The mechanical chime of the terminal didn't just sound; it vibrated through the floorboards like a low-frequency detonation, turning the dark, sweat-soaked heat of the mattress to liquid ice.Vivian’s body went completely rigid beneath Alexander. Her fingers, still dug into the corded muscles of his shoulders, lost all their strength, sliding down his chest as her eyes locked onto the glowing display of the wall monitor.The empty bed in Unit 4B was a stark, clinical white square of absolute ruin. The severed IV lines curled on the floor like dead snakes, dripping clear saline onto the linoleum in a rhythmic, agonizing pulse. But it was the black silk trench coat—pinned to the center of the mattress by the heavy, silver-headed cane—that made the breath die in her throat."Valerie," Vivian whispered, the name tasting like ash on her bleeding lower lip.Alexander didn't move for one suffocating second. He stayed pinned over her, his chest heaving against her naked ribs, his large hand s
Read more
LOGIN
