Chapter 6 - The Emergency Room Protocols
The private underground entrance of St. Jude's Memorial Hospital was waiting for us. Two trusted doctors—men who clearly owed Declan their careers—were standing by with a stretcher the moment the heavy SUV pulled into the bay.
They rushed Mason straight into a private trauma suite. I sat on a vinyl chair in the quiet hallway, my hands covered in dirt, dried blood, and plaster dust, holding Sophie tightly on my lap.
Declan stood near the window, talking in low, commanding tones into a fresh phone his associates had provided. Within twenty minutes, the entire hospital wing was locked down by heavily armed private security guards wearing clean suits and neutral expressions.
The wild criminal king was gone. In his place stood a calm, immensely powerful leader executing a total corporate and tactical defense.
"All of Nolan's accounts are frozen," Declan said quietly into the phone. "Notify the board that I am calling an emergency meeting at eight AM. Anyone who took a payment from my brother will have their contracts terminated before noon. Clean the house."
He hung up, turning to look at me.
He walked over slowly, his heavy steps soundless on the polished linoleum floor. He knelt down in front of my chair, placing his large, warm hands over my cold, trembling knees.
"The surgeon just came out," Declan said softly. "The fragment didn't cut the main artery. Mason is out of surgery. They've stitched the muscle tissue, and he's resting quietly. He's going to be completely fine, Elena."
A sob tore through my throat. I covered my face with my hands, months of unbearable stress, poverty, fear, and tonight's terror finally crashing over me in a wave of tears.
"I'm sorry," I wept. "I'm so sorry I brought them to your house... if I hadn't brought them..."
"Elena, look at me," Declan said gently, his fingers gently pulling my hands away from my face.
I looked into his deep blue eyes.
"If your daughter hadn't crawled under my table tonight," Declan said, his voice trembling with rare emotion, "I would have sat in that dark room alone. I wouldn't have been looking at the security feeds. Nolan's men would have taken me by surprise in my sleep. Your children didn't put me in danger. They saved my life."
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Sophie rubbed her tired eyes, resting her head against my chest. "Did you like your cupcake, Mr. Declan?"
Declan smiled—a genuine, warm smile that transformed his harsh features into something strikingly handsome. "It was the best birthday present I've had in thirty years, Sophie."
