Sandra nodded grimly.


    As hospital staff wheeled Lucien''s body away, the hallway fell quiet again. The light above the operating room door remained lit; Marina was still inside.


    "When the crash happened, Lucien held Marina in his arms, shielding her," Sandra exined softly. "He was gone by the time they got him here."


    She sighed deeply and turned to her assistant. "Have his parents been notified?"


    "Yes, but they''re out of town. It will probably be tomorrow before they can get here," the assistant replied.


    Sandra acknowledged this with another nod, saying nothing more.


    "How could this have happened?" Yvonne asked, her voice raspy as she came to stand beside Sandra.


    "The same old trick," Sandra sneered, her eyes filled with bitter irony. It was the same method they''d used to silence Yvonne all those years ago: a staged ident. George''s methods hadn''t changed at all.


    "They were driving to work this morning when a truck lost control and mmed into them. The driver was drunk. The truck elerated straight into their car without any sign of braking. The scene was horrific. Lucien''s BMW waspletely mangled. Marina was lucky to have him... but even so, her condition is critical."


    "The truck driver? Did they catch him?" Yvonne asked.


    "They did. He confessed to driving drunk and is already in custody. But who gets drunk first thing in the morning? It''s obvious he was paid off. The police can''t prove anything, though, so bell be charged with vehicr manughter and be out in a few years.”


    Yvonne''s hands clenched into fists at her sides, her body trembling with rage. She remembered George''s words in the studyst night. He had already been nning this, plotting to eliminate them.


    Nexus Media, George, and the powerful people protecting him-they had be so arrogant they believed they could trample on human lives without consequence.


    Two hourster, Marina''s surgery ended. The lead surgeon emerged, pulling off his mask, his expression somber.


    "We did everything we could," he said. “Her injuries are severe. We''ve managed to stabilize her for now, but the chances of her waking up are very low. All we can do is hope for a miracle."


    In short, Marina was alive but had slipped into a vegetative state, with little hope of recovery. So young, so tragic.


    She was moved from the operating room to the intensive care unit. Having grown up in a single-parent home with strained family ties, there was no one to rush to her side.


    Lucien''s parents arrived the next day. They were ordinary working-ss people who had lost their only son. Their grief was overwhelming. His mother copsed and had to be admitted to the hospital.


    Leaving the hospital with Sandra, Yvonne''s spirits hit rock bottom. Sandra noticed her distress and ced aforting hand on her shoulder.


    "Don''t me yourself, Yvonne," she said with a heavy sigh. "This isn''t your fault. The moment Marina chose to trade her body for money and fame, she stepped into a abyss she couldn''t escape She had a chance to climb out, but she was blinded by greed."