Chapter 3

The world came back in fragments. The sharp smell of antiseptic. The blinding glare of a penlight being shone into her pupil. The deep, rumbling voice of a man she didn't recognize.

"Diandra. Can you hear me? Squeeze my fingers if you can hear me."

She tried, but her hand felt like it was filled with wet sand. A low groan escaped her lips.

"She's coming out of it," the voice said. "Nurse, push another 2 milligrams of morphine."

The pain was still there, a monstrous, lurking beast, but the edges had been blunted by a heavy, chemical fog. Diandra blinked, her vision slowly focusing on the face of Dr. Alistair Finch. He was an older man, with kind eyes and a stern mouth, and he was looking at her with a mixture of professional concern and barely suppressed anger.

"What... happened?" she whispered, her throat feeling like it was lined with broken glass.

"You suffered a severe acute stress reaction," Dr. Finch said, his voice clipped. "Combined with a displacement of your spinal fixation hardware due to external physical trauma. In plain English, someone violently shook you, and it nearly paralyzed you."

The memory of the hotel room crashed over her. The cold gray eyes. The grip on her shoulder. The blinding, white-hot pain. She squeezed her eyes shut, a shudder running through her body.

"I've posted a security detail at your door," Dr. Finch continued, making a note on his chart. "No one, and I mean no one, gets in without my explicit permission. Not your husband, not the Pope. You need absolute rest. The next twenty-four hours are critical."

Diandra nodded weakly, a tear slipping down her cheek. "Thank you," she mouthed.

The next two days passed in a haze of pain, medication, and fitful sleep. The nurses were gentle, their movements quiet and efficient. Brenda checked on her every hour, her eyes full of a pity that Diandra found both comforting and humiliating.

On the third morning, Diandra was finally allowed to sit up slightly. A physical therapist had helped her move her legs, the motion sending dull aches through her healing bones but proving that the feeling was still there. She was resting, watching the snow fall outside her window, when the door to her room swung open.

Holt Farmer walked in.

He was wearing casual clothes this time-a cashmere sweater and dark jeans-but the air of arrogant authority was even more pronounced than before. He looked impatient, his jaw clenched, his eyes scanning the room with a predatory intensity.

Brenda was right behind him, her face red with anger. "Sir, you cannot be in here! Dr. Finch left strict orders-"

"Enough, Brenda," Holt said, not even looking at her. "I've already spoken to the hospital administrator. I am her husband. I have every right to be here."

He walked to the foot of the bed, his eyes fixing on Diandra. "Game over, Diandra. I've arranged for you to be transferred to the best rehabilitation center in the United States. The jet is waiting. We're leaving now."

Diandra stared at him. The fear was there, a cold knot in her stomach, but it was overshadowed by something else. A profound, disorienting confusion. She looked at his face, at the dark hair, the sharp jaw, the angry gray eyes. She searched her mind, desperately trying to find a memory, a spark of recognition.

Nothing.

The face before her was as unfamiliar as a stranger's on the street. The only thing her body remembered was the pain he had caused, the terror of his grip. But her mind was a blank slate.

"Who are you?" she asked.

The words hung in the air, simple and raw.

The room went deathly silent. Brenda's sharp intake of breath was the only sound. Holt's expression froze, the impatience draining away, replaced by a stunned, uncomprehending blankness.

"What did you say?" he asked, his voice dangerously soft.

Diandra swallowed, her eyes never leaving his. "I said, who are you? Why are you in my room?"

The shock on Holt's face twisted, morphing into something ugly and volatile. A dark flush crept up his neck. "Amnesia?" he scoffed, a cruel smile touching his lips. "That's your new script? You expect me to believe that?"

He took a step toward her, his hand reaching out, his fingers flexing with the same violent intent as before.

Diandra's body reacted before her mind could process the threat. The memory of the pain, the sheer, blinding agony of his last touch, flashed through her nervous system like an electric shock. She flinched violently, yanking her arm away from his reaching hand.

Her fingers scrambled against the mattress, finding the hard plastic of the red emergency button on her bedside rail. She slammed her palm down on it.

A shrill, piercing alarm erupted from the speaker above her bed, echoing down the hallway.

Holt froze, his hand suspended in mid-air, his eyes widening in disbelief. "Did you just-"

The door burst open. Two large men in security uniforms rushed into the room, followed closely by Dr. Finch, who looked absolutely furious.

"What is the meaning of this?" Dr. Finch demanded, stepping between Holt and the bed.

The security guards moved to flank Holt, their expressions grim. "Ma'am," one of them said, looking at Diandra. "Are you alright? Did this man touch you?"

Diandra pointed a trembling finger at Holt, her voice shaking but clear. "I don't know who he is. He tried to grab me. I want him out."

"Ma'am, he's your-" the guard began, but Dr. Finch cut him off.

"I don't care who he is," the doctor snarled. "He's endangering my patient. Remove him."

"You can't throw me out of my own wife's hospital room!" Holt roared, his composure shattering. "I'm Holt Farmer!"

The commotion had drawn attention. A stern-faced man in a dark suit stepped into the doorway. Detective Mark Coulson, from the local police precinct. He had been called by the clinic's administration after the previous incident.

"Is there a problem here?" the detective asked, his voice calm and authoritative.

"This man is harassing me," Diandra said, her voice gaining strength. "I don't know him. I want him to leave."

Holt let out a bitter laugh. "She's my wife. She's having a psychotic break."

Detective Coulson looked between the two of them, his eyes narrowing. "I'll need to see some identification. Both of you."

Holt pulled out his wallet, slamming his passport onto the bedside table with a frustrated thud. A nurse handed Diandra her purse, and she shakily retrieved her own passport.

The detective picked up both blue booklets, flipping them open. He studied the photo pages, then looked up at Diandra, his expression softening with a pity that made her stomach drop.

"Ma'am," he said gently, holding out the two passports side by side. "According to these documents, this man is indeed your husband. Holt Farmer."

Diandra stared at the passports. She looked at her own face, staring blankly from the glossy photo, a face she barely recognized. Then she looked at his face, the cold, angry stranger who had caused her so much pain.

Husband.

The word that had been a hollow void a moment ago now felt like a death sentence. She was married to him. She belonged to him. The realization hit her like a physical blow, stealing the breath from her lungs. The room spun, the walls closing in on her.

She was bound, legally and irrevocably, to the devil.