I stared at the screen until the words blurred.
Withdraw my guarantee immediately.
Freeze every authorization carrying my signature.
Obtain the records from Andrews Development.
I’m ready to use them.
Seven years of my life had been reduced to four sentences.
My fingers trembled against the phone. Even that small movement pulled at my ribs. The pain arrived slowly, spreading beneath the bandages like heat beneath a closed door. I pressed the call button, and a nurse named Elena appeared almost at once.
“You’re hurting again,” she said.
It was not a question.
“A little.”
Elena gave me a look that suggested she had heard that answer from too many people who had learned to minimize their own suffering.
“I’ll ask the doctor about your medication.” She adjusted the blanket over my legs. “You should try to rest.”
“I don’t think I can.”
Her gaze dropped to the phone in my hand.
