’lanie’ opened her eyes slowly, wincing at the dull, persistent pain that radiated through her entire body. Every limb ached, and even the simple act of blinking felt like an effort. She had been slapped, shoved, and thrown out of the car after the accident- and it had taken every last ounce of strength, sheer willpower, and desperation to stumble her way to the hospital before collapsing just inside the entrance.
Now, as her vision adjusted to the sterile white of the hospital room, her gaze swept the space cautiously, her heart picking up speed at the unfamiliar surroundings. Then her eyes landed on sothing-soone- that made it skip altogether.
Adam.
He was sitting there, right next to her bed, his head tilted forward, eyes closed, as if he’d been keeping vigil for hours. His presence caught her off guard and yet ward her as she realized her situation. It had ben spur of the mont thing. When those people had asked for her na, her intuition had sohow warned her... It was such a stroke of luck.
As she stared at him, she wanted to say sothing, ask him why he was there, how long he had been sitting like that and where lanie was, but her throat was far too dry, and the words died before they even reached her lips.
A faint sound escaped her anyway and sohow, Adam seed to sense it imdiately. His eyes opened sharply, focused on her in an instant. Without a word, he reached for the water jug on the side table, poured a glass, and brought it carefully to her lips, guiding the straw so she could drink. His movents were quiet, gentle, but practiced—almost like he’d been waiting for her to wake up.
She sipped slowly, her eyes never leaving his face as she ca to a realisation... He thought she was lanie...
She sipped slowly, her eyes never leaving his face as she felt the butterflies in her stomach at his care. All she’d wanted was to take place lanie’s place in his life. There were so many nights she had only thought of that... and now that could be true. This was fate. It had to be. That is why when questioned about her na, she had said her na was lanie. To the kidnappers and to the hospital staff.
When she had drunk enough, she let the straw fall from her lips and she watched as he moved his hand away. To make sure that what she was thinking was, in fact true, she quickly reached out with trembling fingers and wrapped her hand around his wrist.
She hald expected him to throw her hand away, but then, he turned his hand around, and held hers... She was exhilerated.
In the next mont, she pulled herself up suddenly and without warning threw her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. Her body shook with sobs as she clung to him and she felt excitent run through her. She was holding him. Adam, the man she had fallen for was hugging her.
Realizing that she was trembling with excitent and that it might make his suspicious, she held him close and whispered, "I was so scared. I didn’t know if I’d make it... I thought I was going to die, Adam..."
Adam froze for a second, clearly taken aback by the sudden outburst. His arms hovered for a mont before one tentatively moved to her back, more out of reflex than comfort. He opened his mouth to say sothing and reassure her instead of teasing her the way he would, but was interrupted by a firm voice from behind.
"The visit is over. Mr Collins. You already have been inford..."
Adam turned his head and nodded at the officer who had been standing quietly in the corner of the room as the man stepped forward with an impassive face.
lanie seed to have not heard the man as she clung to him tighter, as if unwilling to ler go. Adam looked down at lanie, whose fingers were digging slightly into the fabric of his shirt as though she didn’t want to let go. He hesitated, then gently reached down and began to peel her arms away from his waist with care. She resisted, just for a second, but then finally let go as her hands dropped back to her sides, her eyes brimming with tears.
Adam gave her one last glance as sothing unreadable flickered across his face before he stepped back and nodded silently to the officer, leaving the door.
As the door closed after him, lody felt a trace of worry. She was going to be questioned by the police. And now, if she said she was lody and not lanie... they would ask questions.. She took in a deep breath, trying to control her fear. No.. by now, lanie must be with him, if she was right.
And if she was with him, there was no way she would return. Which ant that from this day forward, she would be lanie.
She shifted slightly, her back pressing against the pillows as she tried to appear calm. But her fingers gripped the blanket a little too tightly, and her chest rose and fell with the nerves she was trying to bury.
The officer pulled a chair closer to the side of the bed and sat down, pulling out a small notepad. His face was unreadable, his voice calm and controlled as he spoke.
"Let’s start with your na."
Her breath caught for the briefest second. She hesitated and then took a deep breath, steadying herself.
"lanie," she said, forcing a weak smile, "lanie Collins."
The officer studied her, his pen pausing above the notepad for a second too long before he nodded once and scribbled sothing down.
"All right, lanie," he said. "Can you walk through what happened? From the beginning. Anything you might rember from the mont, your car crashed into the vehicle ahead."
lody nodded and then said slowly," But before that, officer, can you tell where is my sister?"
The officer paused and then nodded," Your sister was taken away by the attackers. And this is why I want you to think hard, because anything you might tell us will help us in finding her.."
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