Chapter 5

The sharp pain struck like a knife twisting in my stomach. I gasped, my body drenched in cold sweat. It wasn’t the first time. For years, these stomach aches had come and gone, a dull ache I’d learned to ignore. I always assumed it was just stress, or maybe something I ate. But yesterday… Yesterday had been different. The pain had nearly knocked me off my feet. That was when I finally went to the hospital. That was when I realized—this wasn’t normal. And now, here...