Chapter 1 - The Waking Nightmare
The last thing I remembered was buying strawberries.
Then I opened my eyes in a hospital bed.
My jaw throbbed. Breathing hurt. My left wrist was wrapped in a cast.
"How long have I been here?" I whispered.
"Fourteen days," the nurse answered.
Fourteen days?
I tried to sit up, but pain shot through my ribs.
A doctor gently explained that I had a fractured cheekbone, three broken ribs, a fractured wrist, and a severe concussion.
"Was I in an accident?"
He hesitated.
"Valeria, police found you unconscious in your parents' garage."
My stomach tightened.
Before I could ask another question, the door opened.
"Mom?"
For one beautiful second, I thought everything would be okay.
Teresa Santos walked toward my bed.
I reached for her hand.
She slapped it away.
Then she leaned over and spat directly onto my bandaged cheek.
"I should've let them bury you," she hissed. "Your father is a good man. You're a disgusting liar!"
I couldn't move.
"Mom, please. I don't understand."
"Don't call me that!"
She began screaming until hospital security pulled her from the room.
I lay there shaking, tears mixing with what she'd left on my face.
The nurse quietly cleaned my cheek.
I'd spent my childhood believing my mother would protect me from anything.
Now I was afraid of her.
An hour later, Detective Ethan Cole entered carrying a clear evidence bag.
Inside was my shattered phone.
"We recovered this underneath your body," he explained. "You appeared to be protecting it when you lost consciousness."
"Why would I do that?"
"We believe it contains evidence connected to your father's affair."
Something flickered in my mind.
A motel parking lot.
My father's silver car.
A woman climbing into the passenger seat.
My hands trembling as I recorded them.
Then nothing.
Detective Cole carefully turned on the damaged phone.
One notification remained on the cracked screen.
IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO ME, LOOK AT THIS.
"Did I write that?" I whispered.
He nodded.
Then his expression changed.
"Valeria, there's something else. Your father came to this hospital three times while you were unconscious."
My heart began pounding.
"He wasn't asking whether you'd survive."
Cole lowered his voice.
"He kept asking the nurses one question."
I gripped the blanket.
"What question?"
May you like
The detective looked at my phone.
"Whether you'd remembered where you hid the original recording."
