Everything felt heavy, and then it didn't.
One moment, I was suspended in nothingness, drifting through the darkness that seemed to stretch endlessly in every direction. The next, I felt the pull. Like something unseen had reached for me and dragged me back down, forcing me into something solid. Real.
It returned in fragments. First came the weight of my heavy limbs, as though they no longer belonged to me. Then the dull throb in my head, slow and insistent, pressing from the inside out. My thoughts followed more slowly, slipping through my grasp before I could fully make sense of them.
I tried to move, but nothing responded. Even breathing felt wrong. Too shallow, too deliberate. I had to remind myself how to do it.
A faint scent lingering in the air, sharp and clinical, something unfamiliar enough to make my stomach turn.
Something wasn't right.
Memory came in flashes, blurred and disoriented. The ruins. The wind brushing against my skin. Marcus, heading over to Victoria—
A hand clamped over my mouth.
The memory struck, sudden and sharp, sending a weak jolt through my body before everything dulled again.
Then came the sound. At first, it was distant, muffled, like it was coming from the other side of a wall. A low, steady hum settled beneath it, constant and mechanical. It took a moment before I recognized the quiet drone of air conditioning.
The realization came slowly, but it came.
I wasn't outside anymore.
My fingers twitched faintly, the smallest sign of movement, though even that felt foreign. My body resisted, weighed down by something I couldn't see, something that made every motion sluggish and delayed. Still, awareness continued to creep in, piece by piece, bringing with it a growing sense of unease.
My pulse began to quicken, each beat stronger than the last as reality pressed in around me. Wherever I was, I wasn't where I thought I'd be.
My eyelids felt impossibly heavy, but I forced them open anyway. Slowly, with effort, dragging myself fully back into the present.
"Oh, good," Garrick drawled, a smirk tugging at his lips as he leaned over me. "You're finally awake."
My breath hitched.
Instinct kicked in before reason. I tried to push myself back, to put distance between us, but my body refused to cooperate. My limbs stayed where they were, heavy and unresponsive against the bed as my head spun, the room tilting slightly with every shallow breath I took.
"Fuck," I groaned, my voice rough. "What the hell have you done to me?"
He raised a brow, almost amused. "You think I'd stoop that low? Rape you while you're unconscious?"
My eyes narrowed, even as pain pulsed behind them. "There's always a possibility."
I hissed, forcing the words out. "Considering you've never been particularly good at keeping it in your pants."
A flicker crossed his expression, but it was gone as quickly as it came.
"And whose fault is that?" he shot back.
I let out a weak, humorless breath. "Entirely yours, asshole."
His jaw clenched, tension rippling through him as though he were holding himself back from something harsher. For a moment, it looked like he might snap. Do or say something he couldn't take back.
But he didn't.
Instead, he pushed himself off the bed and began pacing beside it, dragging a hand through his hair in frustration.
"You pushed me to this, Elena," he bit out, turning to point an accusing finger at me. "I wouldn't have had to go this far pulling strings, securing an arrest warrant and all that, if you had just handed him over in the first place."
I let out a weak, incredulous breath. "What does he even matter to you?" I shot back. "You know, deep down, he couldn't have been the murderer you're making him out to be."
A humorless smile tugged at his lips.
"You know," he said, his tone shifting into something colder, more cutting, "I could ask you the same."
He stepped closer.
"What is he to you," he pressed, "that you'd go this far to protect him?"
His gaze dragged over me, sharp, assessing.
"Or is it simpler than that?" he added, voice dipping. "Is it because he's attractive? Is that all it takes?"
"Fuck you, you fucking asshole!" I snapped.
"Well," he chuckled darkly, unfazed, "you did, remember? Many times, in fact."
The words hit, but I didn't let them linger.
I spat at him, and it landed just short of his cheek.
For a split second, everything stilled.
Then slowly, deliberately, he wiped his face with the back of his hand, those cold eyes never leaving mine.
"That," he said quietly, "was a mistake."
My chest rose and fell, my pulse hammering, but I refused to look away.
"Do whatever you want," I hissed. "I'm not helping you."
A faint smile returned to his lips, colder now. Calculated.
"Oh, you will," he said.
Something in the way he said it made my stomach twist.
"I don't need your cooperation," he continued, pacing once more, like he was already several steps ahead. "I only need your presence."
I frowned. "What are you talking about?"
He stopped, turning back to me.
"There's a gala tonight. At the City Hall," he said. "Public. High-profile. The kind where people are supposed to behave."
Realization crept in, slow and sickening.
"You're insane," I breathed.
"I'm practical," he corrected. "I'll bring you there. He'll come for you, I know he will. And when he does..." His smile sharpened. "We make the exchange. You, for him."
My stomach dropped.
"You'd really go this far?" I asked, my voice quieter now, edged with disbelief. "Frame an innocent man? For what? A promotion? Recognition?"
Something flickered in his eyes, and it wasn't amusement.
"Oh, it's not just about my career," he said, his tone tightening. "It's way bigger than that."
I held his gaze, waiting for him to continue.
"My family," he said. "They want him, for some reason. And they expect results. I don't get to sit around and hope things fall into place."
He stepped closer again, looming over me.
"This case—Marcus—it's not just an opportunity. It's leverage."
His jaw set.
"For everything that's mine," he said. "My inheritance. My position. My place in that family."
The words settled, heavy and cold.
"And you think ruining someone's life is worth that?" I whispered, unable to believe that I was in love with this man, once.
His gaze didn't waver.
"Frankly, Elena, I don't give a shit," he said quietly.
The door clicked open without warning, pulling both our gazes toward it.
A woman strode in, heels sharp against the floor, a garment bag slung over her arm. Josephine didn't spare me more than a glance as she dumped the bag at the foot of the bed, her movements tight with irritation before she crossed her arms.
"I can't believe you're actually bringing her to the gala," she said, her tone filled with disdain.
Garrick didn't so much as hesitate.
He walked straight to her, cupping her face in both hands and pulled her into a long, deliberate kiss. Entirely for show. Like a fool, she melted into it just as easily, letting out a soft, exaggerated sound that made my stomach turn.
I rolled my eyes, or at least tried to. Even that felt sluggish.
Whatever he had given me, it was strong. Stronger than necessary.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart," he murmured against her lips when he finally pulled back. "You know this is necessary."
His thumb brushed along her cheek, coaxing a smile out of her.
"I'll take you to many more galas after this," he added smoothly. "Proper ones. Where you'll stand by my side, exactly where you belong."
She huffed, but the edge had softened. "Fine," she said, though her lips curved despite herself. "I'll hold you to that."
"Good."
Garrick clapped his hands once, the sound sharp in the room as he turned back to me.
"Now," he said lightly, "be a darling and help her get presentable."
Josephine followed his gaze, her expression cooling as it landed on me.
"I may have overdone it with the dosage," he continued, almost amused. "She won't be able to move for another half hour or so."
My stomach dropped. That fucker.
Josephine let out a small, humorless laugh as she stepped closer to the bed.
"Well then," she said, reaching for the garment bag, "let's make sure you look pretty for your grand entrance."
I swallowed, my body still refusing to obey me as dread was settling deep in my chest.