Once.
Twice.
Again.
“Move—move—get out of the way!”
Servants and guards scattered as I barreled through, their faces blurring into shadows at the edges of my vision.
Someone shouted my name behind me. I didn’t stop to listen.
My lungs burned.
My chest ached with every ragged inhale.
Stay with me.
That was the only thought left.
Just those three words.
I burst through the main doors.
Night air slammed into me—cold, sharp, real.
Two ambulances were already waiting on the gravel, their lights strobing red and blue across the estate like a warning.
Doors open. Engines running. The smell of fuel and antiseptic cutting through everything.
Paramedics and doctors rushed forward immediately.
“Mr. Orsini—over here—”
“Place them on the stretcher!”
“Vitals—check vitals!”
Their voices overlapped, urgent, controlled—but not panicked.
I hesitated for a second.
My arms locked tighter around them.
I couldn’t—
I couldn’t let go.
Not like this.
A woman stepped forward.
She moved differently from the others—calm, precise, her presence cutting through the chaos without raising her voice.
Her eyes locked on mine, unwavering and piercingly focused.
“Mr. Orsini,” she said firmly, but not unkindly, “we need to take them. Right now. Treatment has to start in the ambulance if they’re going to survive.”
A pause.
