---- Chapter 20 Amira Osborne POV: | watched, stunned, as the paramedics carefully loaded Carter onto a stretcher. Even as they were strapping him in, he was struggling, his eyes desperately searching for me in the crowd. "Amira," he kept murmuring, his voice weak and thready. An EMT put a firm hand on his uninjured shoulder. "Sir, you need to stay still. You' re losing a lot of blood. One wrong move and you could bleed out right here." That finally seemed to silence him. Arjun draped his jacket over my shoulders; | hadn' t even realized | was shivering. "This isn' t your fault," he said softly, his voice a comforting anchor in the chaos. He gently tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear. "I' Il make sure Chloe is safe. We' Il get through this." | looked at Chloe, who was staring at the retreating ambulance, her little face smudged with Carter' s blood. My heart ached. "l owe him," | said, my voice bitter. "| owe him my daughter' s life. And | don' t want to." "Then we' Il pay him back together," Arjun said, his gaze steady and unwavering. "And then he will be out of our lives for good." ---- When Carter woke up in the hospital room, the first thing he saw was me, sitting in a chair by his bed. A slow, triumphant smile spread across his pale lips. He knew he had me. He had orchestrated the entire thing. He had been stalking the neighborhood for days. He' d seen the disturbed man lurking around the playground. He' d seen his chance. He had waited for the man to make his move, had deliberately put himself in harm' s way, knowing it was the only currency | might still accept from him. It was a desperate, insane gamble. And it had worked. "Amira," he whispered, his voice artfully weak. "You' re here." | was methodically slicing an apple, my gaze focused on the blade. "Of course I' m here," | said, my tone clipped and detached. "It's the least | can do." My voice was colder than it had been before, but the sharp, angry edges were gone, smoothed away by a reluctant sense of obligation. He saw the shift and his eyes lit up with a flicker of hope. "I didn't do it for you to feel obligated," he said, his voice taking on a martyred tone. | stopped slicing the apple and finally looked at him, my expression unreadable. "Carter, let' s be very clear. | will stay here and make sure you have everything you need until you are discharged. | will pay all of your medical bills. And then, my debt to you will be paid. After that, | never want to see you again. We will not be friends. We will not be anything." ---- The hope in his eyes died, replaced by a familiar, wounded look. "How can you be so heartless?" he whispered, his voice cracking. "After everything... after this?" He gestured to the bandages on his chest. | was about to tell him exactly how, when the door opened.