Kneeling for a Second 268

An hour later, the night deepened. 

Sebastian pulled on a bulletproof vest, ready to head in with Susan to find Tracy. Another male doctor stepped forward and offered, “I’ll go. Susan, wait outside.” 

He thumped his chest, adding, “This is a man’s job.” 

At 9:00 pm, Sebastian followed close behind him as they stepped cautiously into the ruined city. The streets were stained with blood, smoke, and the wreckage of shellfire. 

Sebastian’s voice was low. “You don’t have to risk this. It has nothing to do with you.” 

“What kind of man would I be if I let my woman go in there alone?” The young guy, Leo Clarkson, gave Sebatisan a look, his expression carrying that restless, reckless streak. 

“Oh, you like Susan.” Sebastian glanced at Leo. 

Leo was a doctor from Inkko, and he had only been there eight months. He shared the same name as Sebastian’s nephew, Leo Gale. 

Though Leo was clumsy in the operating room, he was basically a walking textbook. 

“I fell for her the moment I saw her, and the entire hospital knows about it. You’re the only one who doesn’t. Honestly, there’s more gossip in that place than you’d think,” Leo said. 

He thought Sebastian was strange–too calm, too cold, sharp around the edges. 

In the operating room, he carried himself like someone who could wrestle a life back from the brink. 

Everything about him hinted at old money and privilege, yet he had chosen to stay in this place for three long years. 

Sebastian had no interest in the small talk. His features were sharp, his expression unyielding. He shot Leo a quick signal to keep quiet, slipping past a rebel soldier patrolling ahead. 

Only when they had put distance between themselves and danger did Leo exhale, wiping the sweat from his forehead. “Damn, these people just never go away,” he complained. 

Even as they moved, Leo kept talking in a hushed voice about Susan. “When we get Tracy out, I’m going to propose to her. You’ll all be there to see it.” 

Sebastian’s reply was flat. “I wish you both the best.” 

“And I hope you find your special someone too,” Leo replied. 

At that, Sebastian’s stride faltered for just a second, his tall frame swallowed by the shadows as he pressed forward. 

Leo slapped his own face lightly, trying to shake off the fatigue. “Everyone in the hospital knows you’ve got someone. She’s the woman with the pearl necklace,” he added. 

He caught a flicker of ice in Sebastian’s otherwise stoic face and immediately regretted pushing. He had been here almost a year and never once seen Sebastian smile. 

Susan had told him Sebastian had been in this place nearly three years, wearing the same stone–cold expression day after day. 

Sebasti 

the cloti. 

nd drifted to his chest, pressing lightly over the fabric of his black shirt. Even through rounded outline of a single pearl pendant was visible. 

He had thrown it from the top of the Grant Tower once, only to crawl back later and pick it up in disgrace. 

Leo, reckless as ever, tried his luck again as he spoke in broken Velrian. “That pearl goddess of yours … will protect you.” 

Sebastian stayed silent. 

Leo blinked, caught off guard. Sebastian hadn’t denied it. So there really was someone—a woman with that pearl necklace. He couldn’t help wondering what kind of person could move Sebastian with his cold expression. 

They searched until past midnight and finally found Tracy in an abandoned factory. Her eyes were swollen from crying, and she clung to Leo’s arm, choking out, “They wanted to turn me into a human bomb. Lyla’s husband saved me, but he was blown apart. 

“Now Lyla’s about to give birth… She passed out… I don’t know what to do.” 

On the floor nearby lay Lyla Anderson, who was wrapped head to toe, only her skin and terrified eyes showing. She kept murmuring her husband’s name. He had been a soldier working for the 

government. 

She grabbed Sebastian’s hand as she pleaded, “Please save my baby.” 

Leo immediately checked her. Blood was everywhere. He asked quickly about her condition–her age, whether she had ever given birth before, any medical history, and if she could still walk. 

Then came Lyla’s reply, “I’m 22. I have no medical issues. I… I can’t anymore. Please, just save my baby.” 

Sebastian looked at Lyla, whose eyes were full of fear and wet with tears. She was so young, and that reminded him of Valeria. 

From a doctor’s perspective, the blood loss and her condition told him the child was almost certainly gone, unless they got her to a hospital right away. 

He couldn’t help but wonder whether Valeria was just as helpless, just as terrified, lying in that hospital bed years ago? 

“Dr. Grant, we have to stop the bleeding first. If we don’t, she won’t make it either.” 

Getting Tracy out under the cover of night wouldn’t have been impossible, as she was just a child. Now, with a pregnant woman bleeding out and too weak to walk, the odds had turned against them. 

Sebastian took off his bulletproof vest and wrapped it around Lyla. Inside the abandoned factory, he 

found a rusted cart. He eased her into it and laid her down. 

They had to move fast, as once daylight broke, getting out would be nearly impossible. 

Lyla clut 

htly at Sebastian’s sleeve as she cried, “Dr. Grant, please save my baby. He’s all I have left of Bryan.” 

Sebastian saw the tears in her eyes and reassured her, “You’re going to be alright.”