Chapter 506

The cabin lights flickered erratically.

Liam Valdemar lay slumped in his seat, his face as pale as parchment. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead. His breathing grew shallow, yet his skin burned with fever.

Vivian Laurent yanked the blanket off him.

A gruesome wound came into view—the bullet hole in his right arm surrounded by sickly purple bruising.

"That bullet last night..." Her fingers trembled. It had been meant for her.

"Med kit!" she barked.

Lucas Lefèvre retrieved the emergency pack from storage. Basic medical tools were laid out on the fold-down table—no surgical light in sight.

"No time." Vivian snapped on gloves. "If we wait, he'll lose the arm."

She injected anesthesia into his vein. The scalpel sliced through flesh, releasing a rush of blood.

Lucas passed her hemostats, watching her precise movements. The bullet clinked into the metal tray.

"Lucky." Vivian sutured the wound. "Missed bone and nerves."

When she unbuttoned Liam's shirt, her breath caught.

Beneath the crisscrossed whip marks were unhealed burns. Layers of scars covered his torso like a grotesque mosaic.

"Dark Web's top agent..." Her throat tightened.

The boy who'd always taken missions in her stead now lay broken. Once capable of disarming three armed assailants single-handedly, he now struggled to breathe.

She'd heard rumors about the organization withholding pay, but this? Couldn't they spare five billion for his ransom?

As she tied the final stitch, turbulence rocked the plane. Vivian shielded Liam's injured arm, but blood still seeped through the bandage.

"Four hours till landing," Lucas said, checking the dashboard.

Gently, she wiped sweat from Liam's brow. She remembered the emergency kit he'd slipped into her gear before their last mission. His teasing voice echoed: "You won't need this with me around."

Now it was her turn.

"Contact Nathan," she ordered the moment the plane touched down. "Full trauma workup. Use the private entrance."

At the airport exit, Isabella Langley sprinted toward them in heels. She grabbed Vivian's wrist. "Dark Web's spreading word that Liam's dead."

Vivian clenched her fists, staring at the ashen man on the stretcher.

"Get him to the hospital," she whispered. "Alert everyone. Prepare for hunters."