Chapter 3

The TMU chamber was cold, clinical.

Sarah was strapped to a chair, electrodes attached to her temples.

Ethan watched from an observation room, his face pale, his jaw tight.

With him were Sheriff Brody and a few select officials. And Chloe Vance.

Chloe, a trauma surgeon, skilled, beautiful, and manipulative.

She had been obsessed with Ethan for years.

Now, in his darkest hour, she was his steadfast emotional support, her hand resting lightly on his arm.

"It's for the best, Ethan," she murmured, her voice soft, concerned. "You need answers."

The first dose of the TMU drug flooded Sarah's system.

Her mind recoiled, then plunged.

Images, vivid and overwhelming, flickered across the large screen connected to the neural imaging.

Hurricane Haven. The churning, dark water. Her terror.

Then Ethan's face, young, determined, pulling her to safety.

The Harrisons' home. Mrs. Harrison's gentle hands tending her wounds. Mr. Harrison's quiet reassurances.

The screen showed the profound, unwavering kindness they had shown a lost, broken girl.

A collective gasp, then a low growl, rose from the observers.

"Look at that," someone spat. "How they saved her. And she repaid them like this."

Their rage was a palpable force, pressing in on Sarah even through the drug-induced haze.

Ethan stormed into the chamber, his control snapping.

"Why, Sarah? Why did you do it? After everything they did for you?"

His voice was raw, filled with an unbearable pain.

Sarah looked at him, her eyes clouded but focused on something.

His watchband.

A small, tarnished silver anchor charm dangled from it.

Identical to the one on the compass necklace he'd given her. The necklace they took.

Chloe was instantly by Ethan's side, guiding him out, her arm around his waist.

"She's not worth your pain, Ethan. She's a monster."

Sarah watched them go, the image of the anchor burning in her mind.