The hospital's hallway buzzed with low chatter, the rhythmic beeping of machines echoing faintly in the background. Cassian stood by the nurse's station, his back rigid, fingers wrapped tightly around a file he wasn't reading. The weight of everything that had happened—everything Elias had endured—pressed down on him like concrete.
The sliding doors whooshed open, and in stepped a man and a woman in their mid-sixties, both dressed in quiet, affluent elegance. Their faces were tense, pale from travel and fear. Cassian recognized them instantly from the file Damien had once shown him. Elias's registered guardians. His supposed parents—but in truth, his grandparents.
"Dr. Cassian ?" the woman asked, her voice trembling.
Cassian turned, nodding quickly. "Yes. You must be Mr. and Mrs. Vale. I'm Elias's attending physician. Come with me, please."
They followed him through the pristine corridor, the silence between them thick with unspoken dread. Cassian could feel their eyes darting to every room they passed. When they reached Elias's room, he paused, hand on the handle.
"He's stable," Cassian said softly, "but he's been through something... horrific. He lost a lot of blood. There's extensive trauma to his torso and back. We've done everything we can."
Mrs. Vale clutched her husband's arm tightly. "Can we see him?"
Cassian pushed the door open.
Elias lay on the hospital bed like a porcelain doll, his face pale, lashes fanned delicately over his cheeks. Bandages peeked from beneath his gown, and the monitors beeped steadily beside him. The grandparents moved to his side in stunned silence, the woman stroking his hair, tears streaming silently down her cheeks.
Cassian turned away, jaw clenched.
---
Back in his apartment, Damien stood by the window, one hand on the glass as rain slid down in lazy trails. The TV played in the background, the volume low.
"...in an update on the Crestfield Manor incident, police have issued an official statement regarding Alexander Musk."
Damien's head snapped toward the screen.
"After a manhunt spanning twenty-four hours, authorities confirmed that Alexander Musk, suspect in a string of violent crimes and abductions, was apprehended while attempting to flee the country under a false identity. He is currently in federal custody and faces multiple charges including attempted murder, unlawful detainment, and sexual assault. Authorities assure the public that Musk will be held in maximum-security while awaiting trial."
Damien's fingers curled into a fist. The screen blurred before his eyes as rage coiled in his gut. The bastard would face the law—but it wasn't enough. Not after what he'd done to Elias.
His phone buzzed.
Cassian.
Damien picked up. "What is it?"
"You need to come back."
"What happened?"
Cassian's voice cracked. "Elias... he's relapsed. He just slipped into a coma again."
---
The hallway outside Elias's room had fallen silent. Inside, monitors continued to beep in patient rhythm, but something was different. Elias's breath had grown shallower, his body frighteningly still.
Cassian stood over him, heart racing. He barked an order at the nearest nurse and slammed the code button. Staff flooded in. The grandparents stood outside, horrified.
Cassian's hands worked mechanically—adjusting, injecting, pressing. His mind screamed.
Not again. Not now. Not after all this.
He looked at the monitor as the heartbeat slowed, and a sinking feeling pulled at his stomach. He'd done everything. He'd poured every ounce of skill and desperation into keeping Elias alive. But now—
"Come on, Elias," Cassian whispered, his gloved hand briefly brushing Elias's cheek. "You're stronger than this. Fight. Please."
As the nurses pulled away, resetting the oxygen mask, Cassian turned to the grandparents who stood frozen in the doorway.
"I'm sorry," he said softly. "He's in a coma again. We don't know how long this one will last."
Mrs. Vale gasped, clutching her husband's arm. He held her tightly, blinking fast.
Cassian turned back to Elias and leaned down, whispering near his ear. "I'm not letting go of you. You hear me?"
For the briefest second—maybe real, maybe imagined—Elias's fingers twitched.
Cassian froze.
But no. His hand lay still.
The monitor continued its steady rhythm.
Outside, thunder rolled.
Fade to black.
Damien POV.
The hospital was too quiet for Damien's liking.
White walls. Sterile air. The distant hum of machines keeping Elias alive.
He stood at the window of Elias's private room, watching the dusk settle over the city, casting long shadows that reminded him of every mistake he'd ever made. Of every promise he'd broken. Of every time he failed to protect someone he loved.
His reflection in the glass looked like a ghost — hollow-eyed and pale. He didn't know how long he'd been standing there, listening to the rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor behind him. Each sound a reminder that Elias was still here… but barely.
He turned slowly. Elias lay on the bed, a pale shape drowning in white sheets, bandages wrapped around his chest and arms, bruises blooming purple and red like corrupted flowers. There were IVs. Tubes. Machines.
Damien walked over. Sat down. And for a moment, he just stared.
Then his hand reached out, trembling slightly, and gently wrapped around Elias's.
"I'm so sorry," Damien whispered, his voice raw and broken. "I promised you I'd keep you safe. I said I'd protect you from everything — even me."
Tears burned his eyes. He let them fall. Silent, bitter tracks down his face.
"I couldn't save Noah. And now you…"
He paused, breath catching as his throat closed up.
"You told me you trusted me. Even after everything I've done. You looked at me like I wasn't some monster from your nightmares. Like I could be… someone worth saving."
Elias didn't stir.
Damien rested his forehead against the edge of the mattress, still gripping Elias's hand.
"I was supposed to do better this time. But I let you fall."
Footsteps behind him. Damien turned sharply to see Mr. and Mrs. Vale standing at the door. The air changed — tension thickened like a brewing storm.
Mrs. Vale's eyes were red-rimmed. Mr. Vale looked stiff, like he was wearing his concern like a tight uniform.
Damien stood, lips pressed into a hard line. His jaw clenched.
"You lied to him," he said coldly.
Mrs. Vale blinked. "Excuse me?"
"You let him believe you were his parents," Damien said, voice rising slightly. "You never told him the truth — that Noah was his father. You let him grow up in the dark, chasing shadows of a boy he didn't even know was part of him."
Mr. Vale scowled. "We did what we had to. He was just a child. You have no idea—"
"I was there," Damien snapped. "I knew Noah. I knew how much he loved him — even if he never got to hold him."
Mrs. Vale's face twisted with grief. "We wanted to protect him."
"From what?" Damien demanded. "The truth? From knowing he was loved and wanted — even if it was messy, even if it hurt?"
Silence stretched.
Damien looked away, breathing hard. He glanced back at Elias.
"I failed Noah by staying silent," he said quietly. "I won't fail Elias too."
He turned and walked past them, brushing Mr. Vale's shoulder.
Behind him, Mrs. Vale stepped toward the bed and gently touched Elias's forehead. Her lip trembled.
Damien didn't look back. Not yet.
He needed to breathe.
He needed to find a way to fix the unfixable.