Chapter 2 - The Diagnosis of Cruelty
The emergency room at St. Jude’s Hospital smelled of rubbing alcohol and industrial floor wax. I lay on a gurney, a cold saline drip continuously flushing my eyes, though the burning sensation refused to subside. The world was a painful, milky white haze; I couldn't distinguish shapes, only harsh, blinding shadows.
Hours later, an ER doctor gave their cruelty a different name.
Dr. Aris, a senior ophthalmologist with a grave tone, stepped into the examination bay after running a fluorescein dye test on my corneas.
"Chemical burns to both corneas," Dr. Aris announced softly, checking my chart. "Grade three severe epithelial sloughing. Miss... or Mrs. Cross, this was concentrated sodium hypochlorite. If this hadn't been flushed within forty minutes, you would have suffered permanent, irreversible blindness."
Daniel stood near the foot of the bed, his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes fixed on his smartphone.
"She was overreacting during a hysterical argument," Daniel told the hospital security guard who had walked into the room to file an incident report. "She grabbed a bottle from under the sink to throw it at my mother, and the nozzle was turned toward herself. It was an unfortunate accident."
I turned my bandaged head toward his voice, tears of rage leaking from beneath the thick gauze pads covering my eyes. "That's a lie, Daniel! Your mother aimed it at my face, and you held me!"
Daniel sighed loudly, taking a step toward the security officer, shaking his head with practiced pity. "You see what I mean, Officer? She's overwhelmed. We've only been married twenty-four hours, and the stress of marrying into our family has clearly triggered some sort of emotional breakdown. I'll make sure she stays home and rests."
The officer looked between us, visibly uncomfortable, but Daniel's polished suit, his prominent last name, and his calm demeanor carried an unearned weight of credibility.
"We'll file the report as an accidental domestic exposure for now, Mr. Cross," the officer said, tapping his notepad. "Just make sure she follows up with the specialist."
"Of course," Daniel replied smoothly.
Once the officer stepped out, Daniel leaned over my gurney. His tone was cold, precise, and laced with absolute contempt.
"You are going to lie here and keep your mouth shut, Maya," he whispered. "If you try to tell anyone else that lie about my mother, I will have you committed to a psychiatric facility for evaluation. Do you think anyone in this city will take the word of a penniless girl over the Cross family?"
He checked his gold watch.
"I have a dinner meeting with the directors of Hartwell Capital tonight. I can't be late. I'll have an Uber pick you up when the hospital discharges you. Go back to your old apartment. Don't come back to the estate until you're ready to apologize to my mother."
May you like
Without another word, his footsteps faded down the hallway. My husband of barely twenty-four hours left me there alone in the dark.
Forty minutes later, my parents arrived.
