Chapter 212
I pulled up a chair and sat beside Maria's bed, watching the steady rhythm of her chest rise and fall. In sleep, she looked even younger. Even more vulnerable. A child who should be worrying about homework and playground games, not fighting for her life against an invisible enemy.
The monitors beeped softly, a steady rhythm that had become my lullaby over these long hours. Her oxygen saturation was holding. Her breathing was stable. The experimental drug was working for now.
But as I sat there, watching her sleep, my mind kept circling back to what Dafa had told me. Thorne and the masterminds were in custody. The conspiracy was over. But Maria was still here, still fighting, still carrying the poison in her body.
"Who did this to you?" I whispered. "And why?"
Maria didn't answer, of course. She just slept, her small face peaceful in a way it never was when she was awake and aware of her own suffering.
