Chapter 43: Chapter 44

Vanessa

They came for me at dawn.

No warning.

No explanation.

Just footsteps outside my door… then the lock clicking open like my fate had already been decided without me.

Two guards stood there.

And behind them—

the doctor.

I already knew.

Before a single word was spoken, my body knew.

“No,” I whispered immediately.

My voice sounded small in the large room.

“I didn’t do anything. I didn’t—please—”

The doctor avoided my eyes.

That was worse than anger.

It was guilt.

“Miss Vanessa,” he said quietly. “You need to come with us.”

My breath caught.

“No…”

One of the guards stepped forward.

“I said no,” I repeated louder.

But my voice shook this time.

Because I knew what this meant.

I wasn’t being asked.

I was being taken.

The hallway felt longer than before.

Every step echoed too loudly.

Too permanently.

Like the mansion itself was watching me leave.

I kept my eyes down.

If I looked up, I knew I would break.

I could feel it already.

Something inside me was already cracking.

We passed servants.

No one met my eyes.

Not one.

That silence hurt more than shouting ever could.

I swallowed hard.

Think of your father.

The thought came instantly.

Think of your sister.

Think of their faces.

Think of their safety.

That was the only thing keeping me upright.

Because nothing else in this house was mine anymore.

Not even my name.

The medical wing was colder than I remembered.

White lights.

Sterile air.

Too clean.

Too final.

They guided me into a room.

Machines everywhere.

A bed in the center.

Too many hands waiting.

I stepped back immediately.

“No,” I said again, weaker now. “I want to leave.”

No one answered.

The doctor finally stepped closer.

“Miss Vanessa,” he said gently. “This is necessary.”

“For who?” I whispered.

Silence.

That silence told me everything.

Not for me.

Not for my father.

Not for truth.

For Emma.

Always Emma.

My throat tightened.

“She’s lying,” I said suddenly. “She’s not sick.”

The doctor flinched.

Just slightly.

But I saw it.

I saw everything now.

“Please,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “Please just let me go back.”

A nurse stepped forward.

“Lie down,” she said softly.

I shook my head.

“No.”

The guard behind me moved closer.

My heart dropped.

I looked around desperately.

No Alaric.

Of course.

He wasn’t here.

He never was when it mattered.

I pressed a hand to my chest.

My breathing became uneven.

Think of your father.

Think of your sister.

Think of the debt.

Think of the danger.

My eyes burned.

Slowly…

I stepped forward.

Not because I wanted to.

Because I had no more space left to run.

I lay down.

My body felt heavy immediately.

Too heavy.

Like it had given up before I had.

A nurse attached something to my arm.

Cold.

Sharp.

My breath hitched.

“Please don’t,” I whispered again.

No response.

Another mask lowered toward my face.

The doctor stood at the edge of my vision.

He looked away.

That was when I understood.

This wasn’t medicine anymore.

This was permission.

And I had none.

The last thing I saw before everything faded—

was the ceiling.

White.

Endless.

Unforgiving.

And I thought:

At least my father will be safe.

Then everything disappeared.

I woke up to pain.

Not sharp.

Not immediate.

Heavy.

Deep.

Like my entire body had been replaced with something unfamiliar.

My eyes opened slowly.

The room was dim now.

Night had fallen.

How long had I been out?

I tried to move.

A wave of soreness hit me instantly.

I gasped softly.

“Ah…”

My hand went instinctively to my chest.

Everything felt wrong.

Not missing.

Not gone.

Just…

changed.

I sat up slowly.

Too slowly.

My body protested every movement.

A nurse noticed immediately and rushed over.

“You’re awake,” she said.

I stared at her.

“What… did you do to me?”

She hesitated.

That hesitation again.

“I need the doctor.”

“No,” I said quickly. “Tell me.”

Silence.

Then she said softly:

“You underwent a major medical procedure.”

My throat tightened.

“What procedure?”

He had really let them take my lung...my heart broke more than anything else.

She avoided my eyes.

“Stabilization treatment.” She lied,

I stared at her.

That wasn’t an answer.

That was avoidance.

I looked down at my hands.

They were shaking.

I felt… hollow.

Not physically.

Emotionally.

Like something inside me had been pulled apart.

I pressed my fingers to my chest again.

My heartbeat felt strange.

Unfamiliar.

I closed my eyes.

A tear slipped out before I could stop it.

Not loud.

Not dramatic.

Just quiet.

Because that was what this felt like.

Quiet destruction.

The door opened.

The doctor entered.

He looked worse than before.

Tired.

Heavy.

Guilty.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

I laughed weakly.

A broken sound.

“How do you think I’m feeling?”

He didn’t respond.

I swallowed.

“Tell me the truth,” I said quietly. “Please.”

Silence.

Then—

“Emma needed this , was that not the agreement you had with your husband"

My hands curled into the blanket.

“I see.”

My voice barely worked anymore.

I looked at him.

“Am I going to be okay?”

He hesitated.

Too long.

“Yes,” he said finally.

But I didn’t believe him.

Not even a little.

Because I had learned something important in this house.

Truth always arrived late.

Or never at all.

Hours passed.

Or maybe it was minutes.

Time didn’t feel real anymore.

Only pain did.

I lay back down slowly.

Staring at the ceiling again.

Same white ceiling.

Different person looking at it now.

My throat tightened.

My father’s face came into my mind.

Then my sister.

I closed my eyes.

“I did it for you,” I whispered.

My voice cracked.

“I did it for both of you.”

But my chest ached as I said it.

Because a part of me—

a small, broken part of me—

finally understood something terrifying.

No matter how much I gave…

this place would always ask for more.

And I didn’t know how much of myself was left to take.