Chapter 23. Dreams of Visions

Lara sits by Michael's hospital bed, her fingers tracing the contours of his hand as he lies still, surrounded by the sterile scent of antiseptic. The rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor echoes in the room, a constant reminder of his fragile state. She watches his chest rise and fall with each shallow breath, her heart heavy with worry.

The events of that fateful day replay in her mind like a broken record, each moment etched into her memory with painful clarity. Carter’s panic-stricken face, and Rose’s scream of terror.

Now, as she sits, holding a vigil by his side, another emotion begins to consume her, fear. A clenching anxiety of losing him, and what the future would hold for Croft if he did not make it out of this. The dread of the unknown comes alive, and her thoughts spiral out of control, a tangled mess of tension and aversion.

Then there is this nausea, with a relentless wave of sickening fever, washing over her, threatening to engulf her in its suf