Catherine POV:
Pain was my roommate now.
I woke up in the hospital. My arm was casted, ribs taped.
Errol stood in the doorway. He looked smaller than usual.
"Is the monster gone?" he asked a nurse.
"She's awake, sweetie," the nurse said coldly.
Derek walked in. He held a phone to his ear. "Yes, Mother. She's awake. Anjelica is shaken but fine. Catherine... she lost control of the car."
He hung up and looked at me. His eyes were empty.
"Why did you try to hit her, Catherine?"
"She PIT-maneuvered me," I rasped.
"Anjelica is carrying my heir. She wouldn't risk the baby," Derek said robotically. "I will pay for your recovery. But you cannot stay at the Manor. I'm moving you to the guest lodge on the eastern border."
The wasteland.
"Kick her out," I whispered. "She is poison."
"She is my future," he said. "And you are a liability."
He turned to leave.
"Derek," I called out. "I'm hungry."
"I'll tell a nurse," he said without turning.
He left.
I looked at the ceiling. I wasn't fighting for my marriage anymore. I was fighting to survive.
Two days later, the door burst open.
Dr. Evans, the head of the hospital, looked sweaty and nervous.
"We need you," he said.
"What?"
"Anjelica fell. She's hemorrhaging. She has a rare blood condition. You're the only match in the database."
"No," I said. "I just crashed a car. I'm anemic."
"Derek signed the consent forms," Evans said, avoiding my eyes. "General medical proxy. He said 'do whatever is necessary'."
Two orderlies grabbed me.
"Derek!" I screamed. "Let me talk to him!"
"He's sedated," Evans lied. "Anjelica's orders take precedence."
They dragged me to a procedure room.
"How much?" the nurse asked.
"Take three pints," Evans said, his voice shaking. "Miss Vance was specific."
"That will kill her," the nurse whispered.
"Just do it!"
I watched my life flow into the bag. It wasn't a donation. It was a harvest.
When I woke up, the room was spinning.
I had to leave. Now. Or I would die here.
I dragged myself out of bed. I found my bloodstained clothes.
I walked down the hallway, holding the wall. I passed Anjelica's suite.
The door was open. Derek was sitting on the bed, feeding Anjelica strawberries. He looked happy. Or high.
I reached into my pocket. My burner phone.
"Code Ghost," I whispered. "Zurich."
"Transport is at the secondary airstrip," Kaden said. "Forty minutes."
I walked out the back door.
My phone—the one Derek paid for—buzzed.
I know about the blood. Thank you. When you're better, we can send you to Hawaii.
He thought a vacation would fix exsanguination.
I dropped the phone into a trash can.
"Goodbye, Derek," I whispered. "You'll never find me."
