My mind was foggy, my body heavy. I stirred, my eyelids fluttering open. White walls greeted me, the sterile smell of disinfectant filling my nostrils. I was in a hospital bed.

“What…what happened?” I croaked, my voice hoarse.

A nurse bustled in, her expression inscrutable.

“You don’t remember?”

My heart pounded in my chest.

“No, I don’t.”

She hesitated. “We’re not exactly sure what happened to you. you were brought in by an ambulance last night.”

“But why?” I demanded. “Am I okay?”

“Your vitals are stable, but you have a concussion and some lacerations.” She replied evasively. “We’re still running tests.”

As she spoke, my memory began to piece itself together. I had been out with friends the night before, celebrating my birthday. We had danced, laughed, and drunk heavily.

But then…what?

I closed my eyes, trying to concentrate. Images flickered through my mind: A fight, a broken bottle…

“I was in a fight.” I whispered. “Someone hit me.”

The nurse didn’t say anything, but her silence confirmed my suspicions.

“But who?” I pressed. “Why?”

She shook her head. “I’m sorry, but we don’t have any information about that. The police are still investigating.”

A cold shiver ran down my spine. I had been attacked. But for what reason? And why was no one telling me anything?

As the day wore on, doctors and nurses came and went, performing tests and asking questions I couldn’t answer. I felt like a puzzle piece that didn’t fit, a stranger in my own life.

Hours later, a detective visited me. He introduced himself as Detective Miller and informed me that he was investigating my assult.

“Can you tell me anything that might help?” He asked me.

I tried, but my memory was still hazy. I could only remember snippets of the night: The broken bottle, the pain, the darkness.

“I don’t know.” I said, defeated. “I don’t remember anything.”

Detective Miller’s expression was hard to read.

“Someone attacked you for a reason, Ms. Harper. And it’s our job to find out who.”

I nodded, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to the story than I was being told. A secret that everyone was hiding from me.

As the investigation continued, I began to doubt everything I thought I knew. Friends became suspects, and strangers held secrets that could change everything. And in the shadows, a sinister truth lurked, waiting to be revealed…