She tried to lift her hand, but it wouldn’t respond.
“I… don’t feel so good…” she whispered.
And then darkness swallowed her whole.
CHAPTER 12
Nina woke slowly, pushing through a heavy, sticky haze. Her head throbbed, her body felt filled with lead, and her movements were sluggish, as if she were underwater. She blinked, struggling to focus. The light was too bright, the walls too white. Anxiety stirred in her chest and spread through her body with an unpleasant chill. She looked around. A hospital room. No one nearby. Just a bed, a nightstand, and a small table.
What the hell had happened? Why was she in a hospital? Hadn’t she… fallen asleep in her own bed at home?
She sat up abruptly, feeling weakness in her legs but barely noticing it, because realization slammed into her chest with full force.
This wasn’t a regular hospital. It was a psychiatric clinic.
Her breath hitched. One single thought thundered through her head — How? How had she ended up here? How had Frank dared to do this to her?
Fear crashed over her, panic surged like an avalanche, tightening around her throat with an iron grip. Nina rushed to the door and grabbed the handle. Locked. Damn it. She yanked it again, trying to force it open — useless. It wouldn’t budge.
She tried to steady her breathing. How had Frank sunk to this? And then — what had she expected? He’d already shown her exactly who he was, so why was she surprised now?
Somewhere deep inside, a fragile hope still flickered — that he had sent her here because he genuinely thought she was on the verge of another breakdown. But he knew there hadn’t been a single real one in five years. Anxiety, melancholy, nightmares, occasional short depressive episodes — yes. But nothing severe. Not once. So why was she locked in here now? In a normal hospital, they didn’t lock you in like this.
Nina started pounding on the door — softly at first, then harder, with fists and open palms, her teeth clenched from rage and terror.
“Hey! Let me out!”
Silence. She hit the door again, harder now, pain spreading through her hands. Was this really his plan — to lock her up in a psych ward while he enjoyed life with Vivian in their house?
No. Someone would start looking for her. Or would they? Would anyone even notice she was missing?
The thought made her shudder.
“Somebody! Let me out right now!” Her voice cracked, hysteria rising at the idea that she might be trapped here for a long time.
She kept pounding until her voice turned into a hoarse rasp. Panic swallowed her whole. She couldn’t breathe. She had to get out of here. Otherwise, Frank would win.
She didn’t know how much time had passed.It felt like forever. Her throat burned raw from screaming, her fists throbbed from striking the door, but she couldn’t stop. Fear gnawed at her from the inside, terror crushed her chest, stealing her breath. She collapsed back onto the bed, exhausted.
And when the door finally opened, she whirled toward the door, expecting to see Frank.
Instead, a man in a white coat stepped into the room.
“Mrs. Osborne, please calm down.”
His voice was even, controlled, but there was steel in his eyes.
“If you continue this behavior, I’ll have to take measures.”
Measures?
Nina’s hands clenched into fists as she rose from the bed and took a sharp step toward him.
“You have no right to keep me here!”
The doctor sighed calmly and looked at her as if she were a spoiled child.
“You’re here under medical authorization, Mrs. Osborne.”
