body to save me—made my eyes burn with tears.
Lila squirmed in my arms, and I set her down. She immediately grabbed onto my leg. "Where's Daddy?" she asked, trembling. "Is Daddy okay?"
The word—Daddy—made my chest ache. She'd only just learned the truth about Julian, and now she might lose him.
"The doctors are helping him right now, sweetie," I said, kneeling to her level. "He's going to be okay."
"He saved you from the bad man?" Lila asked.
I exchanged a glance with Sophia. "Yes, baby. He did."
"Then he's a hero," Lila declared with four-year-old certainty. "Like in my storybooks. Heroes always win."
I pulled her close, unable to explain that sometimes heroes got hurt, that sometimes they paid a terrible price for their courage.
The waiting area was depressing—plastic chairs and outdated magazines that smelled of disinfectant and old coffee. I sank into a chair, suddenly aware of how exhausted I was. Lila climbed into the chair next to me, swinging her legs and humming—her way of coping with stress.
Sophia settled beside me. "You know, you told me days ago about losing your memory, but I still can't quite wrap my head around it," she said quietly. "To think that for four years, I had no idea what happened to you... What exactly went through all that time? How did you survive?"
I looked down at my blood-stained hands. "I lost my memory," I said. "After I fell from the bridge, someone pulled me out of the water. I woke up in a hospital with no idea who I was."
Sophia's eyes widened, her hand flying to her mouth. "How? Elena—"