The island clinic was quieter than usual when Temi and Katie arrived that afternoon.

The large white medical building stood near the eastern side of the Presidential Island, surrounded by gardens and carefully maintained walkways. Unlike most hospitals around the world, this one was extremely advanced, built with some of the finest medical technology humanity had achieved after the Sovereign War.

Still, despite all the technology, it remained a hospital.

A place where people came hoping to survive.

And sometimes...

A place where people failed to.

Temi parked her Royce Royce vehicle smoothly near the entrance while Katie stepped out beside her, adjusting the sleeves of her soft cream colored outfit.

"You know," Katie said while stretching lightly, "I still think it’s crazy that you actually enjoy spending free time in hospitals."

Temi laughed softly as they walked toward the entrance.

"I’m a nurse, Katie."

"I know, but still. If I had free time, I’d spend it sleeping."

"That’s because you’re spoiled."

Katie gasped dramatically.

"I’m deeply offended."

Temi only smiled and shook her head.

The nurses at the front desk immediately greeted Temi respectfully the moment they entered.

"Minister Temi."

"Good afternoon, ma’am."

Temi greeted them warmly as usual while Katie followed beside her quietly, looking around the clean environment.

Unlike the massive city hospitals in Dominion City, the island clinic felt calmer and more personal. Most of the patients there were staff members, security personnel, engineers from the island’s facilities, or residents connected to the Presidential household.

Temi was just about to head deeper into the building when chaos suddenly erupted outside.

The sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the entrance hallway.

"Move! Move!"

"We need help over here!"

Katie turned sharply in surprise as several emergency personnel suddenly burst through the entrance pushing a medical stretcher at terrifying speed.

And the moment she saw the man lying on it...

Her face lost color instantly.

His body was horribly injured.

Parts of his engineering uniform were burned completely black while blood stained almost his entire torso. Smoke still lightly rose from sections of the damaged suit material as the man groaned weakly in pain.

"Engineering Base accident!" one of the responders shouted urgently. "Factory room explosion!" 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Temi immediately switched completely into professional mode.

"What happened?" she asked quickly while already moving beside the stretcher.

"There was a spark malfunction during reactor maintenance," another responder explained breathlessly. "The explosion hit him directly."

Katie stood frozen near the hallway wall as the stretcher rushed past her.

She had never seen someone injured that badly before.

Not directly.

Not right in front of her.

"Prepare Emergency Room Three immediately!" Temi ordered sharply.

The medical staff moved instantly.

Machines activated.

Doors opened.

Doctors rushed in.

And within seconds, the injured man disappeared into the emergency treatment room together with Temi and several other medical personnel.

Katie remained standing outside.

Still frozen.

Her heart raced heavily inside her chest as she replayed the image she had just seen.

The blood.

The burns.

The weak movement of his hand.

It didn’t feel real.

She slowly sat down outside the emergency room while staring blankly at the floor.

Inside the room, the situation had already become extremely intense.

"Heart rate unstable!"

"We’re losing pressure!"

"Get the stabilizer ready!"

Temi stood beside the operating bed together with the lead doctor while they worked desperately to save the injured engineer.

The smell of burned flesh and chemicals filled the room unpleasantly.

The man’s torso had suffered catastrophic damage from the explosion.

Machines beeped rapidly around them.

"Clear the airway!"

"Administer another dose!"

"He’s crashing again!"

Temi’s gloves were stained with blood already as she worked frantically beside the others.

"Come on," she muttered under her breath. "Stay with us."

The doctor looked tense.

"The internal damage is worse than we thought."

Another violent beep echoed from the machines.

"Pulse dropping!"

"Dammit!"

The room grew even more frantic.

Temi refused to stop trying.

Again.

And again.

And again.

Every time the man’s condition worsened, they pushed harder.

Minutes passed.

Then more minutes.

Outside the room, Katie could hear almost everything.

The shouting.

The hurried movements.

The machine alarms.

She clasped her hands tightly together while staring toward the emergency room doors.

For the first time in a very long while...

She felt genuinely helpless.

Several other nurses passed through the hallway quickly, but nobody really paid attention to her now.

All focus remained on the patient inside.

Another ten minutes passed.

Then twenty.

Then thirty.

It began feeling endless.

Katie kept hoping the doors would suddenly open and Temi would walk out smiling and say the man survived.

But the atmosphere around the room only kept growing heavier.

Inside, sweat covered several of the medical workers already.

"Still no response!"

"Try again!"

The doctor clenched his jaw tightly.

"We can’t lose him now."

Temi’s breathing had become heavier too.

"Come on," she whispered desperately while helping maintain the procedures. "Please..."

Then suddenly...

The machine’s beeping changed.

Everyone froze slightly.

The long continuous tone echoed through the room.

Flatline.

Silence followed almost instantly.

The doctor stared at the monitor for several long seconds.

Nobody moved.

Nobody spoke.

And slowly...

The terrible truth settled into the room.

One of the nurses lowered her head quietly.

Another stepped back silently.

Temi herself froze where she stood.

The man was gone.

After all the effort.

After all the fighting.

After all the trying.

They still lost him.

The doctor eventually exhaled heavily before speaking quietly.

"Time of death..."

His voice faded into the silence around them.

Outside the room, Katie immediately understood what had happened the moment the sounds stopped.

Her chest tightened instantly.

No more shouting.

No more rushed movement.

No more alarms.

Just silence.

And somehow...

That silence frightened her even more.

Several minutes later, the emergency room doors finally opened.

Temi stepped out slowly after removing her gloves.

The exhaustion and sadness on her face immediately told Katie everything.

Katie stood up quietly.

"He..." she started softly before stopping herself.

Temi nodded faintly.

Neither of them spoke after that.

Because there was nothing to say.

Someone had died.

Right there.

Right in front of them.

And no amount of power, wealth, or technology had been enough to stop it.

The drive back to the villa was painfully quiet.

The atmosphere inside the Royce Royce felt heavy as the vehicle moved smoothly through the island roads beneath the evening sky.

Katie stared silently through the window most of the time.

Temi glanced toward her occasionally, clearly feeling guilty.

Finally, after several long minutes, Temi spoke softly.

"I’m sorry."

Katie looked toward her slightly.

"For what?"

"I shouldn’t have taken you there today."

Katie shook her head almost immediately.

"No... we didn’t know something like that would happen."

Temi sighed softly while keeping her eyes on the road.

"Still."

Silence returned briefly.

Then Temi spoke again.

"Anything can happen in a hospital."

Katie lowered her gaze quietly.

Today had shown her something she had never fully understood before.

Life could disappear suddenly.

Without warning.

Without permission.

The rest of the drive passed quietly after that.

When they finally arrived back at the villa, the evening atmosphere had already settled peacefully across the island.

Outside the mansion, Jayden sat beneath the large covered outdoor lounge area near the garden section of the estate.

The place was beautifully designed with soft lighting, comfortable seating, and a perfect view of the ocean beyond the island cliffs.

He looked relaxed at first while reviewing something on a tablet device.

But the moment he saw Temi and Katie approaching...

His expression shifted slightly.

"You two are back already?"

Temi nodded softly.

"We went to the island clinic."

Jayden nodded once.

"Okay."

But even after that response, his eyes remained on them carefully.

Especially Katie.

Her face looked pale.

Quiet.

Disturbed.

Jayden slowly placed the tablet aside.

"What happened?"

Neither of them answered immediately.

Temi hesitated briefly before finally speaking.

"Someone died there today."

Jayden’s expression softened instantly.

"He was from the Engineering Base," Temi continued quietly. "Explosion accident."

Jayden glanced toward Katie again.

"And she saw it," Temi added softly.

For a moment, Jayden said nothing.

Then slowly, he stood up and walked toward Katie.

She looked up at him quietly.

And without another word, Jayden pulled her gently into a tight embrace.

"It’s okay, sweetie," he said softly while holding her close. "It’s okay."

Katie finally relaxed slightly against him.

Jayden rubbed her back gently.

"You’re growing up," he murmured quietly. "And sometimes growing up means seeing difficult things."

Katie swallowed softly.

"He died even after they tried so hard."

Jayden closed his eyes briefly.

"Yes."

There was honesty in his voice.

No false comfort.

No fake explanation.

Just truth.

"Sometimes people fight with everything they have," he said quietly. "And sometimes... life still goes the wrong way."

Katie remained silent.

Jayden held her a little tighter.

"But that doesn’t mean the effort was meaningless," he continued softly. "What Temi and the others did mattered. They gave him every possible chance."

Temi quietly watched the scene nearby.

And somehow, despite the sadness surrounding the moment...

There was warmth too.

Because even after all these years...

Even after wars, power, politics, and history itself...

Jayden still protected the people he loved most gently.