CHAPTER 4: THE NURSE
I lay in the hospital bed, my mind racing.
James was going to kill me. He'd said it himself. He would make it look like a medical complication, and no one would question it.
But I wasn't going to die.
Not today.
Not like this.
I looked around the room, cataloging my options. The door was locked from the outside. The window was sealed shut. There was a call button, but the nurses probably worked for Vivian's family.
I was trapped.
But then I noticed something.
The nightstand beside my bed had a drawer. And inside that drawer, someone had left a scrap of paper.
I reached for it, wincing as the movement pulled at my stitches.
The paper was folded twice, and in neat handwriting, it said:
I know what they did to you. I can help. Press the call button and ask for Sarah.
I stared at the note.
Who was Sarah?
Was this a trap? Another one of James's games?
But what choice did I have?
I pressed the call button.
A few minutes later, a nurse walked in. She was young, with kind eyes and a badge that read "Sarah" on it.
"Mrs. Wakefield, how are you feeling?"
"Confused," I admitted. "And scared."
She glanced at the door, then walked closer.
"I left you that note," she whispered. "I know what your brother did to you. I saw him push you down the stairs."
"You saw?"
"I was at the estate that night. I work for the family sometimes. I saw everything. He didn't know I was there."
"Why are you helping me?"
"Because I've seen too many people disappear in this town," Sarah said. "And I'm tired of pretending it's not happening."
She pulled something out of her pocket.
A phone.
"I'm giving you this," she said. "It's got one number programmed in it. My cousin is a detective in the next county. He doesn't work for the Holloways or the Wakefields. He can help you."
I took the phone, my hands trembling.
"Thank you. Thank you so much."
"Don't thank me yet," Sarah said. "You have to get out of here first. And you have to do it before your brother decides to finish the job."
"When will he come back?"
"I overheard him saying he'd return tonight. You have until midnight."
I looked at the clock on the wall.
It was 10:47 PM.
I had one hour and thirteen minutes.
"I need to leave," I said.
"You can't walk. Your ribs are fractured, and you've lost a lot of blood."
"Then I'll crawl."
May you like
Sarah looked at me, and I saw something shift in her expression. Respect, maybe. Or hope.
"I'll help you," she said. "But we have to move fast."
