Ethan woke up three days later.
Weak. Pale. Alive.
Ava was asleep in the chair beside him.
He watched her quietly.
"She fought him," he whispered to himself.
When she woke, relief flooded her eyes.
"You're impossible," she said softly.
"You didn't give up."
"Neither did you."
Silence lingered between them no walls, no pride.
Just truth.
But outside that hospital room, Adrian was planning something irreversible.
He called an emergency shareholder meeting.
A full acquisition vote.
If successful, Ethan would lose even minority control.
And legally, there would be nothing Ava could threaten him with.
This wasn't personal anymore.
This was annihilation.
Ava received the notification.
Her pulse quickened.
Adrian was escalating.
So would she.
She turned to Ethan.
"Are you ready to fight without rules?"
His eyes sharpened despite the weakness.
"For you? Always."