?Chapter 691:

    Dobbs smiled softly, shaking his head. “Ms. Marsh, please don’t think that way. Your mother snatched me from the jaws of death. If I could repay even a fraction of that life-saving favor by helping you, I’d do it again. dly. No regrets.”

    Elliana was at a loss for words. Her throat tightened, and tears spilled silently down her cheeks.

    Seeing this, Dobbs gently patted her hand, his own shaking slightly. “Now, now… Don’t cry,” he murmured. “I don’t have much time left. Let’s not waste what little I have.”

    With a shaky breath, he reached for the cor of his gown and slowly pulled it aside. Beneath the faded fabric, an old scar stretched across his chest. He touched it lightly, his eyes meeting hers with quiet urgency. “What I have to give you… It’s hidden here,” he said in a near whisper. “You’ll need a pair of scissors. Cut through this scar, and you’ll find it.”

    Elliana froze, disbelief tightening her chest. “Dobbs?”

    He gave a faint nod, his expression calm despite the pain. “I always felt eyes on me,” he murmured. “They turned my home upside down. I knew it was only a matter of time before they found what I was protecting. So I hid it in the only ce I knew they wouldn’t look. I cut into my own flesh and sealed it inside.”

    No one could have imagined such a brutal, selfless way to honor a promise. Elliana’s tears spilled freely now, her heart breaking at the lengths he had gone to honor her mother’s trust. Her hands trembled. How could she do it? How could she cut into his skin, even with his consent?

    Dobbs seemed to sense her hesitation. He exhaled slowly and closed his eyes, the weight of his final moments settling into the room like dusk. “Ms. Marsh, if…” he said, his voice growing faint. “If you ever find your mother… Tell her I kept my word. Tell her I was grateful… until the end.” And just like that, thest flicker of life faded from his worn face.

    “Dobbs?” Elliana’s voice cracked with panic as she leaned in, checking his pulse with trembling fingers. There was nothing.

    She gentlyid his hand back on the bed, tears sliding silently down her cheeks. Dobbs was truly gone. He had clung to life with all the strength he had left, holding on until his task wasplete. Now, with nothing more binding him to this world, he had slipped away in peace.

    Though her heart ached, Elliana knew there was no time to mourn. Danger still circled just outside those walls. She had to act. Blinking through tears, she picked up the surgical scissors and leaned over the scar that marked Dobbs’ final sacrifice. Gently, with steady hands and a breaking heart, she made the incision.

    Inside the wound was a tiny metallic cylinder. She unscrewed it delicately, revealing a small slip of folded paper inside.

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    Elliana unrolled the delicate slip of paper, her eyes scanning the words carefully. It contained detailed instructions—clues pointing to the secret locations her mother had prepared long ago, meant only for her.

    Once she had read every word, she reached for her lighter. The me flickered for a moment before catching the edge of the paper. She held it steady as it curled and ckened in her hand, the inked secrets turning to ash.

    She didn’t need to read it again. Her mind, sharp as ss, had alreadymitted every line to memory. With danger lurking just beyond the hospital walls, she couldn’t afford to take any chances. If the paper were discovered, everything Dobbs had sacrificed would be for nothing.

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