Vivian moved Ethan back to the Hart clinic the next morning. This time, she did not strap him down. That told him his lie had worked. He ate when they brought food. Took the medication he knew was safe. Answered the psychiatrist's questions in short, empty sentenc

For two days, Ethan did not exist. He stayed in a storage room above an auto shop owned by Grace's brother-in-law, slept in short bursts, and watched the city decide he was dead. By the second night, the headlines had settled on one version: a mentally unstable

Three weeks sounded like time. It wasn't. The first days disappeared into recovery. Ethan's hands closed properly again, the bruises faded, and he finally slept longer than two hours at a time. Then Grace covered a wall with paper: dates, transfer record