To Love a Shadow To Be the Sun novel Chapter 357

"Summer!"

Seeing her best friend fall, Elara rushed forward without a second thought, catching her halfway down. At that moment, a dark figure leaped toward her from above.

Before she could get a clear look at the attacker, Elara shielded Summer with her own body. Suddenly, Renata vaulted over them, pursuing the assailant, who nimbly retreated to the second floor. Renata gave chase.

"Summer!"

Only then did Elara see the dagger embedded in Summer's chest. She held her, trembling uncontrollably. Summer grasped her hand, her mouth opening as if to speak, but no sound came out.

Tears streamed down Elara's face. "Don't talk. Just breathe slowly. Hold on."

Summer's gaze drifted to Elara's hair before her eyes fluttered shut, and she lost consciousness.

The attacker escaped, and Renata returned. She assessed Summer's wound, her expression grim. "Don't touch the dagger. We need to get her to a hospital, now."

…

By the time Summer's parents arrived, she was already in the operating room. Elara, having just given her statement to the police, stood before them with her head bowed.

"How… how could you leave her alone?" Summer's mother sobbed.

Summer's father put a comforting arm around his wife. "It's not her fault. She couldn't have known this would happen. Don't blame her."

His words only made Elara feel worse. Even though Summer had been the one attacked, she couldn't shake the feeling that the assailant had been after her.

Just then, the cardiac surgeon came out. "The patient experienced cardiac arrest. She's currently in a vegetative state, and based on our initial assessment, the chances of her waking up are slim. There is one option we can try, but there are no guarantees."

"What is it?" Charles asked desperately.

"A heart transplant might increase her chances of regaining consciousness." Seeing the look on Charles's face, his colleague lowered his voice. "Your sister's heart is too damaged. Even without a transplant, it won't last more than six months. There's a lab in Capital City that has had success growing artificial organs from a patient's own cells for zero-rejection transplants. You can look for a donor match while also trying to contact the lab."

It was a sliver of hope, but it was something.

Summer was moved to the intensive care unit. Elara wanted desperately to see her, but her parents needed to be with their daughter more. She stood outside, staring through the window at her best friend, who was now hooked up to a tangle of tubes and machines.

Charles looked at his grieving parents inside the room. "When we were young, our parents were too busy to care for two children, so they sent her to live with relatives in the countryside right after she was born. She didn't come back until she was twelve. We thought she'd be distant, but she grew up to be this cheerful, sensible girl who never caused them a moment of worry. I was always the one who gave them trouble."