Ethan's phone buzzed with the urgency of a heartbeat skipping rhythm, pulling him from the haze of patient charts and sterile air in his clinic office.
The message popped up as an emergency alert from an unfamiliar number, claiming a shattered molar from a hiking mishap, the sender pleading for immediate relief at an isolated hilltop address. His gut twisted at the timing, but compassion won out, the healer's instinct overriding the whisper of doubt. He grabbed his mobile kit, texted Alex the details with a quick "Heading out, love you," and rolled out with two security shadows trailing in their sleek black SUV. The canyon roads wound like serpents under the golden haze, palm fronds whispering secrets as the city fell away, replaced by eucalyptus groves that hid more than they revealed. By the time he reached the gated driveway, the gate yawned open without a prompt, inviting him into silence that felt too deliberate, too staged.
