The car ride to the hospital was tense and suffocatingly quiet.

Brandon sat rigid in the passenger seat, staring out the window as the city blurred past in streaks of gray and red. His jaw was clenched so tightly a muscle twitched along his cheek.

He hadn’t spoken since they left the loft.

He hadn’t even looked at her.

Babydoll gripped the steering wheel harder than necessary, her knuckles whitening against the leather.

It was as if she wasn’t even there.

His mind had already left the car, left the street, left the city entirely. He was somewhere else, walking down sterile white hospital corridors, pushing through swinging doors, standing at Lyse’s bedside.

Babydoll was nothing more than transportation.

The chauffeur.

The necessary evil that got him from one place to another.

The night at the club, the music, the dancing, the heat between them, the tangled sheets and whispered questions... it all felt like a hallucination now.

As if it had happened to two completely different people.

The city bled past the windshield.

Babydoll inhaled slowly through her nose.

She had to regain control of this situation.

Things were unraveling.

The plan had been carefully constructed, every piece placed with precision. Brandon’s obsession with Lyse had always been predictable, something she could manipulate and steer like a lever.

But this...

This raw panic was something else entirely.

He wasn’t thinking strategically anymore.

He wasn’t thinking at all.

And that made him dangerous.

"Tell me what you know about the accident," she said finally, her voice crisp and professional.

If she could pull him back into logic, maybe she could stabilize things.

Brandon didn’t look away from the window.

"It’s mysterious," he said flatly. "No one is saying anything. No one even seems to know where it happened."

Babydoll frowned slightly.

"Convenient."

Her mind began spinning rapidly through possibilities.

A hit-and-run.

Clean.

No witnesses.

No direct evidence.

Perfect for someone who wanted plausible deniability.

It could be Igor.

Or it could be something much worse.

"Any leads?" she asked.

"None. That’s what the report says."

The report.

So he’d been reading while she was in the shower.

He hadn’t even bothered to wake her.

The distance between them, mere inches in the bed hours ago had become a frozen canyon.

They pulled up in front of City General Hospital, a towering monolith of glass and steel.

The building buzzed with anxious energy.

Ambulances idled near the entrance.

Families gathered in nervous clusters.

The automatic doors slid open and closed constantly, swallowing people into the sterile interior.

Before Babydoll had even shifted the car into park, Brandon was already out of the vehicle.

He strode toward the entrance like a man possessed.

Babydoll exhaled sharply and climbed out after him.

She had to play this carefully.

Concerned.

Supportive.

But not suspicious.

What exactly was she supposed to be here?

Friend?

Associate?

Girlfriend?

The last word felt strange in her mind.

She settled on neutral determination and hurried after him.

Brandon was already heading straight for the main entrance when Babydoll grabbed his arm and pulled him aside.

"What are you doing?" Brandon demanded irritably, yanking his arm free.

Babydoll raised an eyebrow.

"Don’t you think Levi will have people watching in case you show up?"

The words hit him like cold water.

Brandon stiffened.

Slowly, he glanced around the crowded entrance.

He had been so consumed by fear for Lyse that he had forgotten something important.

Levi.

The ever-watchful Levi Van Doren.

"So," Brandon said after a moment, lowering his voice, "how do we get in?"

Babydoll’s lips curved slightly.

"Leave that to me."

Inside, the hospital smelled strongly of antiseptic and burnt coffee.

Fluorescent lights hummed overhead, casting a pale glow across the lobby.

Phones rang constantly.

Visitors whispered anxiously.

Rubber-soled shoes squeaked against the polished floor.

Babydoll scanned the area immediately.

And there they were.

Levi’s security.

Two broad men in poorly tailored suits standing near the elevator banks.

They weren’t hospital staff.

They didn’t belong.

But they watched the room with the quiet alertness of trained guards.

Sentinels.

Babydoll gently pressed her hand against Brandon’s back.

"This way," she murmured.

She guided him down a side corridor away from the main lobby.

"Staff entrance," she explained softly. "Less traffic. Fewer eyes."

They passed a sign reading Environmental Services and stopped at a locked door.

Babydoll pulled a small keycard from her pocket.

Over the years she had collected many useful things.

The card reader beeped.

The lock clicked open.

They slipped inside.

The atmosphere changed instantly.

These back corridors were quieter.

The air smelled of bleach, detergent, and freshly laundered linens.

The sounds of the hospital became distant and muffled. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"Wait here," Babydoll said as they reached a small nurse’s station computer that had been left unattended.

Her fingers moved rapidly across the keyboard.

Years of experience made the task effortless.

A patient database appeared.

Names.

Rooms.

Conditions.

Babydoll scanned quickly.

"Lyse Spade," she murmured.

Her eyes flicked to the room assignment.

"ICU. Seventh floor."

She glanced back at Brandon.

"Room 704."

Brandon nodded grimly.

"We’re close."

Across the lobby, another pair had just entered the hospital.

Igor and Luca.

The contrast between them was almost comical.

Igor was massive, thick-necked and broad-shouldered, looking more like a bodyguard than a visitor.

Luca, by comparison, looked small and nervous, like a fox dragged unwillingly into a lion’s den.

Together they drew curious glances from passing patients and staff.

"What next?" Luca asked as soon as they stepped inside.

Igor barely looked around.

"Find Lyse’s room."

Luca stared at him.

Then he sighed heavily.

"What have I done to deserve this lumbering idiot becoming my shadow," he muttered under his breath.

"What did you say?" Igor growled immediately.

Luca forced a nervous smile.

"I said how would I know?" he replied loudly. "I’ve been with you all day. If you don’t know where Lyse is, how would I?"

Igor’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"I thought it was your job," he said slowly, "to find people like that."

His voice hardened.

"Find them. Or else."

Luca raised both hands quickly.

"Fine, fine. Let me try something."

He walked deeper into the lobby, pretending to scan for helpful nurses or information desks.

In reality, he had no idea what he was doing.

Hospitals were not his territory.

But Igor’s threat hung heavily in the air.

Luca rubbed his temples and wandered down a hallway.

He was so lost in thought that he didn’t notice the figure turning the corner.

He walked straight into something solid.

Very solid.

The impact stopped him instantly.

Luca blinked and looked up.

His stomach dropped.

Towering over him was a tall man in a perfectly tailored dark suit.

Cold gray eyes.

Sharp jawline.

An expression carved from stone.

The unmistakable face of Levi Van Doren.

For a moment, neither man spoke.

Levi studied Luca with quiet, dangerous curiosity.

Recognition flickered in his eyes.

And Luca suddenly had the horrible feeling that today was about to become much worse than he had imagined.