Damian Volkov had fired every nurse who dared enter his room, and the entire mansion had learned to fear the dying mafia boss behind the forbidden door.

Julian was pounding on the door. "Open it, Sarah! You think a dying old man can protect you?"

I looked at Lila. I signed: Can you find the magic bottle?

Lila nodded. She crept to the door leading into the adjoining medical suite. The doctor was there, packing his bag to leave. I watched through the crack as Lila slipped inside like a shadow.

She moved with the silence of someone who didn't hear the world’s noise. The doctor was distracted, looking at his watch. Lila reached the bag. She placed her hand on it, her eyes closed.

She pulled out a small, blue vial.

The doctor turned. I didn't wait. I grabbed a heavy brass lamp and lunged, slamming it into the doctor’s head. He dropped like a stone.

I grabbed the vial and ran back to Damian.

Julian had broken through the east wing doors. He was standing in the corridor, a gun drawn, his face twisted in rage. He leveled the weapon at the master suite door.

"Uncle," he called out, "it’s time."

I reached Damian. I forced the vial into his mouth. He gagged, his body convulsing, then suddenly—he coughed. A sound that was wet, violent, and life-affirming.

He sat up. The color returned to his skin in a rush. The poison was being purged.

He stood up, his towering frame casting a shadow that filled the room. He walked to the door, opening it with a single, calm motion.

Julian stood there, his gun trembling. He saw Damian standing, alive, his eyes burning with the fires of a hundred betrayed years.

"Julian," Damian said, his voice a low, terrifying rumble.

Julian dropped the gun. "Uncle, I—I was trying to help—"

"You were trying to inherit," Damian interrupted. He didn't use a weapon. He didn't use the guards. He simply walked toward his nephew, the sheer weight of his presence enough to make Julian collapse to his knees.

Damian didn't kill him. He did something worse. He signaled the guards. "Take him to the harbor. Tell the men... let him explain to the contractors why the steel didn't arrive."

It was a death sentence, written in the language of the docks.

The guards dragged a screaming Julian away. The house fell silent.

Damian turned back to the room. He looked at me, then at Lila. He knelt down, bringing himself to her level.

"You," he said, his voice filled with an emotion I couldn't name. "You saved a monster."