The girl wakes up feeling pain run through her whole body. What happened? She looks around the room feeling groggy and can't see much, her vision is blurred. She raises her hands to rub her eyes but feels a sharp pain in her chest when she does so. She can smell chemicals and hear machines going off causing her head to throb even more than it already is. Someone comes in and notices that she is awake, she puts her hand out to the person, "Where am I? What happened to me?" Her voice is hoarse. She motions to the person for some water and they comply.
"Miss, my name is Vince, I'm a nurse at the Saint Venice hospital. You were in a car accident." He hurriedly pages the doctor.
Huh? She doesn't remember any car accident, she lays back down and closes her eyes trying to remember what happened but she draws a blank. She feels sleep taking over her again but she tries to fight it. "She turns and sees the man looking at her concerned, "What's wrong?" She notices that he remains quiet. Oh no, am I paralyzed? Do I not have a face? Why is he so silent? As she is panicking he sees a doctor enter. He immediately goes to her side looking at her with concern.
"How are you feeling? Can you tell me where your pain is?" He takes out a light and shines it in her eyes causing her to close them. "Lea?"
Her eyes spring open, "Who is Lea?" The doctor looks at her frozen in place. "Am I Lea?" He nods his head. She doesn't know who she is. How is this possible? She begins to feel panic rising inside of her. She starts to shake as if cold. "Please tell me what's wrong with me. Why can't I remember who I am?" She hears the doctor order the nurse to take her to a CT scan. "No, I am not going anywhere until someone tells me what is happening right now?"
"Please Lea calm down."
"Stop calling me that!" She stops and takes a breath, feeling as if her chest will collapse in on her any second. She finds it hard to even breathe at this moment. She needs to be alone, "Both of you please leave, right now. Go." She turns away from the pair and plants her face in her pillow, she feels tears streaming down her face and holds back her sobs until she is sure she is alone. "What is happening? Who am I?"
******
Vince exits her room and looks for a quiet corner to make a phone call, "She is awake but she has no memory, she doesn't even know who she is." He listens to the person on the other end of the call. He nods his head as if the person can see him. He ends the call and walks back towards the girls room. He is surprised to see an older lady standing at the door looking in. He approaches and tries to enter the room when he is stopped by what he would describe a Viking look alike dressed in a fancy black suit. "Excuse me sir, I need to get to the patient." He tries again but is stopped, this time the man puts his hand on his shoulder. He looks up at the giant and then turns to the lady when he hears her speak.
"You don't need to see the patient because she is being discharged into my care."
She takes out some papers from her bag and hands them to him. He goes through them and inwardly feels his panic rise. "Ma'am, it's ill advised to remove a patient from the hospital in her condition." He sees the woman look at him like he is an old piece of bubblegum on the bottom of her shoe.
"I have every right young man, I am her mother. Besides, I have my own doctors and nurses who graduated from top universities at my disposal. She doesn't need a government hospital to take care of her when I can provide much better."
He swallows down the insults on his tongue, deciding to speak to the doctor and ask him to stop this. He turns and leaves looking for the doctor everywhere but he is too late. She has been moved already by the time he gets back. He takes out his phone and makes the call he was wishing he didn't have to, "Bastian, she's gone."
******
Bastian ends the call with his friend and immediately collapses to the floor. They did it, they finally found her. He closes his eyes and prays that she is okay. He and Lea had finally settled down in this town thinking they had escaped her family but they hadn't. How stupid could he have been? They should have never stopped running. Lea left home when she was 22, its been 5 years now and they thought maybe, just maybe her family would have stopped searching for her. He thinks back to the day she decided that she didn't want to live that life anymore, she had called him and begged him to come with her. At first he had refused but gave in when she told him that even though he said no, she is leaving anyway. He knows that the only place they will take her is back home so she can resume the role of trophy wife as she was supposed to. Lea not remembering anything is a complication he didn't expect.
When Vince told him about the accident he immediately left work and headed to get her some stuff from home, but before he could get there her family was there. This confuses him, how did they know? Were they following her? He feels his throat dry up when a sinister thought enters his mind. Had they caused the accident? He springs into action, grabbing clothes and all the money they had saved over the past few years. He goes online and buys a plane ticket before leaving the apartment. He takes one last look at their place and leaves. He is going to find her and bring her back to him no matter what.
******
Lea looks around the fancy hotel room, she must come from money to be able to stay in a place like this. She is hooked up to machines and is still in a lot of pain. "Who are you?" She directs this question to the woman standing at the window.
"Hello dear. My name is Shannon, I am your mother."
She gulps, something about this doesn't feel right to her. The woman must sense her reluctance because she brings out photos from her purse, photos of them together. She knows she lost her memory but does that include losing your feelings also? She feels nothing for the woman in front of her. She feels her head start pounding again, needing to close her eyes. She doesn't want to, she doesn't feel okay in this place, with this woman. Everything just seems off. She notices that the woman has no affection towards her either. "I don't feel good, take me back to the hospital."
The woman just cackles, "No dear, we are taking you home."
She sees another person enter her line of sight. She looks at the stranger who looks exceptional, not a single strand of hair out of place. For some reason this man makes her nervous. "Who are you?" He smiles at her but the smile never reaches his eyes.
"I'm your fiancé, Jason."
She watches him walk over to her supposed mother and kiss her on the cheek, this time his smile reaches his eyes when looking at the older woman. What is happening? She pretends not to notice when they both turn and look in her direction.
"Your father will be delighted to have you home dear. Come on now, get some rest. We have a long journey tomorrow."
She closes her eyes but cant seem to fall asleep. The look on the woman's face keeps playing in her mind. Does anyone look at their child the way she did? She must be her mother because she had all the paperwork to get released to her. Fiancé? No, this is not right. Her gut is screaming at her to get away but she cant move. Feeling so sleepy, so tired, so drained. She lets sleep overtake her. To her surprise when she wakes, she isn't in the hotel room anymore. She turns and sees a lady putting down towels, "Excuse me ma'am, can you tell me where I am?" The woman turns startled. Her gaze softens when she looks at her, that's how a mother looks at her children, not the way the other lady did. She is taken aback by the words of the woman.
"Oh honey. I really thought you escaped."
Her breath catches in her throat. Escaped? What the heck is this place? Who are these people? She watches realization hit the woman straight after she uttered those words, she covers her mouth and starts walking, no sprinting towards the bedroom door. "Wait, please. What do you mean? Please, come back." But the woman just vanishes. She feels bile rise in her throat. She need to get out of here and she needs to do it now.