Third person's POV
The slap rang through the corridor like a gunshot. For a moment, everything in the hospital hallway paused. Nurses stopped mid-step, a patient in a wheelchair turned his head, even the steady hum of machines behind the ward doors suddenly felt too loud. Liora’s head jerked to the side from the force, her hair falling forward over her cheek. A bright sting bloomed across her skin, warm and sharp, spreading in a slow, painful wave.
Time moved strangely in that instant, thick, heavy, like the air had turned to water. And Darla stood there with her hand still raised, frozen in the pose of someone who thought she had delivered victory. Her expression held a smugness so practiced it almost looked like confidence. Her lips curled into a sneer, sharp and brittle. “That’s
