Chapter 5

Nightmares plagued me, one after another.

In one, I relived the day Nathan killed me—my parents were shattered, their faces etched with inconsolable grief as they walked away, never once glancing back, no matter how frantically I called their names, my voice cracking with desperation.

When I jolted awake, the sharp, sterile smell of disinfectant hit me like a punch to the gut.

There, sitting by my hospital bed, was a face I knew—haggard and worn, dark circles under his eyes, like he hadn't slept in days. The second he saw my eyes flutter open, surprise and unfiltered joy flooded…