Flickers in the fog

Sophia’s POV

The world is a haze of pain and noise, my body heavy, my mind a fractured mosaic as the hospital room shakes around me. My heart lurches, monitors screaming, their shrill beeps drowning out the gunshot that echoes in my ears. Blood sprays, hot and wet, across my face, and I gasp, my hands clutching my stomach, shielding my baby—Julian’s baby, the fragile hope anchoring me to this nightmare. My vision blurs, the drugs in my system pulling me under, but I see Julian, his piercing blue eyes wild with fear, his body shielding mine as Emily’s gun trembles in her hands, her face twisted with jealousy. Daniel, his knife glinting, lunges, and I scream, my voice raw, as the monitors flatline, darkness clawing at me. A hidden camera blinks in the corner, its red light a silent witness to this chaos, and I wonder who’s watching, what they’ll do with our secrets.

My memories are a fog, fragments slipping through my grasp Lucas’s cruelty, Julian’s gentle touch, the night at the gala that changed everything. The accident Emily’s doing, Julian said stole months of my life, leaving me adrift, Lucas’s lies painting him as my savior and Julian as a threat. But Julian’s here, his hand gripping mine, his voice a lifeline. “Stay with me, Sophia,” he pleads, and I want to, but my body’s betraying me, the drugs and trauma threatening my baby, our future.

The room spins, doctors shouting, their hands moving fast to stabilize me. My pulse steadies, the flatline a false alarm, but I’m weak, my wrists stinging from old wounds, blood seeping through my gown. Emily’s scream cuts through, her gun aimed at me, her hazel eyes so like mine burning with a hatred I’ve felt since childhood. “You took everything!” she shrieks, her voice a knife, and I realize her jealousy, festering since I was forced to marry Lucas instead of her, has driven her to this. Daniel’s knife pauses, his cold gaze flicking to her, and I see a flicker of calculation he’s using her, just as he used me.

“Emily, stop,” I whisper, my voice trembling, but it’s not just fear a memory sparks, sharp and vivid: Julian’s lips on mine, his promise to free me from Lucas, the warmth of his touch after years of Lucas’s coldness. My hand tightens on my stomach, the baby a truth Lucas tried to claim, but it’s Julian’s, and that truth is breaking through the fog. “You’re my sister,” I say, louder, my voice finding strength. “Why are you doing this?”

Her laugh is bitter, broken. “You were always the favorite, Sophia. The prodigy, the one they sold to Lucas. I got Asher, a man who doesn’t see me, while you get Julian!” Her gun shakes, but Julian moves, his blade flashing, knocking it from her hand. The police swarm, cuffing her, but Daniel’s gone, slipping into the shadows like a ghost, his detonator’s threat lingering.

Julian’s at my side, his hand on my cheek, his eyes searching mine. “You’re remembering,” he says, hope in his voice, and I nod, tears falling. “I… I know you,” I say, my voice cracking. “You’re the father.” His face softens, but the chaos isn’t over Lucas is out there, cuffed but scheming, his obsession a chain I’ve worn for years. My marriage to him, arranged to save my family’s company, was a prison, his cheating and cruelty eroding my confidence, my dreams of painting buried under his control. Julian saw me, rekindled that fire, but now Emily, Daniel, and Nadya threaten to snuff it out.

The doctors stabilize me, their voices a blur, but they warn of the drugs in my system memory suppressants, likely Daniel’s, designed to keep me compliant. My memories are returning, but slowly, each one a battle against Lucas’s lies. “You’re safe now,” Julian says, but his eyes dart to the door, where Asher stands, his face grim. “Daniel’s gone,” Asher says. “And Lucas is talking to the cops, spinning a story to save himself.”

My heart sinks Lucas, always manipulating, always winning. I think of the outline of my life: the gala where I spilled drinks on Julian, the night we shared, the pregnancy that changed everything. Emily’s betrayal, orchestrating the accident that stole my memories, was meant to keep me from Julian, to let Lucas claim me. But I’m fighting back, my hand gripping Julian’s, my resolve hardening. I want to paint again, to live, to love without fear.

A nurse checks my chart, her face tense. “The baby’s stable, but you need rest. No more stress.” I nod, but how can I rest with Daniel loose, Nadya’s threats, and Lucas’s lies? Julian’s phone buzzes Rob, his fixer. “They found Daniel’s car downtown,” he says. “He’s with Nadya, planning something. And… there’s a file on you, Sophia, leaked to the press. It’s bad.” My stomach twists Nadya’s file, dirt to ruin me, to sabotage our future.

Julian’s jaw tightens, his vendetta against Lucas’s family a revenge for his parents’ accident merging with his need to protect me. “I’ll stop them,” he says, but I see the fear in his eyes, the weight of his past. I squeeze his hand, a memory of his promise at the restaurant fries, laughter, freedom flashing through me. “We’ll stop them,” I say, my voice stronger, a spark of the woman I used to be.

The corridor erupts in shouts, police barking orders, and I tense, my heart racing. Julian stands, his blade ready, his body a shield. “Stay here,” he says, but I grip his arm, refusing to let go. I’m done being caged.

A crash echoes from the hallway, and the door flies open, revealing Lucas, somehow free, his gray eyes wild with obsession, a stolen scalpel in his hand. “You’re mine, Sophia,” he snarls, lunging toward me. Julian moves, but a second figure appears Nadya, her gun raised, her file clutched tight, a smirk on her lips. “Not if I ruin her first,” she says, firing, and I scream as Julian stumbles, blood blooming on his shirt. The camera’s red light blinks faster, broadcasting our pain, and a voice crackles through a hidden speaker Daniel’s, cold and commanding: “Finish it.” Who’s hit, who’s watching, and will my memories return in time to save us from this deadly trap?