Chapter 3

Then her phone lit up on the table.

Jennifer didn't notice, and too busy talking. The lock screen was right in front of me.

Matthew. Kissing Jennifer's forehead while she wrapped her arms around his neck.

I looked away before she noticed.

Jennifer kept smiling. "Matthew's actually very sweet once you get to know him. People think he's cold, but he really knows how to take care of someone."

Every word landed like a knife.

Good thing, the nurse called my name, saving me from listening any longer.

...

After the appointment, Jennifer pushed open the clinic door. "Let's grab lunch. Matthew should be done soon. I know a nice lakeside coffee shop. He takes me there a lot."

I shook my head. "I'm tired. I'd rather go home."

She smiled and held my arm. "Come on. Matthew told me to take care of you. If he finds out I didn't even feed you, he'll scold me."

I didn't argue.

A few minutes later we were sitting by the window of the coffee shop. The view was nice.

Jennifer looked out over the water. "Matthew loves bringing me here. He always orders for me, he already knows what I like." She pointed at a drink on the menu. "You should try this. He says it's my favorite."

Months ago I'd asked Matthew to bring me here because I'd heard the lake was nice. He said he was too busy.

Now I knew the truth. He wasn't too busy. He just didn't spend that time with me.

The coffee arrived, but I couldn't taste anything.

Then screams suddenly echoed from outside.

People started running past the windows as someone shouted, “Run! Someone's throwing gasoline bombs!”

Another explosion shook the building. Glass shattered, and flames spread across the entrance in seconds.

My body reacted before I could think. Years as an investigator had trained me to run toward danger, not away from it. I was on my feet before I remembered I was supposed to be blind. I grabbed my cane just as Jennifer was already directing people around us.

"Everyone stay calm! Get outside! Move!" she shouted.

People rushed for the exits.

Jennifer grabbed my arm. "I've got you, Annika."

For a second I thought she was helping me. Instead she shoved me forward—Hard!

I stumbled toward the burning entrance as one of the attackers threw another bomb.

He spotted me, grinned, lit another bottle.

"No!"

I tried to dodge but it was too late.

The bottle exploded at my feet. Fire climbed up my left side, across my clothes. The heat was unbearable. I screamed as it took hold.

Someone shouted for water, someone else for a fire extinguisher. The café dissolved into chaos.

Only then did Jennifer scream, "Annika!!!"

People dragged me away from the flames, wrapped me in a blanket, put the fire out. The pain was so bad I couldn't breathe and everything went dark.

---

When I opened my eyes, I was in a hospital room, the smell of disinfectant thick in the air.

My left shoulder, arm, waist, and leg were wrapped in bandages. Nearly half my body had been burned, though not severely. My face was untouched.

Matthew sat beside the bed. He stood the moment he saw me awake.

"Annika." His voice was full of concern. "You're awake. How do you feel? The doctors say you'll recover. You're going to be okay."

Before I could answer, the door opened. Jennifer looked in. "Don Matthew, the doctor needs a family member to sign some paperwork."

Matthew squeezed my hand. "I'll be right back."

He left with her, the door slightly open behind them.

Minutes later he came back alone. The warmth in his eyes was gone.

He stood by the bed and looked at me for a long moment. "Annika, did you hire someone to leak the details of the last operation?!"

I stared at him. "W-what?"

His expression hardened. "Stop pretending! The internet's full of posts praising you for risking your life as bait. Someone released classified photos from the operation."

"I don't know anything about that."

"You couldn't have uploaded them yourself because you're damn blind," he said. "But you could've hired someone to."

My heart dropped. "Matthew—"

He cut me off. "There are still members of that organization who haven't been caught. Whoever released those photos put a target on your back." He closed his eyes for a second. "The attack at the coffee shop wasn't random. It was revenge. One innocent customer died because they came after you."

I shook my head. "I didn't do this. I swear. I'd never leak confidential information."

Jennifer walked back in with her phone. "Annika, I'm sure you never meant for this to happen." She held the screen toward me.

Even without taking the phone, I could see the photo, Matthew carrying me out of the warehouse, the comments praising my sacrifice.

My blood went cold. Those photos should never have gotten out, not while members of that organization were still free. Whoever leaked them wanted me dead.

Jennifer sighed. "Maybe you just wanted people to know what you sacrificed, so you hired someone to post it. You probably never thought it would put everyone in danger."

I looked at her. I knew. She was the one who did it. The photos, the leak, the accusation, all of it. And now she was standing here pretending to defend me while quietly convincing Matthew I was guilty.

I turned back to him. "You know me. I spent my career protecting confidential investigations. Why would I throw that away now?"

His jaw tightened. "We traced the payment. The money used to hire the anonymous account came from one of your personal accounts."

I froze. That was impossible.

He looked disappointed. "I never thought you'd do something this reckless."

Those words hurt more than the burns covering half my body.

Jennifer touched his arm. "Don Matthew, please don't be too hard on her. I'm sure she never expected this. It was just one terrible mistake."

Matthew rubbed his forehead. "I'll have my people take down every post they can find." He looked at me one last time. "But the damage is done."

He turned and walked out. Jennifer followed, closing the door quietly behind them.

The room went silent. Neither of them had asked how badly I was burned. Matthew still hadn't noticed I was looking straight at him.

He still thought his wife was blind.

...

I lay in the hospital bed staring at the ceiling while Cora changed the bandages on my arm.

"Careful, Donna Annika," she said, cleaning one of the burns. "This one still looks painful."

"I'm fine."

"You're not fine. You've been burned, accused of leaking confidential information, and left by your own husband. Please don't tell me you're fine."

I looked at her and she lowered her eyes. "Sorry, Donna Annika. I shouldn't have said that."

I almost smiled.

Cora had been taking care of me while Matthew was busy with his own problems. Or busy taking care of Jennifer.

He hadn't even come to see me properly. He didn't believe me. He thought I was reckless enough to leak confidential information, and when I told him I didn't do it, he still looked at me like I was lying.

I thought I'd already gotten used to being disappointed by him. I hadn't.

The day I was discharged, Cora helped me put on my coat. I put on the dark glasses, took my cane, and the moment I stepped outside my room, I saw Matthew standing there with Jennifer right behind him.