Chapter 3

Anna's POV

I pressed my face into the blanket, listening to my heart pound wildly in my ears. It felt as though my body might give out at any moment.

Julian's voice drifted in from the corridor, carrying that carefully rehearsed concern. Every word sounded sweet, but I knew better than to trust him.

"Nathan, come on. Do me a favor."

His voice dropped, taking on a sincere, almost pleading tone.

"Anna's my fiancée. She's not herself today. She's frightened. I just want to check on her. She has an infection, and if she doesn't have the surgery tonight, she won't make it. She only ran because she's scared of the pain."

I closed my eyes, disgusted by his performance.

No one moved outside the door.

The man Julian had called Nathan answered in a calm, guarded voice.

"Sir, I've been standing guard outside this room since my shift started. No one has come in."

"My own people saw her walk in!" Julian's voice suddenly hardened.

"Then your people saw her. I didn't."

A brief silence followed.

My fingers were twisted tightly into Edward's collar. The skin across the back of my hand had turned white from the pressure.

Nathan was standing at the doorway, but he wasn't there to protect me. He worked for Edward Sterling, and his responsibility was to guard this room, not the woman hiding beneath the blanket inside it.

All it would take was one more push from Julian, one convincing enough reason, and Nathan might have no choice but to step aside.

I knew that feeling all too well.

It had been the same in my previous life. Every door seemed to open for someone else. Everyone who stood in my way had their own position to protect, and I was always the one left outside, waiting to be remembered, used, and eventually discarded.

Fuck off.

The voice suddenly sounded inside my head.

I froze for two full seconds. My fingers loosened, only to tighten again.

Edward's face remained perfectly still on the pillow. His eyes were closed, and his lips were pressed into a straight line, as calm as a painted portrait.

I turned to look at him.

The voice in my head had been perfectly clear. Curt, impatient, and unmistakably commanding.

I hadn't imagined it.

In my confusion, my hand slipped lower, and my palm landed somewhere it definitely shouldn't have.

Heat rushed to my cheeks. I quickly pulled my hand away, lowered my head, and whispered, "I'm sorry."

"She's in there! I heard something just now. I know she's in there!"

Julian's voice rose sharply, and I heard another pair of footsteps move closer.

My heart sank.

This was exactly how it had happened in my previous life. They had arranged everything in advance, blocked every possible escape route, and then told me in the gentlest voices that it was all for my own good.

They'd told me to stop struggling, close my eyes, sign the papers, and lie still.

And I had done exactly that.

Not this time.

Silence fell outside the door.

"Sir." Nathan's voice remained emotionless. "Mr. Sterling is the only person in this room. If you have concerns, you're welcome to go through the proper hospital channels. I'm on duty tonight, and without authorization, nobody gets past this door."

Then I heard the sound of leather shoes against the floor.

One pair, then another.

Four or five men positioned themselves across the doorway without saying a word.

Julian fell silent.

I could almost picture his expression. He must have been calculating his options again, weighing the consequences of challenging the Sterling family.

He knew how much influence the Sterling name still carried in Manhattan.

In the end, he swallowed whatever he had been about to say and the footsteps gradually faded.

I didn't move right away. I stayed beneath the blanket, slowly letting the tension drain from my chest as my breathing returned to normal.

Only after the corridor had gone completely quiet did I finally lift my head.

The blanket was pulled away from above me.

Nathan stood beside the bed, looking down at me. His voice was low, but he couldn't hide his irritation.

"Miss, do you have any idea what you're doing? This room is—"

He stopped mid-sentence.

His gaze dropped slightly, and his entire body went rigid.

I followed his eyes.

Beneath the blanket, Edward Sterling had a very noticeable erection.

Nathan immediately pulled out his phone. His expression changed, and his thumb was already moving across the screen.

"Get up here now. Mr. Sterling needs to be examined."

I climbed off the bed, straightened my clothes, and took a deep breath.

"Listen to me."

I kept my voice steady.

"Julian Vance forged a pathology report. He wants to put me on an operating table and remove my left breast. There's nothing wrong with me. The report is fake. What he really wants is the inheritance my mother left in trust. Once I've been mutilated, once I've lost the ability to protect myself, I'll have no leverage left. He'll be able to take everything from me without a fight."

Nathan stared at me. For the first time, I noticed a crack in his professional composure.

"His people are all over the corridor," I continued. "Please let me stay here a little longer. Or lend me your phone so I can call the police."

He remained silent for a few seconds before shaking his head.

"This family has enough trouble as it is."

His tone wasn't particularly cold, but his answer was firm.

"Nobody knows when Mr. Sterling will wake up. My job is to look after him, not bring more trouble into this house. You can't stay here."

I bit my lower lip and stood my ground.

It wasn't because I didn't understand his position. It was because Julian hadn't gone far. His men were still somewhere in the building, and I was barefoot, without a single dollar in my pocket.

This room and the door protecting it were all I had.

Footsteps approached from the corridor. More than one person was coming.

The door opened.

A woman entered first. She looked calm and composed, carrying herself with the quiet authority of someone accustomed to running a household. Her eyes moved toward the bed before settling on me.

A man in a white coat followed close behind. His coat looked as though he'd slept in it. He hurried toward the monitors, immediately checking the readings.

"Nathan, what's going on here?"

The woman spoke quietly, but there was no mistaking the authority in her voice.