# CHAPTER 2 ## THE FAVOR THAT BECAME A DEATH SENTENCE
The first thing Adrian Vale did after waking up...
Was not thank me.
It wasn't ask where he was.
It wasn't ask how long he had been unconscious.
The first thing he did...
Was look at the door.
Like he expected someone to come through it and kill him.
---
Mateo Cruz noticed.
So did I.
"Boss..."
Mateo stepped closer.
Adrian's grip loosened from my wrist.
But his eyes never left the entrance.
"Who knows?"
His voice was weak.
But dangerous.
---
Mateo looked confused.
"Everyone thinks you're dead."
Adrian slowly looked at him.
"Good."
One word.
But somehow it filled the entire room.
---
I stood there silently.
Watching.
Trying to understand how a man who had just returned from death could still intimidate everyone around him.
---
Then Adrian looked at me.
"You."
I froze.
"Me?"
"You saved me."
It wasn't a question.
It was a statement.
I nodded.
"Yes."
A pause.
"You're welcome."
---
Mateo almost looked shocked.
Nobody talked to Adrian Vale like that.
---
Adrian stared at me.
"Do you know who I am?"
I hesitated.
"Yes."
"Then you know what happens to people who get involved in my life."
---
The warning was clear.
Stay away.
Run.
Forget this happened.
---
I looked at him.
"I was doing my job."
His eyes narrowed.
"That's not what I asked."
---
Before I could answer...
The lights suddenly flickered.
Everyone became alert.
Mateo reached for his weapon.
---
A second later...
The hospital security alarm activated.
Someone had entered the building.
Someone unauthorized.
---
Mateo whispered:
"They found us."
---
Adrian's expression changed.
For the first time...
I saw fear.
Not for himself.
For someone else.
---
"Emma."
I looked at him.
"Take the nurses' exit."
I frowned.
"What?"
"Now."
---
"I can't just leave."
His eyes hardened.
"You don't understand."
A pause.
"The people coming here aren't coming for me."
He looked at me.
"They're coming for anyone who helped me survive."
---
The hallway outside filled with footsteps.
Slow.
Controlled.
Coming closer.
---
Mateo opened the emergency cabinet and handed Adrian a weapon.
Adrian tried to sit up.
His body almost collapsed.
I grabbed him.
"You're not ready."
He looked at me.
"You saved my life."
His voice became quiet.
"Don't make me watch you lose yours."
---
Then the trauma room door handle moved.
Someone was outside.
---
Mateo raised his gun.
Adrian looked at me.
And said the one sentence I never expected from a man like him.
"Stay behind me."
---
The door opened.
A man in a dark suit stepped inside.
He smiled.
"Mr. Vale."
A pause.
"We heard you died."
---
Adrian looked at him.
"So disappointed?"
The man smiled.
"Actually..."
He raised his weapon.
"We were hoping to make sure it stayed true."
---
The first gunshot shattered the room.
And suddenly...
I realized something terrifying.
The dead man I saved...
May you like
Wasn't the most dangerous person in the room.
The people hunting him were.
