Chapter 458

The operating room lights flickered off, the air thick enough to choke on.

Dr. Neil Harrison slumped to the floor, fingers clawing at the tiles until his knuckles turned white. His lips trembled. "I followed every protocol... The old woman's condition was too complex—"

Silence swallowed his words.

Evelyn Roland leaned against the wall, idly tapping her folded arm. A humorless laugh escaped her. "Playing God when you knew the risks—is that your idea of medical ethics?"

Dr. Harrison's Adam's apple bobbed, sweat trickling down his temples.

Dark spots danced in his vision. Sebastian Valdemar stood three paces away, while Scarlett Galatea's grip on her phone turned her fingers bone-white. Any one of them could destroy him with a snap of their fingers.

Worse was the hospital director's glacial stare. Performing an unauthorized cross-hospital procedure was bad enough—now there was a corpse involved.

"Video evidence clear enough for you?" Evelyn straightened, her lab coat flaring. "Miss Galatea, he's yours to deal with."

Scarlett's chest heaved.

Sebastian's voice cut through the tension. "Hesitation breeds ruin." His gaze flicked to Scarlett's quivering lashes. "Need me to handle it?"

"No—" Scarlett stumbled back half a step. "I need to see Grandmother."

Dr. Harrison lunged for her hem, only to be wrestled down by security. He twisted toward Evelyn, pupils dilating wildly. "You can't—"

"Director." Sebastian's interruption came like an ice pick.

The balding director bowed obsequiously. "Mr. Valdemar, rest assured we'll conduct a thorough investigation."

The steady beep of monitors echoed from the corridor's end. Evelyn massaged her temples as Sebastian's arm encircled her shoulders. "Home."

Passing the crumpled doctor, Evelyn paused. The man on the floor shook like a leaf in a storm, his lab coat wrinkled beyond recognition.