Chapter 10 - The Glass Unsealed
The heavy oak doors slammed open as Leo Moretti rushed into the room, his gun drawn. He took in the scene in a fraction of a second—the shattered syringe bubbling on the floor, Dr. Shaw pinned in Liam's iron grip, and Grace standing guard beside the IV stand with a steel tray held like a weapon.
"She compromised the medication line, Leo!" Grace shouted. "It was a paralyzing agent!"
Leo didn't ask a single question. He stepped forward, grabbed Dr. Shaw by her collar, and hauled her off Liam, pinning her hands behind her back with a pair of steel handcuffs.
"Don Moretti promised me ten million dollars!" Dr. Shaw shrieked, struggling against Leo's grip as her professional composure completely shattered. "He promised me a seat on the board! Liam is a dead man walking! You can't stop the council!"
"Take her down to the holding cell in the lower sub-basement," Liam commanded cold, wiping a smear of sweat from his forehead. "And bring the council’s communications tablet to my desk."
Leo dragged the screaming doctor out of the room, slamming the heavy oak doors shut behind them.
Silence returned to the sickroom, heavy and profound.
Grace stood beside the bed, her breathing ragged, her pale blue scrubs rumpled from the struggle. She looked at Liam, who was sitting on the edge of the mattress, his chest heaving as blood began to bloom fresh red spots across his shoulder bandages.
"You need fresh dressings," Grace whispered, her nurse's instinct taking over despite the insanity around her. "And we need to clean that floor."
Liam looked up at her. For the first time since she had walked into his dark room, the cold, terrifying mask vanished from his rugged face. He looked at her with pure, unadulterated respect.
"You saved my life, Grace," Liam said, his deep voice soft and genuine.
"I told you," Grace said, a tiny, tired smile breaking through her exhaustion as she picked up a roll of sterile gauze. "I need you alive until Friday."
Liam looked past her, toward the heavy velvet drapes covering the massive floor-to-ceiling windows.
"Grace," Liam said softly. "Open the blinds."
Grace paused. "What?"
"Open them," Liam repeated, his icy blue eyes fixed on the glass. "The sun is coming up. It's time to stop hiding in the dark."
Grace walked over to the window. She reached out her hand, grabbed the thick velvet pull cord, and pulled it down with a firm, decisive stroke.
The massive drapes slid open on their heavy brass tracks with a smooth, sweeping sound.
Brilliant, golden morning sunlight flooded into the dark sickroom, illuminating the black-and-gold walls, the medical monitors, and the two figures standing inside.
Grace looked out the window. Down in the courtyard below, the morning light struck the vast glass ceiling of the subterranean laboratory. Through the crystal-clear glass floor, she could see the technicians in white coats moving through the subterranean vault, preparing the cryo-sealed containers of the life-saving enzyme for transport.
On the desk beside the window, a high-tech satellite phone began to ring—a sharp, rhythmic chime indicating an incoming encrypted transmission from the European mob council.
Liam slowly stood up from the bed, using his cane for support, his massive, broad frame towering in the golden sunlight. He looked at Grace, then reached out his hand toward the ringing phone.
"Are you ready for what comes next, Nurse Miller?" Liam asked, his voice filled with quiet, absolute power.
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Grace looked down at the silver key to her brother's survival lying on the medical tray, then looked straight into Liam’s icy blue eyes with a fierce, unwavering smile.
"I'm on duty until Friday, Mr. Mercer," Grace said softly. "Let's finish the shift."
