an's

ing of the underground syndica

tated clicking of my dress shoes against the

hed so tightly my k

broken at the bottom of

and soaked with my wife's dried bl

led up in a cha

nds. "It was an accident. I swear, I tried to catch he

ulder of terror felt wedged under my ribs,

of the operating roo

n scrubs covered in blood. He pulled down

rides and grabbed the doctor

e's alive,"

uickly, raising his hands. "She survived the f

th. I released his collar and lea

ive. I cou

s; I could give her the

ontinued, "I'm so sorry.

orridor was so deafe

cessing sound; the words seem

ab

oreign syl

at the doctor, co

dea she wa

s ago, her womb was des

He shoved a thick medical

is tone thick with indignation, all professional respec

temples like steel nails, shattering

back, slamming i

, tugging at my jacket, whisperi

ng her off in a mo

trying to tell me something import

ng champagne, publicly humiliating the mothe

of self-loathing

ll. The force was so great that the

bloody, mangled mess, as if the physical pain in my ha

self tightly into her chair, terri

ar. "You can't blame yourself. Sienna started it. She lost

all, my bleeding hand dr

d aroun

fake tears, the hidden apathy,

rderous glare locked onto her face

fool?" I asked, my v

d out my encrypted phone. I dialed my head of securi

r leaving her pale face. "Bring me the security footage of the