Chapter 1 - The White Line
The bright white line on the glowing tablet screen looked entirely unnatural against the gray shadows of her spinal x-ray.
Olivia stared at the small, metallic shape embedded deep within the tissue at the base of her neck.
She had never undergone any kind of surgery in her entire life.
Her parents had always claimed she was terrified of hospitals and refused to even get her wisdom teeth removed.
Doctor Patel zoomed in on the image until a tiny string of engraved numbers became visible on the metallic object.
"That is a surgical grade titanium pin, Olivia," the doctor said in a hushed, trembling voice.
"I do not understand how that got inside my body," Olivia whispered while fighting back a wave of nausea.
The doctor looked nervously toward the closed hospital door before leaning closer to the hospital bed.
"I ran the serial number through the national medical database while you were unconscious," the doctor explained.
"That specific titanium pin was implanted into the spine of a six-month-old infant exactly eighteen years ago."
Olivia felt the room spin as she tried to process the impossible information.
"But I am only seventeen years old," Olivia replied with a shaking voice.
The doctor placed a comforting hand over Olivia's trembling fingers.
"The infant who received this implant was named Victoria Sterling," the doctor revealed.
"Victoria Sterling supposedly died in a tragic car accident along with her billionaire parents fifteen years ago."
A suffocating silence filled the sterile hospital room as the terrifying truth settled over them.
Robert and Jennifer Harrison were not her real parents.
They had kidnapped her, lied about her age, and hidden her away in a house full of psychological abuse.
Before Olivia could ask another question, the heavy wooden door of the hospital room burst open with a violent crash.
Robert marched into the room with his fists clenched, followed closely by a tall man in an expensive gray suit.
"You have no right to run unauthorized tests on my daughter," Robert shouted aggressively at the doctor.
The man in the suit pulled a thick stack of legal documents from his leather briefcase.
"I am the attorney representing the Harrison family, and we are transferring Olivia to a private facility immediately," the lawyer announced.
Doctor Patel stood up bravely and tried to block their path to the bed.
"This patient has suffered severe spinal trauma and cannot be moved," the doctor argued fiercely.
The lawyer handed a single piece of paper to the doctor with a cold, victorious smile.
"This is a court-ordered emergency psychiatric hold signed by a judge," the lawyer stated.
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Olivia read the bold print on the paper and felt her heart completely stop.
Her supposed family was legally committing her to a locked insane asylum before she could tell anyone the truth.
