PART 2: The door to Serena’s hospital room closed in Damien Voss’s face, and for the first time in his life, no amount of money, fear, or power could open it. He stood in the hallway of Northwestern Memorial with his shirt wrinkled, his hands shaking, and his wife’s broken words still cutting through him like glass. You already did. That was what she had said when he promised he would not leave her alone. She had not screamed. She had not begged. She had not even cursed him. She had simply looked at him with those exhausted gray eyes and told the truth. He had already left her. Not tonight. Not only at the gate. He had left her slowly, one cold answer at a time, one missed appointment, one untouched dinner, one turned back in bed, one lie about Caroline from legal. He had abandoned her inside their marriage long before the snow nearly finished what his pride had started. Around him, nurses moved quickly, doctors spoke in low urgent voices, machines beeped behind closed doors, and Damien Voss, the most feared man on the North Side of Chicago, stood like a condemned man waiting for a sentence he already knew he deserved.

I’ve updated the post with the full story. If you can’t see my comment with Blue text, pls follow this instruction: In the comment section pick “Most relevant” and switch it to All comments. You’ll see one of my comments with a line of blue text – tap it and it will take you to the full story.