The steady beep… beep… beep was the first thing Chloe heard.

Then the sharp smell of antiseptic.

Her eyelids felt like bricks, but she forced them open. Harsh white light blinded her for a moment, blurring everything into pale shapes. Slowly, the room came into focus: the sterile white walls, the thin curtain pulled halfway around her bed, and the IV stand with a bag dripping into her veins.

A hospital.

She tried to move, but pain shot through her abdomen like fire. Her breath ...