Beep.
Beep.
I bring her hand to my forehead and close my eyes.
And for the first time since this nightmare started—
I pray.
“Stay with me, Olivia.”
40
Olivia
The darkness feels endless.
Not cold.
Not painful.
Just… heavy.
For a while, I think I’m still there.
Still strapped to the chair.
Still waiting for the next door to open.
The next footsteps.
The next voice.
My pulse jumps at the thought, panic sparking sharp and sudden—
—but it fades almost immediately.
Because this silence is different.
No screaming.
No metal scraping against concrete.
No fear crawling beneath my skin.
Just a low, steady sound somewhere nearby.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
A monitor.
Hospital.
The realization drifts through me slowly, like smoke.
