Chapter 16 - Fading Light
The dust hung thick in the pale emergency light, coating the ruined hall like gray snow. Valeria remained huddled tightly beside her husband, her hands desperately pressing against the deep laceration on his side, trying in vain to stem the massive flow of blood. Daniel’s breathing had become terrifyingly shallow and erratic. His skin was ashen, cold to the touch, and his eyes were half-closed, the spark of life slowly dimming within them.
"Look at me, Daniel," Valeria pleaded, her voice cracking with raw, unfiltered terror. "Please, don't close your eyes. Stay with me."
Daniel managed a weak, heartbreakingly slow blink. A faint, rattling sigh escaped his pale lips. "I am... so tired," he whispered, the sound barely audible over the distant sirens approaching the estate.
"No!" Valeria cried, gripping his face with her bloodstained hands. "You are not allowed to sleep. You have to meet our baby. You promised me."
Finally, the heavy wooden service doors burst open. The mansion's maintenance crew arrived, hauling heavy-duty hydraulic lifting jacks and industrial metal cutters. They sprinted toward the wreckage, their faces grim as they assessed the situation.
"Get those jacks under the main support beam!" the head of maintenance barked, directing his men.
May you like
A medical doctor, one of the guests who had stayed behind, dropped to his knees beside Valeria. He quickly tore open his ruined tuxedo shirt and packed it tightly against Daniel’s wound, applying immense pressure. The doctor looked up at the maintenance crew, his expression dire.
"He is bleeding out internally. You need to get this off him right now, or he isn't going to make it."
