Chapter 16 - The Call from Johns Hopkins
At 10:15 a.m. on Monday, October 12th, Ellie sat at the mahogany desk in the penthouse office, her laptop open to the encrypted hospital feed while her phone rested directly in front of her.
Across the room, Damien stood by the window, smoking a rare Cuban cigar and watching the city below with a calm exterior that masked the razor-sharp intensity burning beneath the surface. He knew what today meant to her. He had cleared his entire schedule, cancelled three meetings with the commission, and stationed two of his best security operatives outside the private surgical wing in Baltimore just to ensure absolute privacy and security for Leo’s operation.
The phone buzzed.
Ellie snatched it up so fast she nearly dropped the device.
"Dr. Vance," she said, her voice tight, formal, and trembling slightly.
“Ellie? It’s Dr. Sterling,” the surgeon’s calm, practiced voice came through the speaker. “We just closed the incision. The tumor resection was one hundred percent successful. Your brother is recovering in the PACU right now, and his neurological vitals are completely stable. He’s going to make a full recovery.”
The phone slipped slightly from Ellie’s fingers. A sound halfway between a sob and a laugh escaped her throat, and for the second time in her life, tears streamed down her face—not of fear or exhaustion, but of pure, unadulterated triumph.
"Thank you, Doctor," she choked out, her hands shaking violently. "Thank you so much."
“You’re welcome, Dr. Vance. Give Mr. Moretti our regards. He runs a tight ship.” The line clicked dead.
Ellie sat frozen at the desk for three seconds, staring at the blank screen of her phone. Then, she stood up so fast her chair screeched against the hardwood floor.
Damien crossed the room in two strides before she could even take a step. He caught her in his arms, lifting her slightly off her feet as she buried her face in his shoulder and finally let go of every drop of tension, fear, and grief she had carried for the past two years.
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"He's okay," Ellie sobbed against his chest, her fingers gripping the lapels of his suit jacket. "Damien, he's okay. The surgery worked."
"I told you he was in good hands," Damien murmured, his voice thick with an emotion he rarely showed anyone else in the world. He pressed his lips into her hair, holding her so tightly she could feel the steady, unyielding strength of his heartbeat against her own. "Your brother is going to walk out of that hospital, Ellie. And you and I are going to build whatever comes next."
