Chapter 4

Silas POV

That night, I didn't return to the villa.

I sat all night on a hospital bench. The wound on my hand was simply bandaged.

At three in the morning, a violent coughing fit woke me.

A metallic sweetness surged up my throat. I covered my mouth, coughing my lungs out.

Opening my palm, I saw a pool of horrifying black blood.

This was a sign my organs were beginning to fail.

The bullet in my spine had compressed too long. Toxins had already invaded my bloodstream. My body was long past the point of collapse.

"Mr. Sterling, you…