Fingered in the Car

AUTHOR'S POV

The hospital room smelled of harsh antiseptic bleach and stale institutional air. It was a suffocating, clinical scent that did nothing to mask the underlying atmosphere of dread. The steady, rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor next to the bed sounded like a countdown ticking away in the silence.

Vivian lay rigid against the stiff mattress. Her body felt as though it had been dra