?Chapter 1603:


    Ste’s eyebrows lifted the moment Jewell entered the room. “Dr. Vance, is William all right? Has his mood stabilized at all?”


    Jewell registered her anxious expression and released a soft chuckle. “I think your own condition deserves more concern than his right now.” Her injuries far exceeded William’s in severity.


    Ste recognized the teasing note in his voice and pressed her lips together in mild exasperation.


    “He’s taken his medication and achieved some stability,” Jewell said. “I don’t know exactly what transpired earlier, but judging by his reaction, he clearly regrets hurting you.”


    Ste didn’t need his confirmation — she already knew William was suffering. She had reached a critical realization: passive waiting aplished nothing. She met Jewell’s eyes directly. “Dr. Vance, could you help me leave the vi temporarily? I need to see my brother urgently.”


    Surprise flickered across Jewell’s features. With William’s emotions bnced on a razor’s edge, any action she took risked triggering another violent episode. And yet she wanted to leave the vi?


    Tasha, hovering nearby, radiated concern. “Ms. Russell, you suggested going out earlier today and Mr. Briggs exploded. Please don’t risk leaving right now!”


    Ste understood the risk perfectly well, but remaining trapped here exchanging a handful of words with William each day would aplish absolutely nothing. She held Jewell’s gaze steadily. “There’s truly no way?”


    Jewell released a weary sigh. “I just spoke with him in the study. He was exceptionally cold, so I’m afraid he won’t grant permission for me to escort you anywhere.”


    Helplessness washed through Ste, but surrender remained uneptable. Her mind cycled rapidly through potential solutions before a dangerous idea crystallized. She kept it hidden from both Jewell and Tasha, responding with carefully neutral eptance. “All right. We’ll drop it for now.”


    That night, after confirming the lights in both William’s study and bedroom had gone dark, Ste slipped quietly from her bed. She went into the bathroom, turned on the light, and — standing before the mirror — deliberately tore open the wound Jewell had so carefully bandaged just hours before.


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    Agony exploded through her the instant the bandage gave way. She choked back a cry, teeth gritted so hard her jaw ached, nails carving crescents into her palm as she rode out the wave of white-hot pain. The wound split open afresh, blood blooming immediately through the gauze before trickling in warm rivulets down her arm.


    Satisfied, Ste rewrapped the gauze around her wound, then slipped from her bedroom and descended the stairs.


    Tasha waspleting her final nightly check of the vi, preparing to retire to her quarters, when she spotted Ste sitting on the stairs — and the blood-soaked bandage wrapped around her arm. “Ms. Russell, how did your wound reopen?”


    She rushed to her side and flooded the overhead lights to life for a better look.


    Ste shifted slightly, her voice soft but steady. “Tasha, don’t panic. Call an ambnce immediately. If William asks what happened, tell him I fell down the stairs and the impact reopened the wound.”


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