Chapter 103

Chapter 103 - Walls Crumbling, Storms Brewing

Mrs. Landon's desperate sobs still echoed in my ears as I pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweater. My hands trembled slightly, muscle memory from years of these emergency calls. But something felt different this time—a hardness in my chest where panic used to live.

I paused, one shoe on, and took a deep breath.

Wait. Just wait.

The clarity hit me like a bucket of cold water. Julian had been at The Vault last night, drinking himself into oblivion. After his mother called to collect him. Now he was supposedly dying and needed my blood?

I reached for my phone and called the hospital directly.

"County Memorial, how may I direct your call?"

"This is Hazel Ashworth. I need information on a patient—Julian Grayson. His mother just called about an emergency."