Chapter 7

Sienna's voice came faintly through the door. "Julian, I'm sorry. I really don't know why Trina went down to the morgue or how she ended up locking herself in there. I was just joking with her. I said I'd left the box there for her to find. I didn't think she'd actually believe me. "Now, the police are here. They say I might be charged with unlawful imprisonment. What am I supposed to do?" There was a moment of silence. Then, Julian answered in a low voice, "I've already signed a statement of non-prosecution as her family. They won't pursue it. Don't be scared." Lying on the cold hospital bed, Trina listened to every word. It felt like knives were being driven straight into her chest. Sienna had almost left her to die in that freezing morgue, but Julian had signed a statement of non-prosecution and let it go? Anger surged up, pounding hard in her head. Her hand closed around a small glass medicine bottle someone had left by the bed. She hurled it at the door with all the strength she had left. The next second, the door opened from the outside. Julian walked in with Sienna beside him. He glanced at Trina's pale face and frowned. Trina forced herself upright and stared straight at Julian. "She locked me in there to make me freeze to death, and you signed a statement of non-prosecution?" Julian's gaze flickered when he saw how shaken Trina was, but he still took Sienna's side. "Trin, Sienna wasn't thinking. She was joking with you. No one expected you to take it seriously." "Joking?" Trina let out a cold laugh. "You know exactly what kind of person I am. I'm not letting this go!" He met her eyes and saw the stubborn fury in them. This wasn't one of her usual tantrums. She was truly angry. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "What do you want then?" Trina didn't answer him. She looked past him instead. "Go get a 45-pound weighted vest and sandbags," she told the guard outside the door. The guard was stunned and looked at Julian. Julian gave a small nod. It didn't take long before they brought the weighted vest and sandbags. Trina brought them down to the hospital's track. Then, she pointed at the weights and looked straight at Sienna. "You're putting all of that on. Then, you'll run six miles around the field. When you finish, this matter will be closed." "What?" Sienna stared at her like she had misheard. Her eyes went wide and glassy as she turned to Julian. "Julian, I can't. My body can't take that. The doctor said I'm not supposed to do intense exercise!" Julian stepped in immediately. "Trin, stop it! You know how fragile she is. That could kill her!" Trina retorted, "She locked me in the morgue. Did she worry whether that might kill me?" Sienna's face went chalk-white as she looked at the weights on the ground, her eyes brimming with tears. In the end, Julian drew in a long breath, took off his uniform jacket, and started strapping the sandbags to himself. "Fine. If you insist, I'll do it for her." "Julian, no! Your wound hasn't fully healed!" Sienna cried. "I'll be fine," he said, as if they were talking about going for a walk. Watching him willingly shoulder that much weight for Sienna's sake, Trina felt something sharp punch straight through her heart. So, this was how much he loved her. Julian finished fastening the gear and looked at Trina, his eyes filled with exhaustion and warning all at once. "I'll run it in Sienna's place. After that, I expect you not to go after her again." Trina said nothing. She just stared back at him, her expression unreadable. Julian turned and started toward the track. The moment he turned his back, Trina grabbed Sienna's wrist, pulled her forward, and kicked her hard toward the artificial lake covered in a thin layer of ice. Sienna let out a piercing scream as she flew over the edge and crashed into the cold water. Julian spun around at the sound. His face drained of color when he saw Sienna vanish under the surface. He stared at Trina in disbelief. "Trina! What are you doing?" Trina stood at the lakeside, meeting his gaze with eyes as cold as stone. "She likes cold places so much. So I've given her a bigger freezer!" Rage flooded Julian's eyes, but he didn't have time to argue. He dove straight into the lake. In his panic, he didn't judge the distance. As he leapt, his elbow smashed hard into Trina's shoulder. Caught off guard, Trina stumbled back. Her foot slipped on the damp ground, and the back of her head struck a decorative stone with a sickening crack. A burst of blinding pain exploded in her skull. Warm liquid spread down her neck, soaking the rock beneath her in red. Her vision blurred to black around the edges as she saw Julian thrashing through the freezing lake, pulling Sienna into his arms and shouting her name over and over. He never once looked back at the shore. He didn't notice the blood running through Trina's hair and pooling beneath her. Trina clenched her teeth, pressing a hand against the wound to slow the bleeding. Then, step by step, she turned and staggered away on her own. Later, in the emergency room, she lay still as a doctor put seven stitches in the back of her head. One of the nurses couldn't help asking, "How did you get hurt like this? Where's General Hauser?" Trina kept her eyes closed and didn't answer. During her days in the hospital, she kept hearing the nurses whisper that Julian was staying in Sienna's room, looking after her as she had gotten a fever from the fall. As Trina listened, a dull numbness spread through her chest, swallowing everything. She couldn't even shed a single tear. Before the stitches were even removed, she signed the discharge papers herself. For the next few days, she stayed home and packed her things into boxes. She was getting ready to leave for good.