Chapter 4 - The Sister’s Mirror
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As Adrian was handcuffed and escorted from the room, he looked back at me once over his shoulder. There were actual tears streaming down his face. This time, I believed those tears were real—he was weeping for the destruction of his own life.
That did not make them meaningful.
The heavy door closed behind them. For the first time since my fall, I allowed myself to cry quietly into the thin hospital sheets. Not because I wanted him back, but because the marriage I had believed in had vanished so completely that I could no longer tell which memories were real and which were convenient lies.
Detective Lena Morris remained quietly beside my bed. “You did exceptionally well, Hannah.”
I stared up at the generic white ceiling tiles. “I married a man who wanted to kill me.”
“That isn't your fault,” she said gently.
“I know,” I whispered. “At least, my brain knows that.”
That evening, my younger sister Emma arrived after driving frantically from Boston. She burst into the room carrying a canvas tote bag, two coffees, a spare sweater, and enough frantic anxiety to power the entire hospital floor.
She dropped everything on the floor the moment her eyes landed on my broken form. “Oh, Hannah…”
“I look worse than I feel,” I tried to joke.
Emma stared at my heavy casts and dark facial bruises. “That is a massive lie.”
“Fine. I feel worse than I look.”
“That I actually believe.” Emma leaned down carefully and kissed my cheek.
She sat in the plastic chair beside me. “I talked to Detective Morris downstairs. She told me Adrian and Vivian are being held without bail.”
I nodded slowly.
Emma’s jaw tightened. “I want to kill them with my bare hands.”
“Don’t,” I said quietly. “I need to process this logically without letting pure hatred consume me.”
Emma looked down at her lap. “I’ve missed you so much, Hannah. The real you.”
I blinked, confused. “We talk every single week on the phone.”
May you like
“We talk about work, Mom’s garden, and grocery prices,” Emma said softly. “I mean I haven’t really had my real sister for years. You changed completely around Adrian. You started checking whether he agreed with an opinion before you even spoke it. You used to be fierce. You used to stand up to anyone. After you married him, you slowly disappeared.”
Her words hit me far harder than any physical pain from the accident.
