Shattered Dreams, Stolen Lives

Shattered Dreams, Stolen Lives

Roderic Penn

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The world first saw the crash. A cherry-red sports car, crumpled like a can, embedded in the ornate gates of the prestigious Blackwood Art Gallery. Inside, I was slumped over the wheel, a faint, serene smile on my lips that made no sense. Gallery staff rushed out, their faces pale, trying to pull my eyelids shut. They wouldn't stay closed. My wide, vacant eyes stared out, refusing to be silenced. The police called it a tragic accident. The powerful Blackwood family issued a brief statement, an attempt to smother the truth with their influence. But truth has a way of finding cracks. An intern leaked my autopsy report: tongue surgically removed, knees bruised with calluses, stomach filled not with food, but with gnawed animal bones and phlegm. My death became a national nightmare. People raged online, demanding #JusticeForJaneDoe. I watched as a wispy, translucent soul. Dr. Alex Peterson, the medical examiner, refused to be silenced, seeing past the official story. "This wasn't an accident," he said. "She delivered a message." Pressure from city hall mounted, ordering him to close the case. Then, something impossible happened. The stitches meant to keep my eyes closed snapped, and they opened again, a silent act of defiance. The internet erupted. My spirit couldn't rest. People began digging, finding old articles about "muse-slaves," human beings treated as living art objects. It felt terrifyingly real. Dr. Peterson defied his superiors, ruling my death a homicide. With public outcry, a full investigation began. But every lead was a dead end: no wallet, no phone, disabled GPS, conveniently malfunctioning cameras. I longed to scream names, places. The public's patience wore thin, protestors demanding answers. Then, a radical idea emerged: a "Memory-Reader," a device to access the last images in my brain. Against all odds, the authorities agreed. My body, cryogenically preserved, was placed on a stage. The Blackwood family sat in the front row, an obscenity of feigned innocence. Among them, Michael, my brother, with a troubled look in his eyes. Dr. Peterson fitted a chrome helmet to my head. The monitors flickered to life. Static. Chloe Blackwood's dismissive voice echoed, "What a waste of time. This is boring." But then, a jolt. The static cleared. The world was inside my head. A dimly lit room. My parents and a shadowy figure. "She is the price," my mother said, emotionless. "A daughter for a pigment. We can always have another." A collective gasp filled the auditorium. The truth began to unfold.

Introduction

The world first saw the crash.

A cherry-red sports car, crumpled like a can, embedded in the ornate gates of the prestigious Blackwood Art Gallery.

Inside, I was slumped over the wheel, a faint, serene smile on my lips that made no sense.

Gallery staff rushed out, their faces pale, trying to pull my eyelids shut.

They wouldn't stay closed.

My wide, vacant eyes stared out, refusing to be silenced.

The police called it a tragic accident.

The powerful Blackwood family issued a brief statement, an attempt to smother the truth with their influence.

But truth has a way of finding cracks.

An intern leaked my autopsy report: tongue surgically removed, knees bruised with calluses, stomach filled not with food, but with gnawed animal bones and phlegm.

My death became a national nightmare.

People raged online, demanding #JusticeForJaneDoe.

I watched as a wispy, translucent soul.

Dr. Alex Peterson, the medical examiner, refused to be silenced, seeing past the official story.

"This wasn't an accident," he said.

"She delivered a message."

Pressure from city hall mounted, ordering him to close the case.

Then, something impossible happened.

The stitches meant to keep my eyes closed snapped, and they opened again, a silent act of defiance.

The internet erupted.

My spirit couldn't rest.

People began digging, finding old articles about "muse-slaves," human beings treated as living art objects.

It felt terrifyingly real.

Dr. Peterson defied his superiors, ruling my death a homicide.

With public outcry, a full investigation began.

But every lead was a dead end: no wallet, no phone, disabled GPS, conveniently malfunctioning cameras.

I longed to scream names, places.

The public's patience wore thin, protestors demanding answers.

Then, a radical idea emerged: a "Memory-Reader," a device to access the last images in my brain.

Against all odds, the authorities agreed.

My body, cryogenically preserved, was placed on a stage.

The Blackwood family sat in the front row, an obscenity of feigned innocence.

Among them, Michael, my brother, with a troubled look in his eyes.

Dr. Peterson fitted a chrome helmet to my head.

The monitors flickered to life.

Static.

Chloe Blackwood's dismissive voice echoed, "What a waste of time. This is boring."

But then, a jolt.

The static cleared.

The world was inside my head.

A dimly lit room.

My parents and a shadowy figure.

"She is the price," my mother said, emotionless.

"A daughter for a pigment. We can always have another."

A collective gasp filled the auditorium.

The truth began to unfold.

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"Molly's recital is her last dream, Jocelyn. Your hands are a perfect match." That' s what Ethan said, calm as if asking for salt, not for me to give up my entire future. We were in his pristine apartment, my cello, my ticket out, leaning against the wall. He wanted me to sacrifice my livelihood, my identity, my very hands, for his childhood friend, Molly, who claimed a rare nerve condition was destroying her dream of being a pianist. I refused, firmly. His handsome face tightened. "Don' t be selfish. I' ve given you everything. A good life, a way out of that hellhole you came from. The least you can do is help my friend." Before I could process the betrayal in his words, to realize I was just a charity case and the bill was due, he invited me to a "support party" for Molly. I drank the glass he handed me, and that was my last clear memory. I woke up on a leather couch, my left hand wrapped in bandages, a sharp, chemical smell in the air. Panic seized me as two of Ethan's friends held me down. Molly stood over me, triumphant, pointing at my bandaged hand. "Guess you won' t be playing that cello anytime soon." I looked at Ethan, my heart shattering, as he stood by the window, his back to me. He had let them cut into me. He had orchestrated this. I tried to move my fingers; they were numb. A deep, terrifying tremor started in my palm, shaking my entire arm. They violently ripped away my chance, my scholarship, my entire life. Why would he do this to me? How could the man I loved, my supposed savior, betray me so cruelly? I was left on the apartment floor, concussed from his shove, my dreams reduced to a tremor and a hospital bill. But I refused to be disposable. He said I was nothing without him, but he was wrong. I grabbed my phone, and for the first time, I chose myself.

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