“You’re working with my husband!” she almost growled, fury roaring in her chest.“You have no right to hold me here against my will! I’ll sue you!”
The doctor slowly shook his head and took another step closer.
“A lawsuit? Mrs. Osborne, you have a full medical history,” his voice was sickeningly gentle.
Nina froze.
“What medical history?!”
She scanned him with her eyes. Of course he was in on it with Frank. Of course. Damn it — she didn’t even have her phone. No connection. How was she supposed to get out of here?
“You were treated several years ago.”
“I saw a therapist a few times. That’s not the same thing!”
“You had severe nervous breakdowns, depression, panic attacks. You were even prescribed medication, and it helped you. Isn’t that true?”
She couldn’t breathe. He was trying to paint her as insane.
“You were also treated in several clinics. Anonymously. Your husband only wants what’s best for you, Mrs. Osborne.”
Best?
Frank had locked her up in a psych ward, and this man was talking about her best interest?
“You’ll undergo a course of treatment. A week, maybe two at most. IV therapy, medication—and then you’ll be discharged. If, of course, your condition improves and you behave appropriately,” he spoke to her like she was a child.
Nina wanted to believe him. She wanted to believe this was real. That in a week she’d walk out of here, go home, and erase this nightmare. That Frank hadn’t decided to lock her away forever. But something inside her wouldn’t settle.
Something was wrong.
She felt it in every cell of her body. This wasn’t just treatment.
It was a trap.
A full week inside a cage of white walls. In total isolation. A week — like in a fog.
She had enough time to think. To analyze everything that had happened. Her life. Her marriage. Everything. Hatred boiled inside her, tearing her apart. Helplessness was eating her alive.
She couldn’t rest. Her thoughts ripped her apart from the inside, but she was powerless to change anything.
She thought Frank would keep her there forever. That he’d break his word, that a week would turn into a month, into a year, into a lifetime.
But he released her. Just as promised.
Nina walked out through the gates, her heart pounding in her chest, her fingers icy with nervous tension.
He was already waiting.
A black car was parked at the entrance. Frank stood beside it, hands in his pockets, his face nothing but cold, arrogant indifference.
Nina tensed when she walked toward him. She expected another blow. Her fists clenched painfully as she struggled to control herself.
She wanted to throw herself at him. Tear him apart for what he’d done to her.
Instead, she got into the car in silence.
The moment the car pulled away, something inside her exploded. She couldn’t hold it in anymore.
