Chapter 25

Elena’s POV

I had barely slept, my thoughts tangled in an endless web of dread, relief, and... something else I couldn’t name. As I walked down the sterile hospital corridors, Jason’s hand was a firm, comforting weight on my back. I knew Aurora’s plans had finally crumbled, that she was being taken away in handcuffs. Justice, at last. It should have felt like a victory, yet the hollow ache in my chest grew with each step. There was no joy here—only a lingering sadness and the faintest trace of regret.

I could still feel Lucas’s pain, his every grimace, every stifled sigh of discomfort as if they were my own. I had known him long enough to know how much he must be hurting, even if he’d never admit it.

The door to his hospital room was slightly ajar, and I peeked inside. Lucas sat in his wheelchair, his face a mask of stoic resolve. His jaw was set, eyes fixed on some distant point outside the window, lost in his thoughts. Jason’s hand tightened around mine as