Chapter 3 - The Secret Signals
Roman stopped dead in his tracks, two feet away from his brother’s wheelchair. The marble room fell into a deathly silence, save for the soft ticking of a grandfather clock in the foyer.
"What did you just say?" Roman whispered, his hands clenching into tight fists at his sides.
Claire looked down at the alphabet board, her fingers tracing the clear plastic edges. She had only been hired three weeks ago as a night-shift housekeeper. While the high-priced private nurses spent their shifts browsing their phones, Claire had spent hours sitting quietly beside Ethan, softly cleaning his room, humming old melodies, and treating him like a living human being rather than furniture.
It started five days ago. Claire had noticed that whenever the head private nurse administered Ethan's evening intravenous sedative, Ethan's right eyelid would twitch rhythmically.
Claire had brought her young daughter's laminated study board from home. Over four painful nights, while the guards were patrolling the perimeter, Claire held the board in front of Ethan. She watched his pupils. One blink for 'yes', two blinks for 'no', and distinct holds when her finger passed over specific letters.
Ethan had been trapped inside his own paralyzed body, completely conscious, watching everything, but kept chemically muted by heavy paralytics.
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Suddenly, Ethan’s head tilted ever so slightly. His sharp, clear eyes shifted from the carpet, tracking across the room, and locked directly onto Roman before darting toward the double oak doors leading to the driveway.
👉 Keep reading to find out who had been controlling Ethan's medication.
