Chapter 2

Life in the psychiatric hospital was actually pretty good. Three balanced meals a day, no job to worry about.

After eating, I would wander around the garden, soaking up the sun. It was quiet, almost peaceful.

A week later, the doctor said I was doing well and could be discharged.

I did the math. By now, Christine should've already burned down the children's hospital.

My phone chimed.

Just like last time, every major platform was flooded with coverage of the fire.

Parents clung to each other in front of the charred ruins, crying until they could barely stand. White flowers were laid out in a circle around the wreckage.

I hadn't even gone far from the hospital when Malcolm and Christine showed up, a large crowd of furious family members trailing behind them.

The second Malcolm saw me, his eyes turned red, as if he had just dragged himself through grief.

"Sandra, I never thought you could be this cruel! You complained all the time about how annoying those kids were, and I let it go. But how could you actually do something like this? That was over two thousand lives! Do you have any idea how many families you destroyed?"

Christine's eyes were swollen from crying. "Sandra, even if you're my best friend, I'm not covering for you. As a pediatric doctor, how could you hurt those kids?"

The way Malcolm looked at me was like I was beyond saving. He seemed to want to tear me apart with his bare hands.

With both of them pointing at me, the parents who had been holding it in finally broke.

Some collapsed to the ground, wailing as they thought about their children burned alive. Others clenched their fists, eyes bloodshot, like they wanted to kill me right there.

People nearby started pulling out their phones.

"Look! They found the one who set the fire! I heard she's head of pediatrics!"

"This is disgusting! Everyone, get a good look at her face. People like this shouldn't be allowed to live!"

I just stood there, stunned. I had been locked in a psychiatric hospital all week. What proof did they have that I did this?

A water bottle came flying out of the crowd and slammed into my forehead. Warm blood started running down almost instantly.

More things followed. The mob threw whatever they could grab.

I tried to explain, but no one listened.

They shouted that I had to pay with my life. Some people, completely unhinged, even grabbed knives from nearby stalls and rushed toward me.

More and more bystanders piled in, blocking the entire entrance to the hospital.

My attending doctor, Jack Moore, stepped out of an ambulance with its hazard lights flashing, his voice cutting through the chaos.

"What's going on? This is a hospital entrance! If you delay emergency treatment, who's going to take responsibility?"

I looked at him like he was my last chance. "Dr. Moore! They're saying I burned the hospital last night. They're trying to kill me!"

Malcolm lunged for me, but I dodged, which only made him angrier. "If it wasn't you, then who else could it be?"

Right then, Christine pulled out her phone and started playing a video.

In the footage, I was wearing a white coat, covering a crying child's mouth while cursing at him to hurry up and die.