Chapter 2 - The Voice Behind The Hospital Door
I stared at the name written on the page.
My hands were shaking.
Not because I was afraid.
Because I already knew.
Before I turned the paper completely over, before my eyes reached the final letters, my heart had already accepted the truth my mind was fighting against.
The person who helped Ethan plan everything was someone who had been close enough to know every detail of my life.
Someone who knew my routines.
Someone who knew my wedding schedule.
Someone who knew exactly where I would be standing that night.
I looked down.
The name was written in black ink.
Claire Whitmore.
My best friend.
The woman who helped me choose my wedding dress.
The woman who cried with me when Ethan proposed.
The woman who hugged me after the attack and told me she would never leave my side.
My fingers went cold.
"No..."
The word escaped my mouth before I could stop it.
For the first time since waking up, I forgot to pretend.
I forgot to be careful.
I forgot that Ethan might return.
Because there was one thing more painful than discovering my fiancé wanted to destroy my face.
It was discovering that the person standing beside me while I suffered had helped him do it.
I grabbed the folder again.
I forced myself to look through every page.
There were photographs.
Messages.
Bank transfers.
Dates.
Everything.
Ethan hadn't just planned the attack.
He had planned my entire disappearance.
The first page showed a conversation between Ethan and Claire from two months earlier.
Ethan: She trusts you more than anyone.
Claire: I know. That's why this will work.
I closed my eyes.
My chest felt like it was collapsing.
Two months.
For two months, they had been smiling at me.
Sitting across from me at dinner.
Talking about my wedding.
Pretending they cared.
While secretly deciding how to destroy my life.
I turned to another page.
There was a photo of Sabrina.
She was standing outside a restaurant with Ethan.
His arm was around her.
The date was from six months ago.
Six months.
Before the engagement.
Before he promised me forever.
Before he looked into my eyes and said I was the only woman he wanted.
I had spent years believing I knew Ethan Walker.
I didn't.
I knew the version of him he created for me.
The perfect fiancé.
The successful businessman.
The man who remembered my favorite coffee order.
The man who held my hand when I was nervous.
The man who kissed my scars from childhood and told me I was beautiful.
Every memory suddenly felt like evidence.
Every sweet word became another lie.
A noise came from the hallway.
My body froze.
The door handle moved slightly.
I immediately pushed the folder beneath my blanket.
I closed my eyes.
My breathing slowed.
The door opened.
Footsteps entered.
I recognized them instantly.
Ethan.
"You should have woken up by now."
His voice was quiet.
Concerned.
Fake.
I felt him walk closer.
"The doctors said your condition is improving."
A pause.
Then he sighed.
"I don't know how I'm supposed to do this."
I almost laughed.
Almost.
Because the man who had arranged for me to be attacked was standing beside my bed pretending to be worried about my recovery.
"I need you to wake up soon, Genevieve."
His voice softened.
"I need to know what you remember."
My heart started beating faster.
So that was why he came back.
Not because he loved me.
Not because he was sorry.
Because he was afraid.
Afraid that I knew.
His hand touched my shoulder.
I forced myself not to react.
"Did you see anything?"
A silence.
Then:
"Did someone tell you something?"
My mind raced.
He knew.
He was testing me.
He wanted to know if the woman lying in this bed was still the same woman he thought he controlled.
I kept my eyes closed.
I stayed silent.
After several seconds, Ethan stepped away.
"You always trusted me."
His voice changed.
Almost angry.
"That was your mistake."
The words cut deeper than I expected.
Not because they hurt.
Because they confirmed everything.
He never felt guilty.
Not even for a second.
I heard him pick up something from the table.
Maybe the folder.
My entire body went tense.
But then he cursed quietly.
"No."
His footsteps moved quickly.
The door opened.
He left.
I waited.
Five seconds.
Ten.
Thirty.
Then I opened my eyes.
The folder was still beneath my blanket.
He hadn't found it.
But something else was missing.
My phone.
I looked around.
The small table beside my bed was empty.
My phone was gone.
My first thought was panic.
My second thought was anger.
Ethan had taken it.
He wasn't just checking whether I was awake.
He was searching for evidence.
I pressed the nurse button.
A few minutes later, a young nurse entered.
"Ms. Hart?"
I looked at her.
"Where is my phone?"
Her expression changed.
Just slightly.
But I noticed.
"I... I thought your fiancé took it."
My stomach dropped.
"You saw him?"
She hesitated.
"Earlier today."
"Did he say why?"
The nurse looked uncomfortable.
"No."
She lowered her voice.
"But there was something strange."
"What?"
She glanced toward the door.
"Yesterday, before you woke up, another woman came here."
My fingers tightened.
"Who?"
The nurse swallowed.
"She said she was your sister."
I didn't have a sister.
"I don't have a sister."
The nurse looked terrified.
"That's what scared me."
A cold feeling moved through my body.
"What do you mean?"
The nurse stepped closer.
"Because she knew things only someone close to you would know."
I stared at her.
"What things?"
The nurse looked at the hallway.
Then whispered:
"Your childhood nickname."
My heart stopped.
Only three people knew that name.
My parents.
My grandmother.
And Claire.
The nurse continued.
"She told me she needed to see you because she was afraid Ethan would find out she was helping you."
Helping me.
Those words made no sense.
Unless...
Unless there was someone else.
Someone who knew what Ethan and Claire had done.
Someone who had been trying to warn me.
"Did you see her face?" I asked.
The nurse nodded.
"Yes."
"Who was she?"
The nurse opened her mouth.
But before she could answer, the hospital lights flickered.
The monitor beside my bed suddenly went black.
The nurse looked confused.
"That's impossible."
The hallway outside became silent.
Too silent.
Then my room phone rang.
Both of us stared at it.
Nobody called that line.
Not patients.
Not visitors.
Nobody.
The nurse slowly picked up the receiver.
"Hello?"
Her face changed.
The color disappeared.
She looked at me.
Then she whispered:
"She wants to speak with you."
My heart raced.
"Who?"
The nurse slowly handed me the phone.
I held it against my ear.
For several seconds, there was only silence.
Then a woman's voice spoke.
A voice I knew.
A voice I had heard countless times.
A voice that had cried with me.
A voice that had promised she loved me.
"Genevieve..."
I couldn't breathe.
Because Claire's voice came through the phone.
May you like
And the next words she said were:
"Don't trust the nurse. She's the one who helped Ethan find you..."
