Chapter 2

Aliana Gibson POV:

"I am not sick." The words were a useless mantra I repeated to every nurse, every orderly, every doctor who entered the sterile white room. "I need to speak to my husband. There has been a terrible misunderstanding."

They would just nod, their faces a mask of placid professionalism, and mark something down on their charts. My diagnosis: paranoid delusional disorder, brought on by extreme grief. My insistence on Bristol's culpability was merely a symptom, a projection of my own guilt. It was all so neat, so clean. Dexter's PR machine was as efficient in his personal life as it was in his professional one.

Twice a day, a nurse with kind eyes and an iron grip would come in with a small paper cup of pills. "Time for your medication, Aliana."

The first time, I took them. They turned my mind to sludge, my limbs to lead. The second time, I refused. The nurse's kind eyes hardened. Two large orderlies appeared, holding me down while she forced the pills into my mouth, holding my jaw shut until I swallowed. The bitter chalkiness coated my tongue, a taste of my powerlessness.

The next time, I was ready. I pretended to swallow, palming the pills in my cheek until they left, then spitting the half-dissolved mess into the toilet. I would not let them drug me into submission. I needed my mind sharp. I needed to think.

My defiance did not go unnoticed. Dr. Evans, a man whose tailored suits were as cold and gray as his eyes, came to see me.

"Your refusal to cooperate is concerning, Aliana," he said, flipping through my chart without looking at me. "Dexter is very worried. We may have to consider more... intensive therapies if this continues."

I knew what that meant. The whispers I heard from other patients in the common room. The vacant, haunted looks in their eyes after they came back from "treatment."

The next day, they came for me. They strapped me to a metal bed in a room that smelled of antiseptic and fear. A cold gel was applied to my temples. I screamed for Dexter, a raw, primal sound of betrayal.

"He's not coming, Aliana," a nurse said softly, her voice filled with a pity that was worse than cruelty.

A leather strap was placed between my teeth. I saw Dr. Evans nod from behind a glass window.

Then, a jolt of pure, white-hot agony shot through my skull. My body arched against the restraints, every muscle seizing. It was a fire that burned away thought, memory, everything, leaving only a scorched landscape of pain. It happened again. And again.

When they finally wheeled me back to my room, my body was a trembling, aching wreck. I lay on the thin mattress, staring at the ceiling, tears I didn't have the energy to shed burning behind my eyes.

That was when the door opened.

Dexter stood there, looking impeccable in a dark gray suit. Beside him, clinging to his arm, was Bristol. She looked radiant, a soft glow about her that made my stomach churn.

"I hear you've been having a difficult time," Dexter said, his voice devoid of emotion. He pulled a chair over, sitting by my bed as if this were a normal hospital visit. Bristol remained standing, a silent, triumphant sentinel.

"I came to offer you a way out," he continued. "Bristol has graciously agreed not to press charges for the... incidents at the funeral and at the house. In return, all you have to do is sign these."

He placed a sheaf of papers on the bedside table. A non-disclosure agreement, thick and impenetrable. A post-nuptial agreement, relinquishing all claims to our company, our assets, our entire life together. And a statement, pre-written, for the press. It was a confession of my "mental instability" and a public apology to Bristol Schneider for my "unfounded accusations."

I almost laughed. The sound that came out was a dry, ragged croak. "You want me to declare to the world that I'm insane, that I lied about everything, just so your mistress doesn't press charges for an assault she orchestrated?"

"It's the only way, Aliana," he said, his voice taking on a tone of strained patience, as if explaining a simple concept to a child. "Think of it as a fresh start. You sign, you get out of here. We can tell the world you're going to a private wellness retreat in Switzerland to recover. No one has to know."

"And you get your perfect IPO, your perfect new family, your legacy untarnished," I finished for him.

"This is your last chance," he said, his voice dropping. The mask of civility was gone, replaced by the ruthless CEO I knew he had become. "Sign the papers, or you will stay here. Dr. Evans agrees that your condition is severe. You could be here for a very long time."

I looked at his face, searching for a flicker of the man I married. There was nothing. I was just a problem to be managed, a loose end to be tied up. The fight went out of me, replaced by an exhaustion so profound it felt like it was in my bones. The electroshock therapy had taken more than just my strength; it had taken my will to resist. For now.

"Fine," I whispered.

A wave of relief washed over his face. He thought he had won.

He helped me sit up, his touch now gentle, solicitous. It was a cruel mockery of care. He handed me a pen, his hand guiding mine to the signature line. My fingers were clumsy, my signature a spidery, unfamiliar scrawl.

They released me that afternoon. The drive home was a blur. I must have slept, a deep, dreamless sleep of pure collapse. I woke up in our bedroom. Someone was undressing me, a soft feminine hand unbuttoning my drab hospital gown. I flinched, my eyes flying open.

It was Dexter. He was trying to help me into my silk pajamas.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice quiet. For a wild, insane moment, I thought he was apologizing for everything. For the hospital, for Bristol, for Leo.

Then he continued. "I'm sorry it had to be this way, Aliana. You forced my hand. If you had just been reasonable, none of this would have been necessary."

He was blaming me. For my own torture.

I said nothing. There were no words left. I simply let him finish, my body limp and unresponsive. He tucked me into bed, pulling the duvet up to my chin.

"Bristol will be staying in the guest wing for a while, until she's fully recovered from the shock," he said, as if discussing the weather. "Once she's better, I'll send her away. I promise. We can go back to how things were."

I knew it was a lie. He had no intention of sending her away. This was just another tactic, another way to manage me until the IPO was complete and he could discard me without consequence.

But I let him believe I accepted it. I had a new plan now. It wasn't about fighting him anymore. It was about surviving him.

"I'm tired, Dexter," I whispered, turning my face to the pillow.

"Get some rest," he said, his voice softening. He thought he had his docile, broken wife back. He brushed a kiss against my temple and left the room, closing the door softly behind him.

I waited until I was sure he was gone. Then, slowly, painfully, I got out of bed. I would leave this place. I would take the only thing that mattered with me.

I would take my memories of Leo.

The next morning, I was woken by a deafening crash from downstairs. It sounded like furniture being moved, or rather, thrown. A cold dread, sharp and familiar, coiled in my stomach.

I threw on a robe and ran downstairs, my heart pounding a frantic rhythm against my ribs.

The first thing I saw was that the large photo wall in the living room, the one covered in pictures of Leo from the day he was born, was gone. The wall was bare, scarred with empty nail holes. In its place, leaning against the wall, was a massive, gilt-framed portrait.

Of Bristol.

She was posed in a field of flowers, her expression serene, her hand resting on her stomach. It was a maternity photo, an obscene declaration of her victory.

Two movers were struggling to maneuver it through the doorway. As I stood there, frozen in horror, another mover walked past me, carrying a box. Through the open top, I saw Leo's first pair of shoes, the silver rattle he loved, his favorite stuffed giraffe.

They were clearing out our son.

"What are you doing?" My voice was a strangled cry.

Dexter emerged from the study, a phone pressed to his ear. He looked at me, his expression one of annoyance. "We're redecorating, Aliana. It's time to look to the future."

"The future?" I shrieked, my control finally shattering. "You are erasing our son!"

I lunged for the box, desperate to save those precious fragments of Leo's short life. I collided with the mover, sending him stumbling backward. He crashed into the men holding Bristol's portrait. The heavy frame tilted, slipping from their grasp.

It fell with a deafening crash of splintering wood and shattering glass. Bristol, who had just entered the room to admire her new shrine, was standing right in its path. A large shard of glass flew off the frame, slicing across her arm.

She screamed, a high, theatrical sound. Blood, shockingly red, welled from the cut.

"Bristol!" Dexter's roar of fury filled the house. He shoved me aside so hard I fell, my head hitting the corner of the coffee table. Stars exploded behind my eyes.

Through the haze of pain, I heard him cooing over Bristol, his voice thick with concern. I pushed myself up, my vision swimming.

"You burned them, didn't you?" I whispered, the horrifying realization dawning. "The photos. His toys. You didn't just take them down. You burned them."

He didn't look at me. His focus was entirely on Bristol's minor injury. "They were just things, Aliana," he said, his voice cold and dismissive. "Holding onto them is unhealthy. It's time to move on."

"Move on?" The words were acid in my mouth. I scrambled to my feet and ran, not to him, not to Bristol, but out the front door. I had to see. I had to know.

In the meticulously manicured front garden, where our son used to play, a small fire pit was still smoldering. The acrid smell of smoke and burned plastic hung in the air. Lying in the ashes, I could see the charred, melted remains of Leo's favorite toy truck and the blackened, curled edges of what had once been his baby blanket.

He had burned everything. He had burned our son out of existence.