Charlotte walked through the sliding glass doors of St. Jude Hospice Care.

She was shivering violently. Puddles of rainwater dripped from her clothes onto the pristine linoleum floor. Her bare feet left wet, muddy prints. Blood trickled down her forearm from her torn elbow.

The nurses at the front desk stared at her in shock, but Charlotte ignored them.

She limped straight to the elevator bank and slammed her hand against the button for the top floor-the critical care unit.

At the exact same moment, three miles away in the emergency room of Manhattan General, Daxton Gomez stood in a brightly lit hallway.

An ER doctor holding a tablet walked up to him.

"Mr. Gomez," the doctor said, his voice serious. "Your grandfather is stable. But I need to be clear. If someone hadn't administered his pills and performed textbook CPR out there, he would have been dead before the ambulance arrived."

Daxton's jaw tightened.

An image flashed in his mind. The barefoot woman in the rain, pressing her hands into his grandfather's chest. The way he had grabbed her by the collar and thrown her onto the asphalt.

Daxton looked down at his right hand. Smeared across his knuckles was a streak of dried blood. It wasn't his. It was hers, from when she scraped her elbow on the street.

A heavy, unfamiliar weight of guilt settled in his stomach.

He turned to the massive bodyguard standing behind him. "Pull the street cameras from that intersection. Find out who that woman is. Now." The bodyguard nodded, tapping his earpiece. A moment later, he looked up. "Sir, we ran her facial recognition through the city grid. Her name is Charlotte Guthrie. And sir... she just entered St. Jude Hospice Care. The hospital just issued a critical condition alert for her grandmother." Daxton's jaw tightened as the pieces clicked into place. "Get the car ready. We're going to St. Jude. Now."

Charlotte stepped out of the elevator onto the quiet, sterile floor of the hospice.

She hurried down the hallway, her wet clothes slapping against her skin.

When she reached Room 412, she stopped. The heavy wooden door was cracked open.

Loud, aggressive voices spilled out into the hallway.

Charlotte pressed her back against the wall and peeked through the gap in the door. Her stomach dropped.

Inside the room, her father Vernon, her mother Brenda, and her younger brother Ricky were surrounding the hospital bed. The only one missing was her younger sister, Harper, who never bothered to show up for anything that didn't benefit her directly.

Eleanor lay on the mattress, a clear oxygen mask strapped over her pale face. She looked incredibly fragile, her chest barely rising.

Ricky had his hands under Eleanor's armpits, roughly pulling the dying woman up into a sitting position.

Vernon was shoving a thick stack of papers and a black pen toward Eleanor's trembling hand.

"Sign the paper, Mom," Vernon demanded, his voice harsh. "Just sign it and we'll let you rest."

Brenda leaned over the bed. "If you don't sign this, Eleanor, I swear to God I will find the plug to these machines and pull it myself."

The sheer evil of the threat snapped the last thread of Charlotte's sanity.

She raised her bare foot and kicked the wooden door with all her strength.

The door slammed open, crashing against the wall with a deafening bang.

The three of them jumped, spinning around to face the doorway.

Charlotte charged into the room like a wild animal. She shoved Ricky hard in the chest, knocking him backward into a medical cart.

She stood in front of the bed, shielding Eleanor with her body. Her hands shook as she gently laid her grandmother back onto the pillows and adjusted the oxygen tube.

Vernon recovered from his shock. His face twisted into an ugly snarl.

"You little bitch," Vernon spat. He raised his heavy fist, stepping forward to strike her in the back of the head.

Heavy, measured footsteps echoed in the hallway.

Daxton had tracked her down. He appeared in the doorway just as Vernon swung his arm.

Daxton's eyes locked onto the scene. He moved with terrifying speed.

He stepped into the room, reached out, and caught Vernon's wrist in mid-air. His large hand wrapped around Vernon's arm like a steel vice.

Daxton twisted his wrist sharply.

A loud, sickening crack echoed in the small room.

Vernon dropped to his knees, letting out a high-pitched scream of agony.

Daxton shoved Vernon away in disgust. He stepped forward, his broad shoulders completely blocking Charlotte from the rest of her family.

Charlotte turned around, her eyes wide. She stared at the man from the rainstorm.

Daxton looked down at her bleeding elbow. He adjusted his pristine cuffs, his face unreadable.

"I apologize for my actions on the street," Daxton said. His voice was deep, calm, and completely out of place in the chaotic room.

Charlotte blinked, stunned into silence.

Ricky pointed a shaking finger at Daxton. "Who the hell are you? Get out of our family business!"

Daxton didn't even look at him. He simply raised two fingers in the air.

Two massive men in black suits stepped into the doorway, crossing their arms. They blocked the exit completely.

The temperature in the room plummeted. Daxton looked at the Guthrie family as if he were looking at trash on the bottom of his shoe.

Brenda swallowed hard, her eyes darting nervously toward the two giants blocking the door.

She puffed out her chest, trying to maintain her authority. "You are interfering in private family matters! This is illegal!"

Daxton looked at her. The corner of his mouth twitched in a cold, humorless smile. "Attempted murder over a hospital bed is not a family matter."

Vernon cradled his broken wrist against his chest, his face pale with pain. "We are just helping my mother finalize her legal affairs. It's none of your business."

Hearing the word 'legal', Charlotte turned her head.

She saw the thick stack of papers Vernon had dropped on the edge of the bed. She snatched the document up.

Her eyes scanned the bold text at the top. It was a Last Will and Testament. It explicitly transferred the ownership of a Brooklyn apartment building entirely to Ricky.

Charlotte flipped to the last page. At the bottom, next to the signature line, was a smeared, red thumbprint.

They had forced her dying grandmother to press her thumb in ink.

A cold, bitter laugh ripped from Charlotte's throat. She held the document up in the air.

"Is this what you are?" Charlotte asked, her voice shaking with pure hatred. "She is dying, and you are torturing her for a building?"

Ricky lunged forward, his hands reaching for the papers. "Give that back! That's mine!"

Daxton shifted his weight. He stepped slightly to the right, using his massive frame to block Ricky's path. His dark eyes locked onto the boy, daring him to take another step. Ricky froze.

Charlotte gripped the top of the forged will with both hands.

She pulled her hands apart. The thick paper ripped down the middle with a loud, satisfying tear.

Vernon's eyes bulged out of his head. "No! Stop!"

Charlotte ignored him. She placed the two halves together and ripped them again. She tore the document over and over until her hands were full of nothing but shredded confetti.

She threw the pieces directly into Vernon's face. The paper rained down on his shoulders.

Seeing her son's inheritance destroyed, Brenda lost her mind.

She let out a feral screech and lunged toward the hospital bed. She reached her hands out, aiming directly for the plastic tube connecting Eleanor to the oxygen tank.

Charlotte gasped. She threw herself over her grandmother's chest, taking the brunt of the attack.

Brenda's sharp, manicured nails dug into the back of Charlotte's neck, dragging downward and leaving three deep, bleeding scratches.

A sharp hiss of pain escaped Charlotte's lips.

Daxton's eyes darkened to pitch black.

He reached out and grabbed the back of Brenda's collar. He lifted the woman off the ground with one arm.

He spun around and hurled Brenda against the plaster wall.

She hit the wall with a heavy thud and crumpled to the floor, gasping for breath.

Vernon saw his wife go down. Blinded by rage, he grabbed the heavy metal IV pole next to the bed and swung it toward the back of Daxton's head.

Before the pole could connect, one of the bodyguards stepped forward. He delivered a brutal kick to the back of Vernon's knee.

Vernon collapsed onto the floor, dropping the pole with a loud clatter.

Suddenly, a high-pitched, continuous alarm pierced the room.

The heart monitor next to the bed was flashing red. The green jagged lines on the screen were becoming erratic, dropping rapidly.

Charlotte's stomach dropped into a bottomless pit. She spun around and grabbed Eleanor's cold, frail hand.

Eleanor's chest was heaving. Her eyes were half-open, rolling back. The stress of the attack had pushed her failing heart over the edge.

Daxton slammed his fist onto the emergency call button on the wall.

Within seconds, a team of doctors and nurses rushed into the room, pushing a crash cart.

"Clear the room! Everyone out!" the lead doctor shouted.

Daxton looked at his bodyguards and jerked his chin toward the Guthries.

The guards grabbed Vernon, Brenda, and Ricky by their collars and dragged them out of the room like bags of garbage.

The heavy door was pulled shut, cutting off Vernon's screaming.

Charlotte backed away from the bed, pressing her spine against the cold wall. She covered her face with her hands. Her shoulders shook violently as the sound of the defibrillator charging filled the room.

The room smelled of ozone and sterile alcohol.

For ten agonizing minutes, the medical team worked over the bed. The sound of the defibrillator thumping against Eleanor's chest echoed off the walls.

Finally, the lead doctor stepped back. He lowered the paddles. He looked at the monitor, then slowly shook his head.

He pulled his surgical mask down and walked over to Charlotte.

"I'm sorry," the doctor said softly. "Her heart is too weak. We have minutes, maybe less."

Charlotte's knees gave out.

Before she could hit the floor, Daxton stepped up beside her. His large hand gripped her upper arm, holding her steady. His grip was firm, anchoring her to reality.

The doctors and nurses quietly filed out of the room, leaving the family to their final moments.

Charlotte stumbled forward and fell to her knees beside the bed. She grabbed Eleanor's thin, bruised hand and pressed it against her wet cheek. Hot tears spilled onto the white sheets.

Eleanor's eyelids fluttered. Slowly, they opened. Her cloudy eyes darted around the room before finally settling on Charlotte's face.

With a trembling hand, Eleanor reached up and pulled the oxygen mask down to her chin.

"Charlie..." Eleanor whispered. Her voice was as thin as paper.

"I'm here, Grandma. I'm right here," Charlotte choked out, nodding frantically.

Eleanor's gaze drifted past Charlotte. She looked at the tall, imposing man standing silently near the foot of the bed.

Eleanor's brow furrowed slightly. "Is that... is that Bradly?"

Charlotte's breath hitched. Her heart hammered against her ribs.

She couldn't tell her dying grandmother the truth. She couldn't let Eleanor leave this world knowing her granddaughter had been cheated on, abandoned, and left completely alone.

Charlotte opened her mouth to lie, but the words caught in her throat. She was paralyzed by guilt.

A warm, heavy hand rested on Charlotte's shoulder.

Daxton stepped forward. He lowered his massive frame, taking a knee on the hard floor so his eyes were level with the old woman's.

He reached out and gently covered Eleanor's free hand with his own.

"I'm Daxton," he said. His voice was incredibly gentle, stripped of all its previous coldness. "I'm Charlotte's fiancé. Bradly is out of the picture."

Charlotte snapped her head to look at him, her eyes wide with shock.

Daxton didn't look at her. But his fingers squeezed Charlotte's shoulder, a silent command for her to play along.

Eleanor blinked slowly. She studied Daxton's face. She looked at the sharp cut of his jaw, the expensive fabric of his suit, and the deep, steady calm in his dark eyes.

A faint, knowing smile touched the corners of Eleanor's lips. She didn't call out the lie.

She squeezed Daxton's fingers with the last ounce of her strength.

"Take care of my girl," Eleanor whispered. "Promise me."

Daxton looked directly into the dying woman's eyes. He didn't hesitate.

"I promise you," Daxton said, his voice ringing with absolute certainty. "As long as I am breathing, no one will ever hurt her again."

The words hung in the air, heavy and solid.

Eleanor's eyes softened. A tear slipped down her wrinkled cheek, disappearing into her gray hair. The tension in her face melted away, replaced by total peace.

She turned her head slightly to look at Charlotte.

"Don't be afraid," Eleanor breathed out. "Go live your life."

With a soft sigh, Eleanor's chest stopped moving. Her hand slipped out of Daxton's grip and fell heavily onto the mattress.

The heart monitor emitted a long, unbroken tone. The green line on the screen went completely flat.

Charlotte let out a guttural, heart-wrenching sob. She buried her face in the mattress, her fingers curling into the bedsheets as she cried for the only person in the world who had ever truly loved her.

Daxton stood up slowly. He looked down at the woman weeping on the floor. A strange, tight sensation gripped his chest-a feeling of protectiveness he had never experienced before.

He reached into the breast pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out a pristine white silk handkerchief.

He didn't speak. He didn't interrupt her grief.

He simply crouched down and placed the handkerchief softly on the bed, right next to her trembling hand. Then, he stepped back into the shadows, standing guard in the silence.