Chapter 405 One Last Embrace.

As a doctor, Yunice had witnessed countless moments like this. She held up her phone toward Mr. Gerardo and said, “Mr. Gerardo, stay seated. If there’s anything you want bto /bbsay/b, say it now. I’ll pass it along to Taylor.”

But it was like he couldn’t hear her. His eyes were vacant, his body rigid bas /bhe stepped forward, reaching toward her with both hands.

“Taylor… sweetheart… where are you… why won’t youe take me home…. Taylor, is that you? Take me home… I miss your mom… let me go home, I haven’t cooked for her bin /bbso /blong…”

Yunice couldn’t hold it in anymore. iWhy /iiis /iit ithat good /iipeople /iinever /iiseem /ito get good biendings/i/bb? /bbThe /bbetter the family, the more they were marked for suffering and separation.

Her own father… he had been just like that. So kind, and yet… gone too soon.

But beyond the sorrow, another thought quickly snapped her back

to the present.

Mr. Gerardo–caught in a moment of lucidity before death–was walking out of the containment zone!

That couldn’t happen. Once a patient lost the ability to think clearly, they posed a severe exposure risk to medical staff.

Yunice quickly set her phone down and tried to coax him back toward the bed.

But Mr. Gerardo couldn’t process her words anymore. His mind was already gone.

Panicking, Yunice nced around. With no other choice, she tore down the stic sheeting from the bed and threw it over him.

Wrapped in the stic, Mr. Gerardo began to thrash violently. “Home… I want to go

home!”

“Taylor! Help your dad! Taylor!”

He was tall, and though illness had withered his frame, the sudden surge of strength from his final re of life made him almost impossible to control.

iWhat /iia /iiterrifying /iithing /iit iis/ii–/iidying /iiwith /iiunfinished /iilove/i.

Yunice gritted her teeth, trying ito /ihold him back, but she couldn’t.

His iling arms nearly tore through her protective gear more than bonce/b.

Chapter 405 One Last Embrace

Just as she reached a breaking point, someone suddenly rushed in bfrom /bbbehind /bbher/bb, /bbgrabbed /banother sheet of stic, and looped it around Mr. Gerardo’s arms, enclosing bhim /bbpletely/b.

He was restrained–trapped in the cocoon of stic.

Mr. Gerardo struggled for a moment more, then stopped. He stared straight aheadb–/bthen copsed backward, eyes wide

open.

Yunice stood frozen, staring at the person who was still holding Mr. Gerardo btightly/bb–/bbOwen/b.

He had used every ounce of strength, his forehead veins bulging.

Corpses were heavy, and a man couldn’t carry one alone.

But Owen gritted his teeth, lifting and dragging Mr. Gerardo back to the bed, wrapping bhim /bsecurely in the stic sheeting.

Then he turned and looked at Yunice, eyes scanning her protective suit.

“Did you get exposed?” he asked, voice tense with worry.

Yunice looked at the body on the bed–at Mr. Gerardo’s lifeless eyes fixed on the doorway- and quietly shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

Mr. Gerardo was gone.

From the start of the outbreak until now, not a single patient had recovered.

Their worst fear had happened.

Yunice’s energy drained. Watching strangers die was one thing. Watching someone you knew die–someone whose story you’d heard, whose loved ones you’d met–hit differently.

Owen looked at the still body, then turned to Yunice. “You need to report this. And we’ve got -to start disinfecting–now.”

Yunice nodded. For the first time, she didn’t argue with Owen.

Because she didn’t have the strength to speak.

Mr. Gerardo was ced in a ibody /ibag and taken away–for mass cremation.

Just like everyone else, his family would receive nothing. No letter. bNo /bbmemento/bb. /b

Nothing–except a short, blurry video on Yunice’s phone.

???

Chapter 405 One Last Embrace

One she wouldn’t dare watch again.

*5 Free Comme

Because she had been in direct contact with the infected, Yunice was pulled from volunteer duties.

She and Owen were ced in temporary quarantine for observation.

Tommy dropped off meals through the door. Seeing Yunice visibly shaken, he tried tofort her. “Don’t worry. You kept Mr. Gerardo from breaching containment. That alone was a huge contribution.”

After closing the door, Yunice ced the meal in front of Owen, then walked to the corner of

the room.

There, she picked up a two–way radio.

The food sat untouched. She had no appetite.

On the other end was Laurie. Yunice calmly reported thetest death, then–for the first time -asked, “What’s Wyatt doing right now?”

npossible to get… Laurie sighed. “Medical iresources /iare stretched thin. iA /ilot of checkpoints are holding up suppliesi. /iSome critical items, especially protective suits, are nea

Then she added in a quieter voice, “Some of those people are disgusting. They know Mr. Wyatt is keeping a close eye on Saunders Hospital, so they’re deliberately making trouble. Thankfully, Mr. Wyatt has the resources and influence. Whatever other hospitals run short on, the Saunders family nevercks.”

“And that’s all ibecause/ii… /iiyou’re /ihere.”