Page 2 of The Ruthless Rivalry

I shake my head, frustration mounting. “There was. I put it in my pocket.”

Sutton stepped forward, her voice gentle but firm. “Alex, I was here when you were changed. There was no note.”

“No,” I demand. “You were in on it. Along with Bishop, Sylvester, and Camden.” I turn to my father, desperate for him to understand. “You have to believe me.”

My father’s eyes soften with pity, and I can see he doesn’t believe me. The realization hits me like a punch to the gut. I’m alone in this. Utterly alone.

“Alex,” he begins, his voice careful and measured. “I think you might be confusing reality with some sort of dream or hallucination. It’s okay, it’s normal after trauma—”

“No!” I shout, startling both him and Sutton. “I’m not confused, I’m not hallucinating. It happened!”

I struggle to sit up, ignoring the wave of wooziness that washes over me. My father tries to gently push me back down, but I resist, fixing my gaze on Sutton.

“Tell him,” I demand, my voice cracking. “Tell him the truth. You were there. You know what happened.”

Sutton shifts her hands but says nothing in return.

“I want to believe you. But you took quite a fall,” my dad says. “You have to understand how this sounds.”

I feel my heart racing, frustration and anger boiling inside me. I know what I saw, what I experienced. But with every passing moment, it feels like the truth is slipping further away.

“Maybe we should let her rest,” Sutton suggests. “She’s clearly been through a lot.”

I fix her with a cold stare, my temper flaring. “Stop pretending like you don’t know what happened!” I shout, my voice cracking. “You were there! You helped them!”

Sutton takes a step back, her eyes widening in what looks like genuine shock. But I can’t trust anything about her anymore.

My father places a calming hand on my shoulder. “Alex, please, you need to calm down. You’re not making any sense.”

I shrug his hand off, irritation surging through me. “I am making sense! You’re just not listening to me!”

Tears of anger prick at my eyes. I know what I saw, what I experienced. The cold atmosphere of the natatorium, the fear as I realized I was trapped, Vera’s face contorted with rage. It was all real. It had to be.

But as I look from my father’s concerned face to Sutton’s carefully composed expression, doubt begins to creep in. Could they be right? Could it all have been some vivid hallucination brought on by my injury?

No. I refuse to believe that. I can’t let them confuse me into doubting my own memories.

The room starts to spin, and I grip the edge of the bed to steady myself. My outburst has left me breathless and dizzy. A nurse rushes in, alerted by the commotion.

“What’s going on here?” she asks, her eyes darting between me, my father, and Sutton.

“Nothing,” my father says quickly. “Just a misunderstanding. My daughter is still a bit confused from her fall earlier.”

“I would like to see my doctor,” I interject, my voice firm. “Now.”

The nurse nods, her expression a mix of concern and wariness. “I’ll page Dr. Rodriguez right away.”

As she leaves the room, I feel a wave of exhaustion wash over me. The adrenaline from my outburst fades, leaving me feeling drained and vulnerable.

Sutton remains standing at the door, her posture stiff and uncomfortable. I can’t help but notice how she keeps glancing at the door, as if eager to escape.

Minutes tick by, feeling like hours. Finally, a knock at the door breaks the tension. Dr. Rodriguez enters, his salt-and-pepper hair slightly disheveled, as if he’s had a long day.

Well, that makes two of us.

“Alex,” he greets me with a smile. “I hear you wanted to see me?”

“Yes, I would like to know how soon before I can check out.” I needed to be away from this stuffy room.

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