Moments later, the hotel doors opened.
Medical staff in white coats and hospital uniforms moved quickly, wheeling out a stretcher. The patient was secured, motionless, surrounded by urgent, practiced efficiency. The wheels rattled against the floor as they moved fast. The patient’s body was covered, only the outline visible beneath the sheets.
Amara’s expression shifted.
Her eyes followed the stretcher as it was rushed across the driveway toward the waiting ambulance a few feet away.
Then she stepped forward.
“Amara,” Elias’s voice cut sharply behind her.
He moved fast, stepping into her path. His arm lifted, blocking her from taking another step forward..
“What are you doing?” He said sharply.
She lifted her chin slightly, eyes locked on his. “Either you let me see who that is,” she said, “or that patient is not leaving my hotel.”
Elias exhaled through his nose, frustration flashing across his face. His hand flexed at his side.
Amara didn’t wait. She sidestepped him in one quick movement and walked straight toward the stretcher.
Elias reached out to grab for her arm, but she twisted away with a sharp, instinctive movement and pushed past his blocking hand.
She walked straight toward the stretcher.
The medical team kept moving, but Amara closed the distance in seconds. The moment she reached them, they halted.
Her eyes dropped to the patient. For a second, nothing registered. Then her expression shifted.
Recognition flickered—uncertain at first, like her mind refused to connect the image with memory. Her breath caught in her throat.
She turned abruptly, her hair whipping across her shoulder, staring at Elias with wide, stunned eyes.
“That’s Zoe…” she said, voice breaking slightly with disbelief. “That… Maverick… Maverick Bishop’s sister? Didn’t she die in a car accident like a year ago?”
Elias ran a hand through his hair, dragging it back as he exhaled a long, strained breath. For a moment, he looked like he was holding something heavy inside himself.
Then he stepped closer to her, lowering his voice.
“She’s in a coma,” he said quietly. “And I need you to keep this a secret. Don’t tell anyone. Not even Maverick.”
Amara’s stare hardened. “Why?”
Behind them, the stretcher continued moving. The medical team didn’t pause, already guiding Zoe toward the ambulance.
She instinctively reached toward the stretcher again, but Elias caught her wrist this time and pulled her back.
“Stop,” he said under his breath.
With his other hand, he signaled the medical team to move.
They immediately continued forward, loading Zoe into the ambulance.
Amara turned her head slightly, watching as the doors were shut and the stretcher was sealed inside.
Elias guided her back toward the hotel entrance, his hand firm around her wrist.
As they reached his car, Bianca appeared almost instantly, stepping in close to Elias.
