Chapter 316

Chapter 316

The stretcher was hoisted smoothly into the ambulance. Milo jumped in after it. The door slammed shut, leaving no time to breathe, and the vehicle screamed off into the distance.

The second ambulance stopped in front of Lucas.

He held Juliana in his arms, bent down, and carefully placed her on the mobile bed inside the vehicle.

"I—" Juliana wanted to say she could walk by herself.

"Don't move."

Lucas cut her off. He personally tucked the blanket around her, then climbed in himself.

The door closed, shutting out all the chaos outside.

In the cramped space, only they remained.

Lucas sat beside the bed, watching her. Those unfathomable eyes held emotions as tangled and dense as ink.

His movements were gentle, carrying the tenderness of something lost and found again.

Juliana looked at him, at the dark stubble shadowing his jawline.

"Lucas." She spoke suddenly, her voice hoarse.

"Mm."

"You killed someone."

Juliana wasn't accusing him. She was stating a fact. She'd seen it with her own eyes—that knife, plunging without hesitation into Owen's heart.

Something flickered in Lucas's eyes. "Are you scared?"

Juliana shook her head.

She looked into his eyes. "No. You saved me."

Saved her. Saved Kate.

Lucas fell silent.

After a long moment, he spoke again, his voice even rougher than before.

"Get some sleep."

"Once we reach the hospital, everything will be fine."

The ambulance soon arrived at Bayport General Hospital. Doctors and nurses who'd been waiting swarmed forward.

"Female patient, suspected dislocated shoulder with possible fracture, blood loss, multiple soft tissue contusions..."

"Prep for X-rays, CBC, establish IV access!"

"Family members, please wait outside!"

Amid the chaos, Juliana was quickly lifted from the ambulance and wheeled toward the emergency room.

Lucas stayed by her side the entire time. His hand never let go.

Not until they reached the ER entrance, where a nurse stopped him.

"Sir, that's a sterile area. You can't go in."

Lucas didn't stop walking.

"Move."

His voice wasn't loud, but it made the young nurse's face go pale. She instinctively stepped back.

David appeared out of nowhere and gripped Lucas's shoulder.

"Lucas, let the doctors handle this." He glanced at the scene already unfolding inside the ER, then lowered his voice. "You'll only get in the way like this. You've got blood on you."

Lucas looked down. Only then did he see the dark red spatters on his black shirt.

Owen's blood.

His gaze darkened. Finally, he stopped where he stood and watched helplessly as the door closed in his face.

The hallway lights were harsh and white, draining all color from his face.

Lucas leaned against the cold wall like a statue with its soul ripped out.

David offered him a bottle of water. He didn't take it.

"How are Milo and Kate?" Lucas asked, his voice raw.

"Ms. Morgan was taken straight into surgery. Milo's camped outside the OR—won't listen to anyone. Clarence rushed over too." David twisted off the cap and took a drink himself. "The specialist team's already there. They're saying the bullet's dangerously close to her spine. It's not looking good."

Lucas said nothing.

David looked at him and sighed.

"Owen's entire network is being rolled up as we speak. We moved simultaneously with local police and Interpol. His cartel headquarters got raided, his European money-laundering channels frozen. Those shipping bosses in Astoria? They've been seized in international waters along with their cargo. This time, we pulled it up by the roots."

David paused, his tone growing complicated.

"Lucas, you played this one way too close to the edge."

The fake separation, drawing the snake out of its hole, using himself and Juliana as bait—every step had been dancing on a knife's edge.

Lucas's mouth twisted into something resembling a smile. "Had to go big. Otherwise he wouldn't have taken the bait."

He'd been setting this trap for so long. He'd been waiting for Owen to make this desperate, cornered move.

Only then could he completely destroy the entire underground empire Owen had built, roots and all, in one strike.

The ER door opened.

A doctor stepped out.

"Who's the family member for Juliana?"

"I am." Lucas was there in one stride.

"The patient has a dislocated shoulder joint with an avulsion fracture of the greater tubercle of the humerus. We've performed a reduction and applied a cast. She has numerous abrasions and soft tissue injuries, but nothing life-threatening. Blood loss combined with severe exhaustion means she'll need to stay for observation for a few days."

The tight line of Lucas's jaw finally relaxed, just a fraction.

"Thank you."

Juliana was transferred to a VIP room.

The anesthesia hadn't completely worn off yet. She felt groggy and heavy.

Lucas dismissed everyone, including David, who'd offered to stay.

In the hospital room, only the two of them remained.

Lucas pulled up a chair and sat beside Juliana's bed, just watching her.

Juliana felt uncomfortable under his gaze and shifted slightly.

"Thirsty?" he asked immediately.

Juliana nodded.

Lucas stood and poured a glass of warm water.

"Lucas."

"Mm."

"Your hands are hurt too."

Juliana's gaze fell on the distinct knuckles of his hand.

"It's nothing."

"Come here." Juliana patted the edge of the bed with her left hand.

After a few seconds, Lucas obediently sat down.

Juliana struggled to pick up a cotton swab from the bedside and dipped it in the iodine solution a nurse had left.

"Don't move."

Lucas's body went rigid.

Juliana lowered her head, focused, cleaning the wounds on the back of his hand bit by bit with the swab.

The moment the iodine touched the wound, it brought a slight sting.

Lucas watched her lowered eyes, watched the long lashes casting small shadows beneath them, watched her pale lips pressed together.

"Juliana."

His voice was terribly hoarse.

"Mm?" Juliana didn't look up.

"This won't happen again."

Juliana's movements paused. She lifted her eyes to meet his.

She didn't argue about the emergency of the situation. Didn't say she'd been trying to save someone.

She only asked softly, "Were you worried about me?"

Lucas reversed his grip. With his uninjured hand, he took hold of the left hand she'd been using to treat his wounds.

Palm to palm. Warmth meeting warmth.

The answer needed no words.

Milo sat on the bench outside the OR like a stone statue.

Clarence offered him a cup of hot water. He didn't take it. Told him to go rest. He ignored that too.

The surgery lasted all night.

When the lead surgeon emerged, his face behind the mask was etched with exhaustion. "The surgery was successful. We removed the bullet."

Milo shot to his feet.

"But the bullet was extremely close to the central nervous system. While we did our best to avoid nerve damage during the procedure, post-operative swelling could still compress the nerves. When she'll wake up, whether there'll be lasting effects—right now, it's all unknown."

Clarence's expression darkened.

Milo remained strangely calm. "Can I see her?"

"Only through the glass. Ten minutes."

He didn't hesitate for a second. He followed the nurse into the buffer zone and changed into sterile scrubs. Through a thick pane of glass, he finally saw Kate lying inside.

Milo pressed his palm against the cold glass, as if that could somehow transfer a little warmth to her.

Meanwhile, in the VIP room.

Juliana leaned against the headboard, her left hand holding a tablet. The news headline was jarring: Police and Interpol Dismantle Major International Crime Syndicate.

The article was vague, mentioning only that the ringleader, Mr. Kingsley, had died while resisting arrest, and that his accomplices had all been apprehended.

The hospital room door opened. Lucas walked in.

He held his phone, his voice low but carrying an undeniable coldness.

"Have the lawyers handle the statements."

"Freeze all of Owen's assets, domestic and international. Trace his money trail. Nothing leaves."

"Those European accounts—notify Sylvanor Bank. Follow protocol."

Lucas issued his orders in clipped sentences, then hung up. The room fell silent.

One second he was the decisive Mr. Sharp. The next, he turned around, his gaze landing on Juliana, and all his sharp edges softened.

"You're awake?" He moved to the bedside, naturally reaching out to check her forehead.

Juliana set the tablet aside. "How's Kate?"

"Still under observation."

Kate had been moved to a special care unit.

Milo had moved in with her.

He refused all visitors, including Clarence.

Milo learned to use all the monitoring equipment. Learned how to turn Kate, bathe her, massage her to prevent muscle atrophy. Every day he read her the news—everything from international finance to neighborhood gossip. Then he'd ramble on about things from his childhood.

A week later, Juliana was discharged.

Her right arm was still in a cast, suspended in a sling across her chest. Movement was somewhat restricted.

Lucas sent over two experienced female caregivers. She turned them away.

Her phone rang. Lucas.

"What are you doing?" His voice came through the speaker, deep, carrying a trace of fatigue from just finishing a meeting.

"Watching TV."

"What do you want for dinner?"

"I'm fine. I can manage."

"Juliana," Lucas said her name, "don't make me worry."

Juliana held the phone. She didn't respond.