Chapter 4

I watched as she walked away and let out a self-deprecating smile. Then, I walked toward the trauma and emergency department myself.

I signed the consent form and had the wound cleaned and sutured up. The process of the needle and thread pulling through flesh was agonizingly slow. Each of the forty-nine stitches felt like a blade carving straight into my heart.

Finally, the doctor administered a rabies vaccine and told the nurse to help me over to a bed to rest. However, the moment I stepped into the ward, an intense wave of dizziness washed over me, and everything went dark.

In my dream, there was no Joseph, no infidelity, and no death. There was only a scene of our family of four, living happily together.

My grandmother and Sarah were gathered around a doll-like little girl, smiling as they called out to me, “Dan, come quickly! Look, our little daughter, Ella, is smiling at you!”

I reached out my hand, but right as my fingertips were about to touch the child’s cheek, the dream shattered. Instead, a suppressed, heartbreaking cry echoed in my ears.

Straining to open my eyes, I saw Sarah sitting by the bedside, her hair in disarray and her eyes bloodshot.

“Dan, you’re awake…” Her voice was raspy, and her eyes darted away, refusing to meet my gaze.

“What happened?”

I moved my hand, wanting to push myself up into a sitting position, only to realize that I couldn’t lift my injured right arm at all. At that moment, an ominous foreboding spread in my chest.

“My hand…” My voice trembled as I asked, “Why can’t I move it?”

Sarah could no longer hold back her crying. She bowed her head, resting her forehead against the back of my hand, her shoulders shaking.

“I’m sorry, Dan. I’m so sorry… It’s all my fault. I failed to protect you…”

As if I hadn’t heard her, I simply raised my left hand in disbelief. I squeezed it hard, hammering at my right arm and even pinching it until it bled, but it was useless. I felt no sensation in my right arm.

“It’s crippled, isn’t it?”

The sudden, terrible news left me feeling as though I couldn’t breathe.

“Tell me! Is my hand crippled?”

Hearing the noise, the attending physician rushed in, his face full of remorse.

“Mr. Bailey, I am so sorry… This is a severe mistake on our hospital’s part.

“The rabies vaccine you received was maliciously swapped out by someone, causing irreversible damage to the nerves in your right arm. We are investigating this incident thoroughly and will hold those responsible accountable…”

The rest of the doctor’s words buzzed in my ears.

Beside me, Sarah held me tightly, repeating over and over again, “I will find the best doctors… I will cure you… Dan, trust me one more time…”

However, I couldn’t process a single word. The only thing in my mind was the hope that my grandmother and mother had placed in me.

“Dan, you must become the most exceptional painter.”

I could never pick up a paintbrush again.

“Sarah.” I interrupted her choked confession, staring at that face I had once loved deeply, and asked, “Joseph did this, didn’t he? Because his dog died because of me, he wanted to cripple my hand to get back at me, right?”

Sarah’s shoulders shook, and she buried her head further into her chest. That look of despair and evasion silently confirmed my suspicions.

“I’m sorry, Dan. I… I didn't know he would go to such insane lengths. I had no idea…”

I pulled my left hand out of her sweaty grip, inch by inch, refusing to look at her any longer.

“I’m calling the police,” I said through gritted teeth. “He’s taken a human life and destroyed my entire future. This time, it ought to be enough to put him behind bars, shouldn’t it?”

Sarah snapped her head up, all color drained from her face.

“No, Daniel, you can’t call the police.”

“Why?” I stared at her in disappointment.

“The dog is dead, and Joseph took it quite harshly too. If I hadn’t noticed in time yesterday, he really would have slit his wrists to end his life! If we call the police and trigger him right now, I’m afraid he might–”

“Then what about me?” I finally snapped. “You have both destroyed my life! Who is going to care if I can’t take it anymore?”

She opened her mouth, but all that remained were eyes filled with struggle and pleading.

Exhaustion weighed heavily on every fiber of my being. I closed my eyes, refusing to look at that heartbreaking face of hers.

“Get out. Don’t ever let me see you again.”

Sarah shook as she said, “Dan–”

“I said get out!”

A glass of water shattered against her forehead, and blood trickled down. Still, Sarah didn’t budge until her phone began to ring. It was a call from Joseph, and it rang repeatedly.

With an unsightly expression, she muted it, right until Joseph’s screams echoed from outside the door.

“I’ll go handle this and come right back.”

When the door closed, I pulled out my phone and dialed a number.

“Dr. Klein, it’s me. There’s something I need your help with.”

Two hours later, having finally appeased Joseph, Sarah returned to the ward. However, she found the hospital bed empty. There was only a medical report left sitting on the table.

A sense of dread filled her as she rushed forward a few steps and grabbed it in a panic. The moment her eyes landed on the diagnostic conclusion, her eyes widened in shock. As if struck by lightning, she froze in place.