LOGIN"I want to try regression therapy."Dr. Reeves looked up from her notes. We were in her office at the hospital—I'd insisted on continuing sessions even after being discharged. The penthouse felt too big. Too empty. Too full of memories I couldn't access."Regression therapy," she repeated carefully. "Elena, that's not typically recommended for trauma patients. It can be destabilizing—""I need to understand these dreams. These memories." I leaned forward. "You said my brain might be creating false narratives. But what if it's not? What if there are real memories buried somewhere and I just need help accessing them?""Regression therapy won't help you distinguish between real and false memories. In fact, it might make things worse. The line between imagination and reality becomes even more blurred.""I don't care. I need to try something." My hands clenched in my lap. "Every night I dream about dying. About falling. About timelines that shouldn't exist. And I
I was falling.The stairs stretched beneath me—endless, spiraling down into darkness. Each step hit harder than the last, pain exploding through my body with every impact.I tried to scream but no sound came out.Above me, standing at the top of the stairs, Damien watched. His face was cold. Empty. Like I was nothing.Beside him, Sienna smiled."You should have just left," she said. Her voice echoed, distorted. "None of this had to happen.""Please—" I managed to gasp. "The baby—""What baby?" Damien's laugh was cruel. "You really think I'd let you keep it?"His hand came down. Pushed.And I was falling again.Down, down, down.The stairs became walls. The walls became sky. Everything spinning, tumbling, breaking—Blood. So much blood.Pooling beneath me. Warm. Sticky. Spreading across white marble floors that shouldn't be there.I couldn't breathe. Couldn't move. Couldn't do anything except watch the blood and know—know w
The next morning, Calloway arrived early.I was awake—had been for hours, staring at the ceiling, trying to remember. Trying to find anything in the blank space where two years of my life should be.Nothing came.Just emptiness."Good morning." He stood in the doorway, cautious. Like he was afraid of startling me. In his hands, he held a tablet and a folder."Morning." I sat up, wincing at the pull of stitches. "What's all that?""Memories." He moved into the room, set the tablet on the bedside table. "Or at least, attempts at memories. I thought maybe if you saw photos, videos—heard stories about us—something might trigger."Hope flickered in his eyes. Desperate, raw hope that made my chest ache.I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd been trying to remember all night. That I'd stared at our wedding photo for an hour, willing myself to feel something.Anything.But there was nothing. Just confusion and a hollow sense of loss for somethi
CALLOWAY'S POV Recognition.That's what I was waiting for. That spark of awareness. That moment when her eyes would clear and she'd see me—really see me—and everything would be okay.But it didn't come.Elena stared at me with those beautiful eyes that had been closed for three days. Eyes that looked right through me like I was a stranger.Worse than a stranger.Like I was nothing."Elena?" I moved closer to the bed, keeping my voice gentle. "It's me. It's Calloway."Her brow furrowed slightly. Confusion flickered across her face. But no recognition. No relief. No emotion at all except bewilderment."Who—" Her voice was a rasp. Raw from the breathing tube. She winced, touched her throat gingerly. "Who are you?"The words hit like a knife to the chest."I'm your husband." I reached for her hand. "I'm—"She pulled away. Shrank back against the pillows, eyes wide with something that looked like fear."Don't touch me." Her b
**CALLOWAY'S POV**"—your wife survived the surgery."The words hit me like a physical blow. My knees went weak. I grabbed the back of the chair to steady myself."She's alive?""Yes. But Mr. Sterling, you need to understand—her condition is extremely critical."I sat down. Not because he'd asked me to, but because my legs wouldn't hold me anymore.Dr. Harrison sat across from me, his hands folded on his lap. Professional. Controlled. But I could see the exhaustion in his eyes. The weight of what he'd just done."The bullet entered her lower abdomen," he began. "It perforated her stomach and nicked her liver. There was significant damage to surrounding tissue and blood vessels. We were able to repair the immediate injuries, but—""But what?""She lost a tremendous amount of blood. We gave her multiple transfusions during surgery, but the trauma to her body was severe. Her organs shut down temporari
**CALLOWAY'S POV** The waiting room was too bright. Fluorescent lights hummed overhead, casting everything in a harsh, clinical glow that made my eyes ache. Or maybe that was from the tears I'd been holding back for the past hour. I sat in one of those uncomfortable plastic chairs—the kind designed to keep people from getting too comfortable, as if anyone could be comfortable while their wife was dying down the hall. My hands were still stained with Elena's blood. Dried now. Dark and flaking. I'd tried to wash them in the bathroom, but the blood had gotten under my fingernails, in the creases of my palms. No amount of scrubbing could get it all out. Maybe I didn't want it all out. Maybe I needed the reminder that she was real. That this wasn't some nightmare I could wake up from. "Mr. Sterling?" I looked up. A nurse stood there with a clipboard and a sympathetic ex







