Chapter 15 - The Unseen Debt
Late that night, after a grueling four-hour vascular repair that saved the Lombardi captain’s life, Lena walked out into the private courtyard behind the medical center.
The February air was still biting, but the sky had cleared, revealing a brilliant blanket of stars over the city skyline. She closed her eyes, breathing in the clean, crisp air, feeling the ghost of her old life finally put to rest.
Footsteps crunched softly on the gravel behind her.
"You saved another one," Marco's deep voice broke the quiet. He stepped into the pale moonlight, holding a heavy wool coat, which he draped gently over Lena’s shoulders.
Lena pulled the coat tighter around herself, offering a small, tired smile. "It's what I was trained to do, Marco. Before all of this... before Dr. Guzman died... I just wanted to fix people."
"You did more than fix people, Doctor," Marco said softly, standing beside her to look out over the city. "You broke a machine that had been crushing people like us for decades."
Lena looked up at him, studying the hard lines of his face—a man feared by thousands, yet the only one who had kept his word when it mattered most. "And what about your dog? How is the little troublemaker?"
May you like
Marco’s severe expression softened into a rare, genuine smile. "Fat, spoiled, and currently sleeping on my side of the bed. He owes you his life. And I suppose... I do, too."
Lena turned back toward the glowing lights of the hospital, feeling the quiet strength humming in her bones. "Nobody owes anybody anything, Marco. We just survive."
