Chapter 15 - SANTA ELENA HOSPITALSanta Elena Hospital smelled like disinfectant, old coffee, and fear.
Valeria had spent so many nights there that the halls felt more familiar than any home she had ever rented. She knew which vending machine stole coins. Which nurse hummed when children cried. Which window near the stairwell caught the sunrise.
But that afternoon, the hospital was unrecognizable.
Alejandro’s security lined the corridors. Hospital administrators whispered into phones. Parents stared as Valeria walked beside a man they recognized from headlines and nightmares.
Some looked afraid.
Others looked hopeful.
That hurt more.
Because desperate people will accept protection from anyone if their children are sick enough.
Diego was not in his usual room.
He had been moved to a private cardiac wing under another name.
When Valeria entered, he was sitting up in bed, pale but smiling.
“You brought the scary boss,” he said.
Valeria rushed to him and hugged him carefully.
Diego looked over her shoulder at Alejandro. “Are you the one paying for my heart?”
Alejandro stepped closer. “The foundation should have paid long ago.”
Diego studied him. “Did you steal the money?”
“No.”
“Did your family?”
“Yes.”
“Are they going to jail?”
Alejandro paused.
Valeria almost smiled despite everything. Diego had never feared asking direct questions.
“If the law does its job,” Alejandro said.
Diego nodded. “Good. My sister hates owing people.”
Alejandro glanced at Valeria. “I noticed.”
A doctor entered then, nervous but professional. “We need to discuss moving up the surgery. Given the threat, we believe waiting increases risk.”
Valeria’s heart stopped. “Move it up to when?”
“Tonight.”
The room spun.
Diego reached for her hand. “Vale.”
She gripped him too hard, then loosened. “Tonight is too soon.”
“It’s also the safest window,” the doctor said gently. “The surgical team is ready. We have blood matched. His condition is stable enough.”
Alejandro remained silent.
He did not pretend this was his decision.
Valeria appreciated that.
Diego looked at her. “I want to do it.”
“You’re scared,” she whispered.
“Always.” He smiled weakly. “But I want to run one day without you looking like you’re about to cry.”
Valeria broke.
She leaned her forehead against his hand.
Outside the room, Ramiro’s radio crackled.
Then the lights flickered.
Alejandro’s head lifted.
Valeria felt the hospital change.
The hairs on her arms rose.
A nurse screamed somewhere down the hall.
Ramiro burst into the room. “Emergency generators just switched. We have movement in the east stairwell.”
Alejandro turned to the doctor. “Seal this wing.”
The doctor ran.
Diego’s eyes widened. “Vale?”
Valeria kissed his forehead. “Stay behind me.”
Alejandro moved to the door.
“No,” Valeria said. “If they came here, they expect you at the front.”
Alejandro looked back.
She pointed toward the service door near the supply closet.
“Hospitals have staff corridors. Laundry routes. Waste exits. I know them.”
Ramiro stared. “You know this hospital?”
“I lived in it for three years.”
Alejandro made his decision instantly. “Lead.”
They moved Diego into a wheelchair. Valeria pushed. Alejandro walked beside them. Ramiro and two guards followed.
The service corridor was narrow and dim.
Alarms began sounding behind them.
They passed laundry carts, oxygen tanks, storage shelves.
Then a man stepped from the shadows wearing a surgical mask.
Not a doctor.
His shoes were wrong.
Valeria noticed because poor people notice shoes. Doctors wear comfort. Killers wear silence.
She shoved Diego’s wheelchair backward.
The man raised a weapon.
Alejandro slammed him into the wall before he could fire.
Ramiro disarmed him.
The mask fell.
Valeria recognized him from Catalina’s file.
One of Esteban’s drivers.
Alejandro grabbed him by the collar. “Where is Esteban?”
The man smiled through blood.
“Already upstairs.”
Valeria’s stomach dropped.
May you like
Upstairs was the operating floor.
And Diego’s surgical team was waiting there.
