Chapter 801

"She comes from a prestigious medical family. How could she use drugs to control patients? It's a complete violation of medical ethics!"

Vivian sighed softly. "Perhaps she had no choice. I saw the struggle in her eyes—someone must be coercing her."

Nathan clenched his fists. "We must expose the mastermind. Only by revealing your Dr. Luna identity can we stop them."

The operating room doors slid open soundlessly. Vivian and Nathan emerged side by side, their lab coats pristine without a single crease, as if they'd never left the hospital.

At the corridor's end, Ethan Roscente approached with Theo Evans asleep in his arms. The tension in his shoulders eased slightly upon seeing Vivian unharmed.

"Liam is waiting in your office," Ethan said hesitantly. "Do you need me to—"

"Stay with Theo," Vivian cut him off with a warning glance. "Don't follow me."

She knew exactly what would happen if these two men crossed paths again. Their last "chance encounter" in the hospital garden had nearly demolished the entire fountain.

When she pushed open her office door, the figure by the window turned. Liam Valdemar leaned against the windowsill, a cigarette between his fingers with an impossibly long ash dangling precariously.

"Sorry, the surgery took longer than expected." Vivian removed her mask, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

Liam stubbed out the cigarette. His steel-blue eyes looked unusually gentle in the morning light. "Waiting for you is an honor. After all..." His lips curved slightly. "I've waited five years already."

The words pierced Vivian's heart like fine needles. She avoided his gaze. "Don't do this anymore. If one day I disappear—"

"Where would you go?" Liam closed the distance abruptly, his sleeve brushing against her lab coat.

Vivian took half a step back. "Just a hypothetical. Did you need something?"

"Only to share a meal with you." His voice regained its usual lazy cadence. "Like we did in the safe house."

"Too many cases lately." Vivian busied herself with organizing files. "Another time."

Liam watched the crown of her head silently, his knuckles whitening inside his sleeves. Sunlight through the blinds cast alternating stripes of light and shadow across his face.

How many times had it been now? He counted silently in his mind. Each hope raised, each disappointment endured. Like a wound that kept reopening before it could heal.

Children's laughter drifted through the window. Suddenly he remembered years ago, sharing moldy bread with her amidst gunfire. She'd promised then—when it was all over, they'd taste every delicacy the world had to offer.

"I understand." As he turned, his lab coat whispered against the metal door handle.