I have spent my entire life building fortresses. Financial empires, security protocols, emotional walls - I’ve mastered the art of being unshakeable. But when I heard Alicia scream from behind that bathroom door, every single brick of that foundation turned to dust.
I felt my stomach drop into a bottomless pit. When I finally forced my way into the room and saw her, my heart didn't just skip a beat; it stopped. She was pale, smaller than I’d ever seen her, and as she went limp in my arms, I saw the blood running down her legs, staining the pristine white marble.
I have never known true panic. This wasn't just a panic, it was a primal, jagged fear that tore through my chest. I carried her to the car, her weight feeling like nothing, her head lolling against my shoulder. I didn't care a
