"Comrade Galloway, it would be best if you cooperated and went to the facility for treatment. The sooner you start, the sooner you'll recover."
"No!"
I screamed and thrashed, but Ezra's subordinates pinned me to the ground and dragged me into the transport vehicle.
Through the window, I saw Denise still nestled in Ezra's arms. She lifted her face just enough for me to catch it. A smile. Triumphant. Gloating.
Hatred surged from the pit of my stomach, wave after wave, relentless.
Ezra Mason. If you knew that the woman you just staked your entire future on sees you as nothing more than a stepping stone...
Would you still throw everything away for her so willingly?
……
After Ezra brought Denise to the hospital, the unease in his chest refused to settle.
He paced. He sat. He stood again. Finally, he decided to call the psychiatric facility.
He had heard things about electroshock therapy. That the pain was excruciating. That patients lost control of their bladders, their bowels. That some were left on the floor afterward, unable to move.
Even the most hardened criminals broke after a few sessions, sobbing through their confessions.
Shelagh was so thin. So slight. If she was strapped into that chair, something could go terribly wrong.
He pulled out his pager and was about to dial when the door burst open.
A communications officer stumbled in, ashen-faced, and shouted at everyone in the room:
"We have a situation! Headquarters just confirmed that twelve high-security convicts are missing!"
"Someone on the inside let them out!"
