Chapter 9

Ethan wheeled me away. When the crowd cleared, he spoke quietly.

“I found out everything.”

“These past few years overseas—she wasn’t in school like she told Lucas.”

“She used his credit card to hit bars, on men. That’s how she got infected.”

“When she came back, she knew she couldn’t hide it. So she framed you.”

I listened calmly.

“What do you want to do?”

“Send him the evidence.” My voice was flat. “Whether he believes it, what he does to her—I don’t care.”

Ethan’s grip tightened on the wheelchair handles.

“As for Lucas, I won’t let this go. He has to pay for what he did to you.”

I placed my hand over his.

“Ethan.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“I just want a good life. With you.”

He looked down at me. His eyes softened.

—

“Okay.”

That night I drank the warm milk from the nurse. Everything went black.

When I woke, I was tied to a metal post. Abandoned warehouse. My wrists and ankles burned where the ropes cut in.

Vivian was tied up next to me.

Her mouth wasn’t gagged. She glared at me with pure hatred.

“Why didn’t you just die?! Lucas is mine—he was always supposed to be mine!”

“You can’t even walk anymore! Why does he still want you?!”

Her smile twisted. “Not this time. This time, he’ll pick me.”

I understood what this was.

I looked at her.

“Vivian, I’m not the one you should hate. If Lucas wanted to marry you, he would have by now.”

She snapped. “Liar! It’s all your fault! Without you, I’d be Mrs. Hayes!”

Engines roared in the distance.

Ethan and Lucas arrived with their teams.

They saw us. Both shouted at the same time.

—

“Evelyn!”

The “kidnapper” shouted. “You can only save one! The other dies with me!”

Vivian started sobbing. “Save me, Lucas! This was Evelyn’s idea—she said you’d choose her!”

Tears ran down her face. “You said you’d always protect me…”

“Enough.” Lucas cut her off. Cold. “I know the truth now. All of it.”

“What you did overseas… How you faked medical records to frame Evelyn.”

He spoke each word slowly, deliberately. “Whatever happens to you now—that’s on you.”

Vivian’s face went white. “What… what are you saying?”

Lucas wouldn’t even look at her. He pointed at me. “I choose her.”

“The other one—do whatever.”

Vivian lost it. Screaming, she tore open her jacket.

Explosives strapped to her body.

“If I can’t have you, she can’t either!”

She shrieked and lunged toward me.

Lucas charged forward. Shoved me—wheelchair and all—toward Ethan.

Ethan caught me, pulled us behind cover.

—

“Get down!”

He threw himself over me. I saw Lucas tackle Vivian. They went over the edge locked together, falling toward the water.

As he fell, he looked back.

His lips moved. I think he said he was sorry.

The next second, a massive explosion tore through the bay.

Fire and water shot skyward.

…

Later, Lucas’s unit came under investigation.

Investigation teams moved in. Joint projects were terminated. Internal reviews followed.

When the news came on, I turned off the TV.

I filed away the last folder, hung up a new nameplate: Rehabilitation Training Physician

I couldn’t operate anymore.

But I could still create rehab plans for injured soldiers.

I could walk on my own now. Couldn’t stand for long.

My wrist had healed well. I could write again.

Someone knocked softly.

“Dr. Brooks, time to go home.”

—

I looked up. Ethan leaned against the doorframe.

“Come early. Don’t want you skipping meals again.”

At home, dinner was waiting. Pan-seared salmon, clam chowder.

He cut the salmon into bite-sized pieces for me, then pushed the bowl gently toward me.

After dinner, he took me to the beach for my exercises.

Before we left, he wrapped my scarf, pressed a pocket warmer into my hand.

The low sun cast long shadows on the sand.

The ocean breeze was gentle.

When my legs started to ache, he slowed down.

A gust of wind caught me off balance. His hand found mine.

When I couldn’t walk anymore, he crouched down.

I climbed onto his back. He shifted his grip, started back toward home.

His footprints trailed deep in the sand behind us.

I rested against his shoulder, listened to the tide. I felt at peace.

Everything that had happened—I left it behind.

Whatever came next, we’d face it together.