Love in the Limelight novel Chapter 456

"God bless Lucas," Amanda murmured, her voice thick with worry. "That boy has done so much for us over the years."

"Son, there's something I forgot to tell you," she continued. "While you were away, Lucas has been picking up Roman from school every day. He must've sensed something was wrong and was trying to protect Roman. But now he's severely injured," she said, her voice trembling. "He came to our house first. He must've wanted to tell us something. Poor boy, he's so young. If he... If he..."

"Mom..." Elio interrupted gently, "Astrid is with him. Lucas will be okay."

"I know Astrid is a brilliant doctor," Amanda replied, her voice filled with doubt. "But the specialists at the hospital said his wounds are fatal. When I think about the way he looked... I bandaged him up as best I could, but there was so much blood..."

"Mom, trust in Astrid," Elio said soothingly, patting her shoulder. "He'll be fine. You should go home. I don't like the idea of Roman being alone. We'll stay here."

After some hesitation, Matthew chimed in, "He's right, dear. We can't do anything here. We should go home and wait for news. Remember that interview we watched? Astrid is more than capable. Lucas will be fine."

Reassured, Amanda left, reminding them to inform her as soon as there was any news.

The surgery took six hours. When Astrid finally emerged, dawn was breaking.

"You look exhausted," Elio said, rushing over to steady her.

"Aren't you going to ask about him?" she asked softly.