CONTINUE ON TO THE NEXT CHAPTER TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

Sarah helped me out of bed.

Every movement was agony. My ribs screamed. My head throbbed. My legs felt like they were made of rubber.

But I forced myself to move.

"I have a wheelchair," Sarah said. "We'll pretend you're being transferred to another floor. No one will question it."

"What about the cameras?"

"I've already disabled the ones on this floor. But the lobby has security. We'll have to go through the emergency exit."

Sarah helped me into the wheelchair, draping a blanket over my lap to hide my hospital gown. She pushed me through the hallway, her footsteps steady and calm.

"Keep your head down," she whispered.

I obeyed.

We passed two nurses, a doctor, and a security guard. None of them looked twice at us.

At the end of the hallway, Sarah pushed open a heavy door marked "EMERGENCY EXIT."

Alarms started blaring.

"Run!" Sarah shouted.

I didn't need to be told twice.

I stumbled out of the chair, grabbing the railing, pulling myself forward. The emergency exit opened into a dark alley. Rain was pouring down, cold and relentless.

"Keep going," Sarah urged. "There's a car waiting around the corner. My cousin is there."

I limped through the rain, my wet hospital gown clinging to my legs. The alley was empty, dark, and endless.

But at the end of it, I saw headlights.

A car was waiting.

"Claire!" A man's voice called out. "Over here!"

I pushed myself toward the car, collapsing against the passenger door. A strong hand reached out and pulled me inside.

The driver was a man in his forties, with tired eyes and a badge on his belt.

"I'm Detective Mark Olson," he said. "Sarah told me everything. Are you okay?"

"No," I admitted. "But I'm alive."

"That's more than I can say for some of your family's victims."

The car pulled away from the curb, and I watched the hospital disappear in the rain.

Sarah had climbed into the back seat.