The afternoon shift bled into the Berlin evening, the fluorescent lights of the Charité replaced by the cool, shadowy streets outside. I clocked out, changed in the locker room, and zipped my coat to my chin, the chill seeping into my bones despite the layers.

My phone, silenced for the shift, buzzed to life the second I stepped outside, the screen flashing with notifications. Five missed calls. All from an unknown London number. All within the last ninety minutes.

"Please no"

My stomach plummeted, a sickening lurch that left me breathless.

I stared at the call log, the numbers swimming before my eyes. A cold dread coiled in my gut....