Chapter 1 - The X-Ray Room
The doctor held the telephone to his ear with a visibly trembling hand.
He did not take his eyes off the illuminated screens displaying my fractured bones.
I sat on the sterile examination table while the white-hot pain pulsed continuously through my arm.
My wrist was secured in a heavy temporary splint, but the emotional agony was much worse than the physical damage.
The doctor spoke quietly into the receiver, giving the police my exact location and patient details.
He hung up the phone and turned to face me with a look of profound sorrow.
He told me that the police were dispatching a domestic violence unit to the hospital immediately.
Mrs. Chen sat in the corner chair, holding my good hand and whispering that I was incredibly brave.
I had spent twenty-eight years believing that Sarah’s cruelty was just a normal part of sibling rivalry.
Looking at the undeniable medical evidence on the wall, I finally understood that I was a victim of systematic abuse.
I thanked the doctor for believing my story when my own parents had simply laughed at my agony.
He promised me that nobody would ever be allowed to lay another violent hand on me again.
Suddenly, the heavy wooden door to the examination room was kicked violently open.
My sister Sarah stood in the doorway, breathing heavily and glaring at me with pure hatred.
She was still wearing her shiny athletic medals over her expensive gym clothes.
She marched directly toward the doctor and pointed a muscular finger right at his face.
She demanded that he release me into her custody immediately because I was suffering from a mental breakdown.
The doctor stood his ground and ordered her to step out of the room before he called security.
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Sarah sneered and reached into her designer duffel bag with a highly menacing movement.
She pulled out a thick stack of hundred-dollar bills and tossed them directly onto the examination table.
