Chapter 2 - Awakening to a Nightmare
Marcus Salgado opened his eyes to a harsh, blinding white ceiling and the rhythmic, maddening beep-beep-beep of a heart monitor. A dull, throbbing ache radiated across his chest and ribs, making every breath feel like inhaling crushed glass.
"Easy, Mr. Salgado. Try not to move too much," a young resident nurse said gently, adjusting his IV drip. "You took a nasty hit in that crash on the Dan Ryan. But you're going to make it."
Marcus swallowed, his throat dry as sandpaper. Memories of the crash flickered in his groggy brain like a broken projector film: the screech of tires, the blinding headlights of a semi-truck swerving across lanes, the terrified scream of Valeria beside him in the passenger seat, and the crushing impact of the airbag deploying into his sternum.
Valeria.
Panic surged through his veins, spiking his heart rate monitor into a frantic tempo. "Valeria... the girl in the car with me... where is she?!"
"She’s recovering in the ICU, sir. Her surgery went well," the nurse replied professionally, checking his chart. "She and the baby both survived."
Marcus let out a ragged breath, slumping back against the pillows. Thank God. If Valeria or the baby had died, his entire double life would have collapsed under a mountain of manslaughter charges and public scandal. He had spent the last nine months meticulously building a cage of lies, telling Valeria that he was "this close" to divorcing Lucia, while telling Lucia that he was consumed by his architectural firm's expansion.
He reached instinctively for his pants draped over the bedside chair, desperate to check his phone. He needed to call his lawyer, manage the fallout, figure out how to explain to his corporate partners why he was in a car accident with a twenty-seven-year-old pregnant mistress at midnight, and—most importantly—make sure Lucia hadn't found out.
"My phone," Marcus rasped, holding out a trembling hand. "Where is my phone?"
The nurse handed him the black smartphone from the side table. Marcus punched in his passcode, his thumb swiping frantically to check his notifications.
Suddenly, a massive wall of cascading alerts flooded his screen.
ALERT: Unauthorized access attempt blocked on primary corporate account.
ALERT: Your business credit line has been temporarily frozen by institution.
ALERT: Legal document served: Notice of Lis Pendens filed regarding Lincoln Park Property.
ALERT: Temporary Restraining Order issued by Superior Court of Cook County.
Marcus stared at the glowing screen, his breath hitching. He tapped frantically on his banking app, only to be greeted by a bright red warning banner: ACCESS DENIED. ACCOUNT UNDER REVIEW.
"What... what is this?" he muttered aloud, his chest tightening with sudden, suffocating terror.
Just then, the heavy wooden door of his private hospital room clicked open.
Marcus snapped his head up, expecting to see his frantic mother or a frantic hospital administrator. Instead, the door swung fully open, and Lucia walked in.
She wasn't wearing her blood-stained scrubs anymore. She had changed into a sharp, tailored charcoal-grey pantsuit, her dark hair pulled back into a sleek, authoritative knot. She didn't look like a wife visiting her recovering, injured husband. She looked like an executioner stepping onto the scaffold.
She walked slowly to the foot of his bed, hands folded neatly in front of her, her expression carved out of solid ice.
"Lucia..." Marcus breathed, his voice cracking with a mixture of fear and manufactured guilt. "Thank God you're here. The nurses said you were the one who—listen, there was an accident, it wasn't what it looks like, Valeria she was just... she needed a ride, and—"
"Save your breath, Marcus," Lucia interrupted, her voice cutting through the sterile room like a razor blade.
Marcus blinked, stunned by the complete lack of tears, anger, or pleading in her eyes. "What? What are you talking about? Look at me, I'm in a hospital bed—"
"I know," Lucia said calmly, stepping closer to the side of the bed. "And thanks to my surgical team, you get to live long enough to experience the consequences of every single choice you made."
May you like
She pulled a thick manila folder from under her arm and tossed it lazily onto his lap. The heavy thud echoed loudly against the blanket.
"Open it," Lucia commanded softly. "It’s the prologue to your new life."
