CHOSEN BY A SINNER (Completed)

...

I've lost count of the hours, and by the time a doctor comes into the waiting room, it feels like I've lost my mind.

I dart up from the chair, my muscles tense and my heart

hammering in my chest. Uncle Alexei gestures to me. "This is Mariya's husband,

Luca Cotroni."

The elderly woman turns her attention to me. “I'm Dr. West. The surgery went well. Miss..." She glances between Uncle Alexei and me, "Mrs. Cotroni is in the intensive care unit. We've put her in an induced coma so her body will have time to heal before she wakes up. The pain would be too much for her to handle right now."

Jesus fucking Christ.

"She's suffered four broken ribs. Part of her femur shattered from the bullet's impact, and her right hand suffered great nerve and bone damage. There's a long road of recovery ahead of her. With rehabilitation, she should regain full use of her leg, but I'm worried about her hand. With the nerve damage she suffered, we'll be lucky if she regains fifty percent use."

I can only stare at the doctor as her prognosis rips my heart to shreds.

In short, Mariya's going to suffer a great deal still, and there's nothing I can do to ease her pain.

"Can we see her?" Viktor asks, seeing as the rest of us are shocked into silence.

"Only two people at a time while she's in the ICU," Dr. West answers.