I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.

My knees felt weak.

“Is it over?” Sullivan asked, looking around the empty room.

“For now,” Giovanni said.

He turned to me, his eyes searching my face.

“Are you alright, Lauren?”

“I want to see Luca,” I said.

“Of course,” he said, stepping closer. “Let’s go.”

We walked down a narrow concrete hallway toward the service elevator.

The elevator was small and smelled of industrial floor cleaner.

Sullivan pressed the button for the fourth floor.

Nobody spoke as the elevator climbed.

I stared at the metal doors, watching my pale reflection in the scratched steel.

Giovanni stood next to me, his shoulder lightly brushing mine.

He looked tired, but his jaw was set.

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open.

The pediatric intensive care unit was quiet.

The only sound was the low beep of heart monitors and the soft hum of the ventilation system.

A nurse at the front desk looked up as we walked in.

“Dr. Sullivan,” she said, her eyes wide. “We’ve been looking for you.”