Chapter 526:

She found a vein in Elizabeth’s neck. “Come on, Grandma. Don’t you dare leave me.”

She pushed the plunger.

For a long moment, nothing happened. The heart monitor whined a flatline tone.

Beeeeeeep.

“No,” Aurora whispered. She started chest compressions. “Breathe! Breathe, you stubborn old woman!”

Crack. A rib gave way. She didn’t stop.

“Aurora,” Elias put a hand on her shoulder. “Aurora…”

“No!” She pumped harder. “Come back!”

Suddenly, the monitor hitched.

Beep.

Silence.

Beep… Beep… Beep.

Elizabeth gasped, her back arching off the bed. She sucked in air like a drowning woman breaking the surface.

Aurora collapsed onto the side of the bed, shaking.

Elizabeth’s eyes fluttered open. They were cloudy, confused, but alive.

She looked around. She saw Julian. She saw Elias. And then she looked down at the woman in the black suit holding her hand.

“Aurora?” Her voice was a whisper of dry leaves.

“I’m here, Grandma,” Aurora cried, kissing her hand. “I’m here.”

“Vivian…” Elizabeth rasped. “She… she laughed.”

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“She’s gone,” Aurora promised. “She can’t hurt you anymore.”

The door opened. Police officers swarmed in, led by a detective.

“We have a report of an assault,” the detective said, looking at Elias and the unconscious mercs in the hall.

“Self-defense,” Elizabeth croaked, surprising everyone with her strength. “These men… saved my life. Vivian Kensington… tried to murder me.”

The detective paused. A statement from the victim changed everything. “We have Vivian in custody at the precinct. We’ll add attempted murder to the charges.”

As the police took statements, Seraphina walked in. She had been waiting in the lobby.

She walked to the bed.

Elizabeth looked at her. Her eyes widened, filling with tears. “Seraphina? My… my daughter?”

“Hello, Mama,” Seraphina said softly, taking her other hand. “I’m home.”

The old woman wept, a sound of pure, unadulterated relief.

The family was whole.

Later, as the sun set over the New York skyline, Aurora and Elias stood on the hospital roof.

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