Chapter 32 The visit
The drive to the medical facility took twenty minutes, though it felt like hours.
I sat in the back of the SUV between Marcus and a female security officer who introduced herself only as "Agent Torres." James and Eleanor rode in a separate vehicle behind us.
No one spoke. The silence was suffocating.
I stared out the window, watching the city blur past, and tried to prepare myself for what I was about to see.
Adrian, alive but broken.
Adrian, who had sacrificed everything to protect me.
Adrian, who I'd fallen in love with despite every reason I shouldn't have.
The vehicle pulled into an underground garage beneath a sleek, modern building that looked more like a luxury hotel than a hospital. Marcus helped me out, his hand steady on my arm as we walked toward a private elevator.
"This is a secure facility," he explained as we rode up. "Only authorized personnel have access. No press, no visitors, no records that could be subpoenaed or leaked."
"So Adrian doesn't officially exist here either," I murmured.
"Exactly."
The elevator opened onto a quiet hallway with soft lighting and expensive artwork on the walls. It looked nothing like a hospital more like a private wing of a mansion.
Dr. Sarah Chen met us at the nurses' station, a woman in her forties with kind eyes and a no-nonsense demeanor.
"Ms. James," she said, offering her hand. "I'm glad you're here. Adrian's vitals have been more stable since his parents delivered the news that you're safe. I think on some level, he knows."
My throat tightened. "Can I see him?"
"Yes. But please understand he's in a medically induced coma to allow his body to heal. He has significant injuries to his chest, ribs, and left arm, as well as some internal bleeding we've been monitoring. He looks worse than he is, if that makes sense."
I nodded, not trusting my voice.
Dr. Chen led me down the hall to a private room at the end. James and Eleanor waited outside, giving me space.
Marcus stayed by my side. "I'll be right here," he said quietly. "Take your time."
I pushed open the door.
And my heart shattered all over again.
Adrian lay in the hospital bed, surrounded by monitors and IV lines, his body perfectly still beneath white sheets.
His face was bruised, one side swollen and discolored. Bandages wrapped around his chest and left shoulder. His right hand rested on top of the blanket, fingers relaxed, palm up.
He looked vulnerable in a way I'd never seen him before not the powerful CEO, not the controlled strategist, just a man who'd been hurt trying to protect someone he cared about.
I moved closer, my legs shaking, and sank into the chair beside his bed.
"Adrian," I whispered.
No response. Just the steady beep of the heart monitor and the soft hiss of oxygen.
I reached out, hesitating, then carefully took his hand in mine. His skin was warm, his pulse steady beneath my fingers.
"I'm here," I said, tears spilling down my cheeks. "I'm safe. Marcus found me, and your parents made me sign about fifty documents, and I'm pretty sure your mother thinks I'm either a gold digger or a liability, but I'm here. And I'm okay."
My voice broke. "The baby's okay too. I know you don't remember maybe you never even knew but I'm pregnant. With your child. And I'm terrified, Adrian. I don't know how to do this. I don't know how to be part of your world, or how to protect this baby from people who see it as a 'variable' instead of a person. But I'm trying. I'm trying so hard."
I pressed his hand to my cheek, feeling the warmth of his skin against mine.
"So you need to wake up," I whispered fiercely. "You need to wake up and tell me this is all going to be okay. That we're going to figure this out together. Because I can't do this alone. I need you."
The monitors beeped steadily. Adrian's chest rose and fell with mechanical precision.
But his hand i swear his hand tightened just slightly around mine.
It could have been a reflex. A muscle spasm. Nothing more than my desperate imagination.
But I held onto it anyway, that tiny pressure, that ghost of a response.
"I'll wait," I told him. "However long it takes. I'll wait for you."
And in the quiet of that hospital room, with the man I loved lying broken beside me and his family waiting outside to ask me to risk everything, I made a choice.
I would do whatever it took to protect this child.
I would face Ethan, and Stirling-Hale, and whatever threats came next.
Because Adrian had fought for me.
And now it was my turn to fight for him.
I leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to his bruised knuckles.
"Come back to me," I whispered.
And somewhere deep in his medically induced sleep, Adrian Cole's subconscious heard the voice of the woman he loved and held on.