Chapter 4

From that day on, I stopped fighting.

I knew that here, being lucid was a crime.

I wanted to survive.

I stopped crying, stopped trying to explain.

Whatever the orderlies told me to do, I did.

When the doctors gave me medication, I swallowed it obediently.

They all thought I had finally been "cured," transformed into an obedient, soulless puppet.

But they didn't know.

Every time I took my medication, I'd hide in a blind spot from the cameras, stick my fingers down my throat, and throw it all back up.

To keep myself from going mad, I replayed surgical procedures in my mind, over and over again.

Every incision, every stitch.

I had to live. Live and walk out of this place.

Then, I would uncover everything and clear my name.

Three years.

Over a thousand days and nights.

I endured the withdrawal symptoms, the psychological torture.

The hospital eventually declared me "stable, no longer aggressive."

I was finally "recovered" and discharged.

No one came to pick me up on discharge day.

I just thought I was unlucky, a victim of misdiagnosis and betrayal.

...

"Mommy!"

A child's innocent voice pulled me back to reality.

Leo, with his little backpack, charged into the flower shop like a cannonball and hugged my leg.

He was the son of a fellow patient I'd met in the psych ward.

His mother had taken her own life, leaving him an orphan.

I adopted him.

Two people abandoned by the world, finding warmth together in this small flower shop.

On a weekend, during the kindergarten's parent-child event, Leo whispered excitedly in my ear, waiting for the activities to begin.

The host's voice rang out, full of enthusiasm: "And now, let's give our warmest welcome to today's special guest - St. Jude Medical Center's youngest surgical authority, Dr. Julian, who will be giving a lecture on pediatric first aid!"

Under the spotlight, Julian and Vanessa walked onto the stage hand-in-hand.

Vanessa's gaze swept through the crowd, and her eyes widened when she saw me.

The next second, as if she'd spotted a monster, she deliberately raised her voice.

"Oh, my... am I seeing things right?"

She raised a perfectly manicured finger, pointing directly at me, her tone a masterful blend of false concern and pure malice. "Isn't that... Dr. Ava? The one our hospital had to let go... after that whole nasty business with her lifestyle choices?"

The entire auditorium fell silent instantly.

Parents immediately pulled their children away, scurrying from Leo and me as if we carried a plague.

Instinct took over. I pulled Leo firmly behind me, shielding him with my body.

Julian also looked our way. When he saw Leo, his face instantly darkened, enough to drip ice.

He strode over, directly blocking my path.

"Whose kid is that?"