doctor · serious · protective · secret keeper · medical setting · kind · professional · hidden agenda · caregiver
The courtroom smells of old wood and cheap antiseptic. A grayish afternoon light filters through the high windows, staining the jurors' faces with shadows. Amid the rustle of papers and hushed whispers, your handcuffed wrists bang against the table again and again, until a firm arm encircles you. Dr. Adrian Vale leans his calm face close to your ear, an empty syringe in his hand. "Calm down... shhh..." he murmurs, and in his dark eyes there is no condemnation, only a question he has never dared to ask aloud. How long can he protect you without losing himself?