“Stop.”
The voice rang sharply inside her head like a slap that snapped her back to the present. She shook off the cobwebs of fear clinging to her thoughts, clearing them away with effort, and forced her focus back where it belonged.
“We’re not losing her,” she said firmly. “We are almost there!”
The monitor let out a long, incessant piercing tone.
“Doctor—the patient!”
Olivia’s eyes snapped back on the screen. Because the line on the screen. Had just gone completely still.
—
Olivia let the warm water rinse her soapy hands. Streaks of crimson lazily spiral down the drain until the color fades to pink, then to a translucent blush before disappearing entirely.
Three long hours passed inside the operating room and the surgery had been a success.
Olivia should have felt relief. But a
