hospital entrance, hearts pounding and adrenaline firing through their veins. The sliding doors hissed shut behind them as they crossed into the sterile hallway, searching for any familiar face.

    A nurse behind the counter stood up immediately, clearly startled by the sudden burst of energy.

    "Where''s Elizabeth Winters?" Stefan asked, his voice firm butced with urgency. "She was admitted here. Head trauma or something."

    Before the nurse could answer, a voice cut through the air.

    "Stefan?"

    He turned sharply, blinking in shock as a woman in a white coat approached him.

    She hadn''t changed much—poised, graceful, the same piercing eyes just as he remembered. Noreen.

    "Noreen?" he said, momentarily thrown. "What are you…?"

    "Funny how your mom asked me the same question. I work here now," she said softly. "Transferred back justst week."

    The air thickened with emotion. Six years had passed since hest saw her. His aunt Noreen, histe father''s secretary''s wife.

    She had vanished after her husband and his father''s death, mourning in private. Seeing her now, wearing a doctor''s coat, was surreal.

    "I operated Elizabeth," Noreen said, stepping closer. "She''s stable—for now. She hit her head hard when she fell. We''re keeping her under close observation."

    Stefan exhaled shakily, his shoulders slumping just a little. "Thank God."

    "And Eliana?" Ethan asked.

    Noreen''s eyes widened faintly, a small smile breaking through. "She woke up, Stefan. Minutes before the incident. She''s weak, but she''s conscious."

    Emotion gripped Stefan''s throat. "She''s awake?"

    "Yes. Still paralyzed, but she''s responding. She saw everything—what Daniel tried to do."

    "What really happened? Were you there too?" he asked and Noreen nodded as she went ahead to tell him everything she''d seen starting from how shocked Elizabeth had been hearing she was solely in charge of caring for Eliana.

    Stefan''s jaw tensed. "I need to go see the officers. I want answers. I want to know if they''ve got the mastermind. I can''t let this one slide."

    Noreen touched his arm gently. "She''s going to need you. Both of them will."

    He nodded. "I''ll go check on my mom and then head to the station. I need to make sure no one tries this again."

    The hallway to the ICU was quieter now, though the echoes of earlier chaos still lingered in the air like smoke after a fire. Nurses moved briskly from room to room, whispering updates, adjusting IV lines, checking monitors—but Stefan barely noticed them. His focus narrowed to one number. One door which was room 206 where his mother was now.

    Once they got there, Ethan stayed back as he watched Stefan pushed the door open gently.

    The soft hiss of machines greeted him first. The rhythm of the heart monitor was steady—reassuring, but haunting. Elizabethy pale against the pillows, her dark hair matted to one side with dried blood. A bandage wrapped around her forehead, stark against her skin. Oxygen tubes framed her face, and her chest rose and fell with the help of a machine.

    She looked fragile. Too still. Too quiet.

    Stefan took a step inside and then another, until he reached the side of her bed. His breath caught. He''d seen his mother sick before—grieving, exhausted, crying—but never like this. Never lying unconscious. Never so close to not being alive.

    His hands clenched at his sides.

    "You didn''t deserve this," he said softly, his voice strained. "None of this."

    He reached down, brushing a loose strand of hair from her forehead, careful not to disturb the gauze. "You were just trying to protect someone. Trying to protect me and Ruby. Just like you always have."

    The steady beep of the monitor was the only reply.

    "I should''ve seen it," he murmured. "I should''ve known someone would try something again. After everything with Eliana, after what Ivy''s done before—how could I not see thising? How couldn''t I have thought they would silence Eliana so the truth about that doesn''te out again?"

    His chest tightened, and his throat burned. He swallowed the lump of guilt wing up.

    "You saved Eliana," he whispered, voice cracking. "You walked into that room and stopped him before he could kill her. You—" He paused, exhaling shakily. "You''re the reason she''s alive right now. But you almost died for it. And I swear to you, I won''t let that go unanswered."

    He looked down at her face again. "Ivy. Regina. I know that one of them sent that man. Or both of them. I don''t care anymore who pulled the strings—because someone tried to kill the woman I love. And now someone''s put you in a hospital bed, unconscious and fighting for your life."

    His eyes darkened. His jaw clenched.

    "I don''t care what it takes. I don''t care what I have to lose. Ivy will pay. Regina will pay. I''ll burn everything down if I have to."

    There was still no movement. No flicker ofshes. No squeeze of fingers.

    But it didn''t matter.

    He leaned forward, kissed her forehead softly, and whispered, "I love you, Mom. Stay with me. Just a little longer while I take care of them."

    Then he stood, took onest look, and walked out of the room—his shoulders stiff with purpose, his heart filled with a fury he hadn''t felt in years.

    If Ivy thought she''d won by staying out of the spotlight, she was wrong.

    Stefan wouldn''t stop until she was in it—and burning.

    As he stepped out, Ethan looked at him and could tell he was pretty shaken by the news.

    "How are you feeling?" he asked quietly as they walked out of the hospital.

    "Restless. And I''ll remain so until those two are locked behind bars!" Stefan vowed.

    "We''re heading to the police station now, right?" Ethan asked as he took the driver''s seat knowing Stefan was probably not in the right frame of mind to drive.

    When Stefan nodded, Ethan drove off without saying another word.

    The precinct buzzed with tension as Stefan sat across from Officer Langford, the same detective who''d arrested Daniel.

    Ethan stood in the corner, arms crossed, eyes flicking between the officer and his friend.

    Langford sighed, tapping the file in front of him. "Daniel confessed. Completely. We arrested him at the hospital. He''s been cooperative—mostly because he''s terrified."

    "Why?" Stefan asked tly.

    Why would an assassin be terrified? Or he wasn''t one. Maybe it was a one time job? He mused since Noreen hadn''t told him Daniel was a doctor.

    "Well, apparently, his wife and two children were taken as a bait to have him kill Eliana," Langford said grimly. "He said Regina abducted themst night and gave him one directive—eliminate Eliana. If he failed, they''d all be killed."

    Stefan''s chest tightened at the information. How could anyone be so heartless as to threaten someone with their family? He never would''ve thought Regina or Ivy would be this vile at any point when he had just met them.

    How had he been blinded for so long? Had he not gone blind, would Ivy had married him because she loved him or would she had married him and then kill him so she could have his wealth?

    With everything that''s been going on, he definitely couldn''t put that past her. He shook his head as he tried to focus on detective Langford.

    Langford continued, "He didn''t want to do it. But when a picture of his daughter half naked was sent to him earlier this morning, he knew time was up."

    "I see. So, what we to do now? What happens when Regina realizes the job wasn''t done?" Ethan asked.

    Langford nced at him. "Right now, we''re trying to negotiate the safe retrieval of his family. We''ll ask him to tell Regina the job is done and once we''re sure his family is secure, we''ll arrest Regina."

    Stefan mmed a fist on the desk. "You need to be fast. Regina and Ivy aren''t going to sit still. If they know Daniel failed, they''ll change the n. Or worse—go after someone else."

    "We know," Langford said gravely. "That''s why we''re tightening protection around Eliana, Elizabeth, and Ruby."

    "I want guards on Ruby at all times," Stefan said. "Round-the-clock surveince. I don''t care what it costs."

    "We''re working on it," Langford said. Then he leaned back and exhaled. "But there''s a problem."

    Stefan narrowed his eyes. "What now?"

    "We can arrest Regina. Daniel''s confession and Elizabeth''s statement, along with hospital surveince, are enough to charge her with conspiracy and attempted murder."

    "But not Ivy," Ethan said quietly.

    Langford shook his head. "Ivy made sure Daniel never linked her to the crime directly. She never gave an order. No voice, no messages. The moment Regina is arrested, Ivy bes invisible. Unless we find some tangible evidence, implicating Ivy, we can''t touch her."

    Stefan stood slowly, fury rippling beneath his calm. "She''s not going to walk away from this."

    "I''m not saying she will," Langford replied. "I''m saying, we need a link. A message, a phone call, a wire transfer—anything. Even an evidence against her for a crime she''smitted before."

    "She''ll slip," Ethan murmured. "People like Ivy always do. They getfortable."

    "Well, until then," Langford said, rising, "we keep Eliana safe. And we buy time."

    Stefan turned, walking toward the door, his voice low but resolute.

    "She won''t get away. Not this time."