Scarlett & Ethan

Reborn

Scarletts POV - 6 months later 

I wake up to the sterile smell of the hospital, the steady beep of machines around me, and the murmur of voices beyond the curtain. It takes a few seconds to orient myself, to remember who I'm supposed to be. Hajya. I inhale sharply, forcing myself back into character, and let my eyes flutter open as though I'm waking from a nightmare. A nurse leans over me, checking my vitals, and when she notices I'm awake, her face softens with that practiced empathy they all have.

"Good morning, sweetheart," she says, her voice quiet, soothing. "You're safe now." 

Safe. If only she knew. I let my lips tremble, blinking slowly as though I'm barely clinging to consciousness. It's a performance, every bit of it. I've been doing this for so long it feels second nature, but this time, the stakes are higher. They can't suspect anything. I can't afford a mistake.

My throat feels raw, but I manage to croak out, "W-where am I?"

 "You're in a hospital, dear. You've been through a lot, but we're going to take good care of you." She strokes my hair like I'm some fragile, broken thing. I flinch on purpose, shrinking away from her touch, and she pulls her hand back immediately, apologizing. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to startle you."

I curl up into myself, making my body small, vulnerable. It's not hard to look the part; I made sure of that. The month of starvation, the sleep deprivation, the sheer exhaustion—it's all here, etched into my bones. 

Behind the nurse, I see the door crack open, and two officers step inside. Their faces are grim, and I know this moment is crucial. They'll have questions, and I have to give them answers—answers that will buy me time.

I've rehearsed this a thousand times in my head. The story I've built, the lies I'll feed them. All of it hinges on one thing: making them believe I'm Hajya, the girl who's been missing for six years.

 One of the officers, a tall man with sharp features and tired eyes, approaches cautiously, as if afraid of frightening me. "Hajya?" he asks, his voice gentle but probing. "Do you remember what happened to you?"

I stare at him for a long moment, eyes wide, as if I'm trying to piece together fragments of a nightmare. It's important not to answer too quickly, not to seem too sure. I swallow hard, letting the silence stretch just a little too long. "I... I don't know," I whisper finally, voice trembling. "I was... taken. I don't remember much. It's all... it's all blurry." 

The officer nods, exchanging a glance with his partner. "That's okay," he says. "We don't need details right now. We just want to make sure you're safe."

Safe. There's that word again. I look down, my fingers picking at the frayed edge of the hospital blanket. My mind races, going over the next steps. They'll keep me here for a while, running tests, gathering evidence. But eventually, they'll release me, and when they do, I'll be one step closer to the people who took Orion from me. 

I can almost see it now—their shock when they realize who I am, how close I've gotten. How I've used their own tricks against them. I don't care how long it takes or how dangerous it is. This is the only way I'll find out what happened to him, and I won't stop until I get my answers. Until I get my revenge.

The officer clears his throat, breaking my thoughts. "When you're ready," he says, "we'll need to ask more questions. But for now, you should rest. We'll make sure no one can hurt you again." 

I give him a small, hesitant nod, trying to look as broken as they expect me to be. But inside, my resolve hardens. Rest isn't an option. Not until I've infiltrated their world, the world that swallowed Orion whole.

The door closes behind them, and I'm left alone with my thoughts. I lie back on the bed, staring at the ceiling, the weight of the lie settling over me like a suffocating blanket. The real Hajya is out there somewhere, and she's still a mystery. But for now, that works in my favor. No one knows where she is, and until they do, I'll keep playing this part. 

This is just the beginning. Soon enough, I'll be in deep enough to find him. To find them all. And when I do, they'll wish they had never touched my father.