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“Did she know what they were doing?”

“Vlasov said Marina had started asking about the ambulance routes and patient transfers before they killed her.”

I press my fingers against my mouth.

“Gurin?”

“He gave them access, then claimed he didn’t know they’d kill her,” Alexei says. “I don’t believe him.”

“Rudenko’s daughter?”

Cara shifts in her chair. “She carried messages between Gurin and her father’s men. She knew they were stealing hospital records.”

Maksim taps the table once. “We charge her with what we can prove. No deals, no one lets her walk.”

I look around the table. “What about the people they moved through my hospital?”

Abramov checks the report. “Some patient files were fake and used to steal medicine. Belov’s wounded men were treated under false names. Two witnesses were drugged and taken away before they could talk. We’re checking every ambulance and clinic tied to them.”

“Are they alive?”

“One is,” Alexei says. “Sofia Melnik.”

I turn to him, unable to speak. Alexei reaches for my hand and threads his fingers through mine.

“Roman found her in the basement of Zarya,” he continues. “She’s being treated at a hospital with no New Harbor connection.”

“I want the names of her doctors.”

Abramov hands me the page. “Dr. Sokolov chose the doctors and is leading her care. Kira is there as an independent consultant.”

I let out the breath I’ve been holding and curl my fingers around Alexei’s.

“And my hospital?” I ask, already bracing to hear that the ambulance bay has been sealed and the whole place is under investigation.

“The old passes don’t work anymore,” Maksim says, lifting his coffee. “The fake ambulance route is closed, and every worker connected to Belov’s network has been suspended while the police investigate.”

Alexei picks up a warm vatrushka and holds it out to me. “You can go back when you’re ready.”

“To the hospital?”

“To surgery.”

“What about the lockdown?”

“Over.” Abramov puts his radio on the table. “The estate is still guarded, but you and Misha don’t have to stay in the family wing anymore. Your guards will follow the rules you chose.”

“If I take Misha to preschool?”

“They’ll stay where you tell them.”

“If I want to live in my apartment?” I look at Alexei.

Alexei goes still, the vatrushka untouched in his hand. “Then I’ll carry your boxes.”

I hold his gaze. “And if I stay here?”

“I’ll clear half my office for Misha’s cars.”