(KRYSTAL'S POV)
Tears gather in my eyes as I stare at the doctor.
For a long, awful moment, nobody speaks.
The silence feels heavier than the hospital air around us.
My lips tremble.
"D–doctor, what… what do you mean?" I finally manage to ask. My voice is barely more than a whisper. "What's the bad news?"
The doctor takes a slow breath before speaking.
"The bullet that hit Valentino was extremely close to his heart."
My chest tightens.
"We were able to remove it without causing further damage, but the bullet nicked his descending thoracic aorta."
"His… what?" Bruno asks.
"One of the major blood vessels near the heart," the doctor explains. "It's a critical injury. He needs immediate open heart surgery to repair the vessel."
"Open heart surgery?" Michele says. "That sounds serious."
"It is," the doctor replies. "But we can't operate right now."
Angelo snaps. "Why not?"
"Mr. Vipera has gone into hypovolemic shock."
The word hangs in the air like a death sentence.
