a P

," I commanded, my voice shaking wi

xpression that belonged to the criminal

, straightening his suit jacket. "Or maybe I

roat

an who had scavenged the streets to

l across town, hooked up to an array of machin

fe to protect her when he

s continued casually, inspecting his fingernails. "It would b

my chest tightening so hard m

d, his eyes completel

ocating under the we

that mattered to me in

" I choked out, the words t

is fingers towa

the room, holding a printed s

ordered, pointi

ing weightless in my hands, the t

ecord, the red light blin

s, swallowing my prid

ere psychotic delusions for the past six years. Silas's death was a hallucination create

opped the paper onto my l

roval, reaching int

ibbled a number, and tossed th

. Transfer to another hospital immediately-I d

ut, his consigliere fo

staring at the check until th

, signing the discharge pa

o the hospital corr

e legitimate accountin

," my boss said, his tone entirely professional and cold. "We

imate empire to cut off

gainst the cold hosp

w my coerced confession tren

, praising Silas for his patience,

is time with a text messa

g in a luxurious hospital bed, h

t read: "You alw

sage, the screen switched to an inc

ng the plastic phone case so

loud over the background noise. "You need to