"She's already given up on you!"
Her body went rigid.
Then a soft laugh:
"No, she hasn't."
Bang! "AHHH!!"
A scream tore from my throat, raw and inhuman.
Sweat beaded across my forehead, mingling with tears as they slid down my face.
For a single promise of "save him," Nellie Sullivan was willing to go this far.
I couldn't feel my right hand anymore.
I didn't dare turn my head to look.
I didn't dare imagine what my right hand looked like now.
"Thomas, it's okay, it's okay, don't be scared..."
A towel wrapped around my right hand.
Nellie pressed her lips to my right wrist.
"Don't worry. I'll stay by your side for the rest of my life."
I heard my own voice, trembling:
"Get... away from me."
"Thomas..."
"GET AWAY FROM ME!"
Through my ragged, heaving breaths, Nellie let go.
"Thomas, I'm sorry. But until the dust settles, I need you to stay here. Chad's reputation can't be tarnished."
I laughed through my tears.
"You're that afraid I'll walk out and tell the truth."
"I'm sorry..."
The door closed in front of me.
The room plunged into total darkness.
My consciousness followed it down.
When I woke again, it was to Nellie gripping my arm and shaking me.
"Thomas! Thomas, wake up! Why is Gregory Henson coughing up blood again? You saved him, didn't you?"
My right hand was numb. Dead to all sensation.
I stared at the wild-eyed woman in front of me.
A cold laugh escaped my lips.
"With injuries that severe, follow-up treatment has to keep pace. You really thought one surgery would fix everything?"
"You—"
Nellie's grip on my arm tightened.
"Why didn't you say so sooner!"
Then something clicked. Her expression shifted to panic and she released me, seizing my left hand and dragging me toward the door.
"Hurry! Stabilize Gregory's condition! If something happens, Chad will be held responsible!"
"Nellie!"
I summoned every ounce of strength I had left.
"My hand is gone!"
She froze mid-step.
Slowly, her gaze drifted to my right hand.
Her pupils contracted.
"It's fine..."
Her voice came out thin, barely a whisper.
"You can do it with one hand."
She looked me in the eyes. "Thomas, you're brilliant. You can do it with one hand. Right?"
Slap!
My left hand cracked across her face, leaving a bloody handprint on her cheek.
My entire body was shaking.
"You actually believe what Chad told you? That surgery can be done one-handed?"
Nellie mumbled, half to herself:
"No... Chad said one hand was enough..."
She grabbed my severed hand. I bared my teeth against the blinding pain, but she didn't care.
"It'll be fine, Thomas. Just try. What if it works? If you don't step in, Chad takes the fall!"
Bang! The door flew open, kicked clean off its hinges.
A tall woman stood in the doorway, her face carved from pure fury.
"What have you people done to my brother?"
Edna Henson's voice dripped with murder.
Behind her, Chad was pinned in place by two bodyguards, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
I looked past Edna.
"Dean!"
"Dr. Delgado..."
