Chapter 7 - A Flicker of Hope
The chaos of the town square faded into the distance as Alexander returned to Blackwood Memorial Hospital. The corridors were silent now, completely locked down by military personnel. Local staff had been vetted, and any physician connected to the Miller Foundation had been relieved of duty and escorted off the premises.
Alexander sanitized his hands and slipped back into Room 4.
Elena Rios was adjusting the medication drip. When she saw Alexander, her stern military demeanor softened slightly.
"How is she?" Alexander asked, the exhaustion finally pulling at the corners of his eyes.
"She’s fighting, Alex," Elena said gently. "The swelling in her temporal lobe has reduced by twenty percent. We managed to take her off the mechanical ventilator twenty minutes ago. She’s breathing on her own."
Alexander exhaled a breath he felt he had been holding for days. He sat down beside the bed, reaching for her hand once more.
"Her vitals spiked about ten minutes ago," Elena added, checking the monitor. "I think she’s beginning to surface from the induced coma. Don't expect miracles immediately. She’s been through hell, Alex. Her body is shattered."
"I know," Alexander whispered.
Elena quietly exited the room, leaving husband and wife alone in the dim amber light of the bedside monitors.
Alexander leaned down, resting his forehead against the edge of the mattress, his fingers interwoven with hers. "Rose... if you can hear me. I’m home. Julian won't ever touch you again. Catherine’s world is burning down. You’re safe now. Please... come back to me."
Minutes ticked by like hours. The quiet beep of the heart monitor seemed to keep time with his breathing.
Then, he felt it.
A faint, trembling twitch against his palm.
Alexander jerked his head up. Rosalie’s eyelids fluttered. Beneath the bruised, swollen skin, her dark brown eyes slowly cracked open, glassy and unfocused, struggling against the fluorescent light.
"Rose?" Alexander breathed, standing up, his heart thumping against his ribs.
Her lips moved, cracked and dry. She let out a tiny, agonizing gasp. Her gaze drifted across the ceiling before finally locking onto Alexander’s face. Tears welled instantly in the corners of her eyes, spilling over her bruised cheeks.
"A... Alex...?" Her voice was a fragile whisper, barely louder than the hum of the oxygen line.
"I’m here, baby. I’m right here," Alexander choked out, gently brushing a strand of dark hair away from her forehead, his own eyes burning with unshed tears. "You’re in the hospital. You’re safe."
"Julian..." she gasped, her heart monitor accelerating with sudden panic. "He... he had a list... Alex... the basement..."
"I have the notebook, Rose. I have the hard drive. Julian is in custody. It’s over."
"No..." Rosalie’s hand tightened around his fingers with surprising strength, her eyes wide with terror. "Not over... Alex... not just Julian... Catherine hired... the contractor... *Cobra*... they’re coming here..."
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Before Alexander could ask what she meant, the sound of glass shattering echoed from the floor above them, followed instantly by the deafening crack of automatic weapons fire.
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