Clara’s knees buckled slightly, and Elena caught her just in time. Tears streamed down her cheeks, hot and relentless. “She’s alive… she’s alive!”
Mato exhaled, tension easing from his shoulders. “Then we keep her alive. One step at a time.”
Clara pressed her hands over her face, trembling. Relief and exhaustion warred inside her, a storm she had no strength to contain. Lily was alive, yes—but the fear of what could have been clung to her like a second skin. She sank into a chair beside the hospital bed, staring down at her sister’s fragile form, her mind replaying every terrifying second of the surgery.
Elena slid into the seat across from her, eyes bloodshot, voice soft. “You did everything you could. You were here for her when it mattered most.”
Clara shook her head. “I wasn’t fast
