The Forbidden Love in the Underworld

eed you. There's b

e notorious mafia boss of the Alvarez family, had been shot during an assassination at

anded not only the criminal underground but also shaped everything, including corporate executives and politicians

ories, the cold woman who could have anyone slain with just a glan

entering the lion's den, not merely in

regimented world of medicine to the anarchy Sofia Alvarez

s. His head spun with questions pouring through it. Who had sought to kill

o the darkness. Now compelled to save the woman whose very mention c

ent inside the elevator. Rafael stopped once the d

s the personnel moved with urgency. Nevertheless, the air was imbued with a tangibl

t was the silence of the room or the soft hum of the overhead lights. She looked so different from the strong i

ood soaking her clothes, the way her chest scarcely raised with eve

tion. Looking down at her face, he considered thi

g clock in the corner of the room as the

e him toward her and farther into her realm. He was not blind to the conundrum of the circumstances. His job was basic: save he

ighter, as though the walls themselves were pushing in. When his universe

st at the brink of his sight, a shadow hung. Rafael's hand stopped midway in air. He was

was there. He dared not divert his focus away from the current work even though he kn

quiet the heart monitor beeping. Sofia then inhaled sharply to help her breathing to

as he laid the scalpel down.

. Just a few steps behind him, the man silhouetted in the darkness ha

Escobar, you have done your work. The quest

ds here. right-hand man for Sofia. Only his allegiance to her matched a man with

stalking Rafael, his

gers stiff and chilly against Rafael's palm. The envelope was plain and unlabele

this," his tone so low it felt like a

he hospital director sink in: "Sofia Alvarez has explicitly requested yo

old, known pattern. His whole life had been a sequence of well considered choices, ones meant

dowed corner of the city. Ready to smash her rivals at whim, a lady who oversaw everything and everyone in Las Vegas, from corporate magn

o the austere realm of medicine where he saved lives without thinking about it. But the c

he murmured aloud, but it sounded more to him a

he sense of anxiety crept into his mind still. Into what kind of universe had he lately ente

ould practically feel his shoes pressing against the floor. Like a thread of anxiety coursed through the very air he was breathing, he sensed something was off. He glimpsed

ulse sharpened as the doors opened. Every inch of him shouted to flee, but the weight

aching quickly without a word as he neared the door to Sofia's room, shadows passing him in the p

ous, battered, bleeding, unrecognizable from the feared figure running the city. In her c

and he turned totally toward the current work. He knew only the whispers about Sofia, how she was untouchable, dreaded by ever

adn't spent more than ten years ranking among the top doctors in

create a strategy for the next actions. Though steady for the moment, Sofia's vitals were f

the hairs felt prickly. Rafael looked about, his eyes gliding over the immaculate spac

then turned toward the source. A shadow passed the doorframe quickly out of si

er observation; he had a peaceful assurance, a strong u

hough Sofia's respiration remained faint, she wasn't sliding away. Rafael removed his gloves gently wh

e call c

m. Rafael grabbed it; his heart accelerated with every seco

ut clear voice. "I hope you're not

up and his eyes squinted. Dema

Instead, it said one chilling sentence, "Stay out