Exposed to the CEO Behind the Mafia Mask (by Silver Spoon) novel Chapter 387

Chapter 387: Chapter 171 Forgotten Hearts

Gemma’s POV

As we approached the mangled wreckage, my knees nearly buckled beneath me. The metallic stench of blood mixed with gasoline created a nauseating cocktail that made my stomach churn violently. I had to stop walking and take several deep breaths to keep from retching right there on the asphalt. Behind the wheel sat a nightmare - Beatrix, completely soaked in crimson, shards of windshield glass protruding from her skin like deadly confetti.

The crash told its own brutal story. Beatrix hadn’t bothered with a seatbelt, and the violent impact had launched her body halfway through the spider-webbed windshield. Her torso draped grotesquely over the crumpled hood while her legs remained trapped inside the twisted metal cage that used to be her luxury sedan. Blood painted every surface in sight, and her agonized whimpers cut through the night air like a blade. We all knew better than to attempt moving her - one wrong shift could sever her spine or worse - but watching her suffer felt like torture itself.

Jude’s urgent voice reached my ears as he barked orders into his phone, demanding immediate paramedic response to our location outside the Thorne family’s protected harbor district. Dominic moved toward the wreckage with careful steps, his voice dropping to that low, soothing tone I recognized from our most intimate moments together.

"Stay still, Beatrix, the ambulance is coming," Dominic’s words were steady and controlled as he crouched beside the demolished vehicle, bringing himself to her eye level. Her dark hair was matted with sticky blood, obscuring half her once-beautiful face.

"Dominic," she whispered through cracked lips, "it hurts so much, my darling. Promise me you’ll stay close." Her voice barely registered above the sound of her labored breathing.

"Don’t try to talk, Beatrix. Just focus on staying calm, alright?" Dominic’s response carried genuine tenderness, his throat tightening with emotion as he gently covered her bloodied hand with his own where it lay sprawled across the destroyed hood.

The intimate exchange between them felt like a dagger twisting in my chest. Witnessing their connection unfold before my eyes was like watching my deepest fears manifest into reality. Something fundamental was shifting in the space between Dominic and me, and I could feel the ground beneath our relationship beginning to crumble.

When the emergency medical team finally arrived from Port Serenity’s trauma center, they worked with surgical precision to extract Beatrix from the death trap her car had become. Throughout the entire delicate operation, Dominic never left her side, murmuring words of comfort and encouragement. Even seeing her broken form on that stretcher made my heart ache despite our complicated history - her face and arms were painted crimson, and her exposed legs showed devastating trauma that might never fully heal.

"Dominic, you should accompany her to the hospital," I managed to suggest, though every word felt like swallowing ground glass. Part of me hoped he would refuse, that he would choose to stay with me instead of abandoning me in this moment when I felt most vulnerable. While leaving her to face this nightmare alone would be cruel beyond measure, I stood there feeling utterly forgotten, and not once during the entire ordeal had he even acknowledged my presence.

"I’ll handle it, Dominic," Jude volunteered quickly, climbing into the back of the ambulance with practiced ease. "Don’t worry about a thing. I’ll contact her father immediately and make sure she gets the best surgeons money can buy. You two need to deal with the police investigation and get back to the safe house so Taylor can examine Gemma properly - she looks like she’s about to collapse from shock."

The ambulance doors slammed shut with finality before the vehicle sped toward Port Serenity, the only city within reasonable distance equipped with the advanced medical facilities Beatrix’s critical injuries demanded. Our small coastal town’s hospital wasn’t designed to handle this level of trauma. Dominic left me in the protective care of our female associates while he managed all the necessary formalities with the local police force - officers who were firmly in the Thorne family’s pocket. After the destroyed vehicle was finally loaded onto a flatbed truck and hauled away, Dominic drove me back to our fortified beach house while the other women remained behind to complete Zoe’s assigned security sweep of the area.

Upon our arrival at the compound, I remained trapped in a state of emotional shock. Beatrix’s blood-soaked image had burned itself permanently into my memory, along with the expression of raw anguish that had consumed Dominic’s features throughout the entire crisis. I hadn’t spoken a single word since witnessing the accident, and I had absolutely no desire to communicate with anyone around me. Something volatile was building pressure inside my chest, threatening to explode.

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