Diana gasped. Thomas stepped forward. “Miss Cruz, please—let us pull him away.”
“No,” Maribel said quietly but firmly. “Don’t touch him.”
Richard saw only blood on the marble and his son gripping a staff member.
“I don’t pay you to restrain my child!” he roared. “Step back!”
Still kneeling, Maribel didn’t move. Lucas’s teeth were still buried in her skin.
She didn’t cry out. Her breathing stayed slow, steady—protective.
Lucas growled softly, biting harder, his body trembling like that pain was the only thing holding him together.
“Lucas,” Maribel whispered, ignoring Richard entirely. “Look at me.”
The boy’s wild gaze met hers.
“It hurts, doesn’t it? Right here.” She touched her chest. “Sometimes it gets so loud inside, you don’t know what to do with it.”
Dr. Moore muttered, “This is completely inappropriate.”
“Leave,” Richard snapped.
Maribel’s voice remained calm. “You’re not bad. You’re scared. And that’s okay.”
Something shifted.
Lucas blinked. His jaw loosened. His breathing slowed.
Maribel winced as his teeth scraped her skin, but she didn’t pull away.
“It’s over,” she murmured. “I’m still here.”
Slowly, painfully, he released her.
Silence fell.