Chapter 163

Theo's POV The VIP suite at the Hospital felt like a sanctuary carved from chaos, its pristine walls and medical equipment a stark contrast to the smoke-filled hell we'd escaped just hours before. I sat in the chair beside Claire's hospital bed, our fingers interlaced with the kind of desperate grip that came from nearly losing everything that mattered in the span of a single evening. The doctors had been thorough in their assessments. Claire's smoke inhalation was serious but not life-threatening, requiring oxygen therapy and careful monitoring for the next forty-eight hours. My burns were classified as second-degree across my shoulders and upper back, painful but manageable with proper treatment. We were both alive, both healing, both incredibly fortunate that the evening hadn't ended with body bags and a coroner's investigation. But it was the psychological aftermath that hit hardest. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw that basement corridor filled with smoke, felt the crushing weig