Chapter 76 — The ICU
The helicopter blades were still roaring in the air when the medical team rushed forward across the runway of the Maldivian medical center.
The night sky above the island was dark and heavy, the storm clouds from the previous night still hanging over the horizon.
The aircraft door burst open.
"Move!"
"Emergency patients!"
Two stretchers were pulled out almost at the same time.
On the first stretcher—
Care.
Her body looked frighteningly still beneath the emergency thermal blankets. Her skin had a pale bluish tint from the cold. Oxygen tubes were already pressed against her face, her chest rising in shallow uneven breaths.
On the second—
Cole.
His shirt was soaked with blood where the broken ribs had torn deeper during the crash. His breathing was rough, his body shivering violently even under the blankets.
Doctors and nurses surrounded them immediately.
"Severe hypothermia."
"Possible internal bleeding."
"Prepare ICU."
The stretchers rushed through the sliding glass doors.
Running beside them were three people who instantly took control.
Nova.
Ben.
Cin.
All three of them were doctors.
And the moment they stepped inside the hospital—
They stopped being friends.
They became surgeons.
"Move them to separate emergency rooms," Nova ordered sharply.
"Core body temperature first," Cin said while checking Care's vitals.
Ben looked at Cole's bleeding side and his expression darkened.
"He's losing too much blood."
The doors of the emergency ward slammed shut behind them.
---
Outside.
The rest of the group stood frozen in the hospital hallway.
Seventeen people.
Seventeen powerful people who had faced corporate wars, financial collapses, international scandals and dangerous enemies.
But right now—
None of them knew what to do.
The hallway lights were painfully bright.
The sound of medical equipment echoed faintly from inside the ICU.
Ash stood near the wall.
Her hands were shaking uncontrollably.
She had seen Care unconscious before.
She had seen her injured.
But this…
This was different.
Care had almost died in that jungle.
Ash pressed her palms against her face.
"She was freezing…"
Her voice broke.
"She wasn't breathing when they found her…"
Daisy immediately wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"Hey… hey…"
But Daisy's own voice trembled slightly.
She was trying to stay strong.
Trying.
Across the hallway—
JJ was pacing.
Back and forth.
Back and forth.
Her sharp heels clicking against the hospital floor.
Normally JJ was the calmest person in any crisis.
But tonight she couldn't stay still.
Her eyes kept flicking toward the ICU doors.
Keifer stood nearby.
Completely silent.
Hands in his pockets.
His face unreadable.
But JJ knew him well enough.
Keifer only went that quiet when he was deeply worried.
She finally stopped pacing and looked at him.
"You think they'll be okay?"
Keifer didn't answer immediately.
His eyes were still fixed on the ICU door.
"They have Nova, Ben and Cin," he finally said quietly.
"They're the best doctors we know."
But his jaw was tight.
Because even the best doctors in the world couldn't control everything.
---
On the other side of the hallway—
Alex stood beside Lyra.
His arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders.
Lyra leaned slightly into him.
She looked pale.
Because she remembered.
A few weeks ago—
She had been the one lying on an operating table.
Bleeding.
Dying.
And everyone had waited outside exactly like this.
Her fingers slowly tightened around Alex's hand.
Alex noticed immediately.
His thumb gently brushed against her knuckles.
"It's going to be okay," he murmured softly.
But his eyes were locked on the ICU doors too.
Joong stood next to them.
For once he wasn't checking emails.
Or business reports.
His phone remained untouched in his hand.
Because nothing in the world mattered right now except one thing.
Those doors.
---
Percy was sitting on one of the waiting chairs.
Honey sat beside him.
But neither of them were speaking.
Percy leaned forward slightly, his elbows resting on his knees.
His normally playful face looked unusually serious.
Honey quietly reached for his hand.
He squeezed it back immediately.
Not saying anything.
Just holding on.
---
Freya stood near the window.
Endrix beside her.
Freya's arms were crossed tightly over her chest.
Endrix had a tablet in his hand.
Satellite images.
Medical research.
Hypothermia survival statistics.
He had already opened dozens of pages.
Trying to calculate probabilities.
Trying to control something.
But Freya gently lowered the tablet.
"Stop."
Endrix looked at her.
She shook her head.
"This isn't a problem you can hack."
For once—
Endrix had no answer.
---
Near the far end of the hallway—
Rakhi and Cin's brotherly friend Aries stood quietly talking with Ella.
Ella's expression was serious.
Her legal mind already running through worst case scenarios.
Aries leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.
His gaze fixed on the emergency doors.
"Cole's stubborn," he muttered quietly.
"He'll survive."
---
Time passed slowly.
Too slowly.
Minutes felt like hours.
Nobody joked.
Nobody laughed.
Nobody moved much.
Just waiting.
The heavy silence of the hospital hallway wrapped around all of them.
Until finally—
The ICU doors opened.
Everyone stood up instantly.
Nova stepped out first.
Her surgical gown was still on.
Her hair tied tightly back.
Her expression serious.
Every single person in the hallway stared at her.
Waiting.
For one second—
Nobody spoke.
Then Keifer asked quietly.
"How are they?"
Nova looked at all of them.
Seventeen faces.
Seventeen people who had become a strange kind of family.
Her voice was calm.
Professional.
But slightly softer than usual.
"Care is critical…"
Ash's breath caught in her throat.
"…but stable."
The entire hallway exhaled at once.
Ash nearly collapsed into Daisy's arms in relief.
JJ closed her eyes briefly.
Keifer finally relaxed his shoulders slightly.
Lyra squeezed Alex's hand.
But Nova wasn't finished.
Her expression hardened again.
"Cole is in surgery."
Silence.
Complete silence.
The relief disappeared instantly.
"What happened?" Ben asked from behind Nova.
"He had internal bleeding," she explained.
"The crash damaged his ribs further."
"He lost more blood than we expected."
Ash whispered softly.
"Is he going to be okay?"
Nova didn't answer immediately.
Because surgeons never promised outcomes.
"Ben is assisting the surgery," she said carefully.
"Cin is monitoring vitals."
"They're doing everything possible."
The ICU doors slowly closed again behind her.
The waiting room returned to silence.
But now the silence was heavier.
More fragile.
Because everyone understood something now.
Care had almost died.
Cole had nearly killed himself trying to keep her alive.
And neither of them had even realized yet—
How much they meant to each other.