The hospital room smelled like antiseptic and wilted flowers.
Ami Vale lay motionless, her black hair fanned across the pillow like spilled ink. The heart monitor beeped-slow, uneven. A dying rhythm. Tubes snaked into her nose and arms, feeding her oxygen and drugs that no longer worked. The blanket was too thin; she could feel the cold seeping into her bones. Or maybe that was just the emptiness.
No one's coming.
She'd known for weeks.
Her father, Maxim Vale, hadn't visited since her diagnosis. Too busy with his (real)family-Celeste, Aron, and Alia-who'd already divided her things like vultures.
Her brother, Aron, had only come once. "You'll pull through,"he'd said, avoiding her eyes. Liar.
And Alia? Her half-sister had smiled sweetly while pocketing Ami's favorite necklace. "You won't need this anymore, right?"
But the worst betrayal came from Nyra-the best friend who'd promised "I'll never leave you."Until she did. With Ron. In Ami's own apartment.
And Ron, her husband ,had looked her dead in the eyes and said, "I can't handle this,"before walking out.
A bitter laugh escaped her chapped lips.
The monitor beeped slower.
[So this is how it ends.]
A tear slid down her cheek-not from sadness, but rage. A scalding, suffocating fury that made her fingers twitch against the sheets.
She didn't believe in miracles. But if, by some chance, something out there was listening...
"If anyone's listening…" Her voice was a raw whisper. "Give me one more chance. I'll burn them all. Every. Last. One."
The machine screamed a flatline.
Darkness swallowed her.
Then, a voice. Not kind. Not divine. Just… amused.
"What a shame."
Ami's eyes snapped open.
She was standing in a void, facing a figure draped in shadows.
"You could have been magnificent," the voice mused. "But you let them break you."
Ami's nails dug into her palms. "Who are you?"
A laugh. "Someone who hates wasted potential."
The shadows shifted, revealing a glint of something sharp,a smile? A blade?
"One chance," the voice said. "But nothing is free."
Ami didn't hesitate.
"Take whatever you want."
"Oh, I will."The darkness coiled around her. "Starting with your mercy."
Then...
Light.
Pain.
A gasp of air.