Chapter 4 - The Surgeon's Hands
"He is bleeding out," Norah screamed, pressing her hands frantically against Dominic's chest.
"I cannot take him to a hospital, the Tarasovs own the police in this district," Simon yelled from the driver's seat.
"Get us back to the estate, right now!" Norah ordered, her medical training completely overriding her panic.
Dominic's skin was turning a terrifying shade of gray, and his dark eyes were losing their sharp focus.
"Keep your eyes open, Dominic, look at me," she pleaded, applying brutal pressure to the gunshot wound.
He looked up at her, a faint, cynical smile touching his pale lips.
"You look beautiful in that dress, Norah," he whispered before his head rolled to the side.
The car tore through the coastal roads, arriving at the stone estate in record time.
Victor and Simon carried Dominic's limp body into the grand dining room, laying him flat on the long mahogany table.
"I need a medical kit, sterile gloves, a scalpel, and a massive amount of gauze," Norah barked at Carla.
Carla did not argue, returning seconds later with a fully stocked trauma bag.
Norah used trauma shears to cut away Dominic's ruined sweater, exposing his muscular, tattooed torso.
The bullet had missed his heart but shattered a rib and lodged dangerously close to his lung.
She sterilized her hands and picked up the surgical forceps, taking a deep, steadying breath.
"Hold him down, this is going to be excruciating," she warned the two men.
Without any anesthesia, Norah dug into the open wound, searching for the jagged piece of lead.
Dominic woke up with a brutal, agonizing groan, his body arching violently off the table.
Victor pinned his shoulders down while Simon held his legs, giving Norah the stability she needed.
She finally clamped the bullet and pulled it free, dropping the bloody metal into a silver serving bowl.
As she began to suture the torn flesh, her eyes snagged on a highly distinctive, jagged scar on Dominic's lower abdomen.
It was a jagged burn mark shaped like a crescent moon.
Her hands began to shake uncontrollably as she stitched the final knot.
Her brother Liam had the exact same scar from a childhood accident in their family kitchen.
Dominic opened his eyes, his breathing slowly stabilizing as the pain subsided.
"Liam didn't borrow that money, did he?" Norah asked, her voice echoing coldly in the bloody dining room.
Dominic stared at her for a long moment before letting out a tired sigh.
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"No, Norah," Dominic confessed quietly.
"Liam didn't borrow the money, Liam is the one who shot me in that alley."
