
I looked back at Dr. Thorne, a man I’d just met but who seemed to carry a lifeline entwined within his words. My throat burned with the effort, but this was my moment—a chance to reclaim my voice, my life, and the fragments of peace shattered by fear.
With a shaky breath, I mouthed a single word: “Help.” It came out as a barely audible whisper, but in that sterile room, it was enough to shift the air, to change the narrative.
