*VINCENZO*
I'm pacing again, back and forth along this sterile, oppressive corridor. Each footfall feels like thunder against the polished floor, my heartbeat drumming synchronously—a reckless, racing percussion. I can feel the anxiety twisting and contorting inside me, a black, restless shadow gnawing at my insides. Adeline is behind that door, and a part of me is wishing it could just burst open and let me in. But no. It's a surgical theater now, filled with the experts, while I'm left here—a caged animal.
The sterile smell of antiseptic stings my nostrils, mingling sickly with the sharp tang of fear. It sits heavy in the air, a warning, an omen. I glance around—no one dares to meet my eyes. I wonder if they're afraid of my rage, of the temper that has been lurking just beneath the su
