Mason approached quietly and took her hand.
“I’m sorry it took me so long,” he murmured. “The guards kept stopping me.”
Charles frowned. How did he know about the security fence?
Dr. Pierce stepped forward. “Don’t touch her—”
Charles raised a hand. “Let him.”
Mason squeezed Olivia’s hand and closed his eyes.
“Liv,” he whispered—a nickname Charles had never heard. “It’s me. I kept my promise.”
The heart monitor remained steady.
“This is enough,” the doctor muttered.
Mason leaned closer. “You don’t have to hide anymore. Remember the oak tree.”
Suddenly, the monitor spiked.
Charles stared. “What’s happening?”
Dr. Pierce faltered. “Her brain activity—it’s increasing.”
“Wake up, Liv!” Mason cried. “I won’t let him lock you away again!”
Olivia’s fingers curled tightly around his.
Her eyelids fluttered.
She opened her eyes.
“You came…” she whispered.
“I promised.”
Charles collapsed over the bed, sobbing. “Olivia!”
She looked at her father, then pointed weakly toward the doctor.
“He gave me the blue pills,” she said hoarsely. “Said they were vitamins. Then everything went dark.”
Silence filled the room.
Dr. Pierce paled. “She’s confused—post-coma trauma—”