The Wife He Tried To Erase

registered. It was a familiar smell, the scent of my l

yes, but the lids were heavy, swollen shut. The last thing I remembered was the chaos at the free clinic. I was volunteer

beat me, held me down. One of them pulled out a syringe. I fought, but I was already weak. I felt the sharp prick in my arm, a c

t my hospital, I realized. The h

ney, can yo

een a comfort, but it felt distant, like a

ng up," he said to someone else in the room.

in his police uniform, the badge on his chest gleaming under the harsh hospital lights. He

ssive. We've identified it, but it's rare. We were lucky you got here so fast. Your blood donation wa

ezed my hand. His hand was warm, but the gesture felt cold, rehearsed. I wa

s my bruised forehead. "I'll take care of everyt

my hand while I cried through the nightmares. He assured me the police were closing in on the gang responsible. It was

he way he looked at me sometimes, when he thought I was asleep. It was

ER, to the familiar, controlled chaos that I loved. My first day back, I felt the st

lled me into his office. He

ffling papers on his desk

shaky footage from a cell phone. It was me, on the floor of the clinic, being held down

The hospital's reputation... our donors... they'

d. My career, my passion, destroyed by a vid

in, in his room, glued to his computer. He was sixteen, Mark' s son from h

oice trembling. "Did

und. "Yeah," he sa

ike that?" I asked, despera

n his chair, a smirk

ing punched all over again. "What? Why

said, shrugging. "Everyone a

hand on Kevin' s shoulder, a proud

He hadn't seen me standing in the doorway. "Now Evelyn's

gesture, every worried look from Mark, it was all a l

st not directed at his f

so gross. I don't want anyone to know she's my mom. Dad, can't yo

ed. It wasn't a random gang retaliation. It was my husba

ds shaking so badly I could barely hold my phone. I didn't cry. The shock was

hadn't spoken to in years, my former mentor from medical school, a man who

d the ca

cond ring. "Evelyn? I

eady, a lifeline in th

oice cracking. "It's Evelyn Reed.

yn," said the Director of

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