Hearts Remember What Minds Try To Forget by Rex Wilder 4

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Sleep eluded me that night.. 

I placed the signed divorce papers in a drawer in Lucas’s study. 

He had a habit of personally organizing the files in his study every eight days. 

By the time he found the divorce papers, I would be long gone. 

As dawn broke, I stumbled out of the villa, a daze blurring my vision. 

I needed to get to my mother’s apartment; her frantic texts about ending her life had filled my phone. 

The moment I walked into the apartment and saw my mother, the thin, middle–aged woman collapsed into my arms, sobbing uncontrollably. 

“Annie,” she wailed, “I just got back from the hospital this morning. They’re going to pull your brother’s oxygen tube!” 

“They’re threatening me to hand over some video, but I swear, Annie, I don’t know anything about it!” 

“Annie, what are we going to do? You have to save your brother…” 

I held my mother tight, a cold certainty settling in my gut: this had to be Chloe’s doing, pulling strings from the shadows. 

“Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll protect you and Scott, no matter what.” My words were a shaky promise as I made sure she was settled, then spun on my heel, racing for the hospital. 

I shoved open Anna’s hospital room door. Just as I’d suspected, a pack of thugs was circling his bed. 

The moment they saw me, they straightened up, eyes predatory. “You’re Anna’s kin, ain’t ya?” one of them growled, his gaze raking over me. “You’ve got the damn video, now cough it up!” 

My jaw clenched so tight it ached, I glared at them. “You get out of here. Now,” I snapped, “or I swear to God, I’m calling the police!” 

One of the thugs lunged for Scott’s oxygen tube. “Go on, call them. I dare you. Unless you’re ready to watch your brother stop breathing.” 

My heart hammered against my ribs, my eyes darting to my unconscious brother. A cold dread gripped me, the image of him lifeless flashing in my mind. I forced myself to back down. “What… what do you want?” I choked out, my voice barely a whisper. “What will it take for you to leave him alone?” 

The thug sneered. “He nearly raped Chloe back then, and recorded a ton of videos, planning to utterly destroy her. It’s simple: the footage for his life.” 

But I don’t have them!” I cried, my voice laced with helpless desperation. 

They stopped talking, and one of them yanked Anna’s oxygen tube clean off. 

My blood ran cold. The thugs dragged Scott from his bed, dropping him to the floor before circling him, kicking and punching with savage delight. 

“Don’t hurt my brother!” I screamed, throwing myself over Scott’s trembling body. They didn’t even flinch, their fists and feet now raining down on both of us. 

It didn’t take long for blood to well up at the corner of my mouth, and I felt several ribs give way with sickening pops. 

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They only stopped when I was barely conscious, my vision blurring. 

“This ain’t over, you two!” one of them snarled, and then they were gone, their curses fading as they stormed out. 

I fumbled for the call button, my fingers barely responsive. When the doctors and nurses finally rushed in, I could only manage a ragged whisper, “My brother… save him… his oxygen…” 

The doctor, however, held up a hand. “This is an ICU. Replacing medical equipment here requires Mr. Thorne’s personal signature. This entire hospital belongs to him, and we wouldn’t dare make such a decision without his express consent.” 

Tears stung my eyes, my body throbbing with agony, but I forced my trembling hand to dial Lucas. 

But it was Chloe who answered. 

“Don’t disturb Lucas. He’s quite busy right now,” Chloe purred, a deliberate challenge in her voice. “Don’t believe me? Listen-” 

“Baby, who is it?” Lucas’s voice, thick and raspy, drifted through the phone. I heard the unmistakable sound of him kissing Chloe’s lips, his breathing heavy and ragged. 

“Just a pesky call… Oh, Lucas, you know we can’t break the Thorne Dynasty rules. And I never said you could do that…” 

“I’ll just hold you and kiss you. I promise not to go in…” 

The sounds of their kisses swelled and faded on the other end of the line. 

Numbness spread through me as I slowly lowered the phone. My eyes, devoid of focus, could only register the piercing beep that 

suddenly echoed in my ears. 

Anna’s heart monitor flatlined. 

My brother was dead, the delay in rescue stealing his last breath. 

My mouth fell open, but no scream, no sob, escaped me. My body swayed, then everything went white. I collapsed to the floor, the world going black. 

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