My wife, Ava, needed a guinea pig for her lover’s new wonder drug. So she had me committed. I’d just had surgery for stomach cancer, still weak and stitched up, when she sent me to a private psychiatric facility. They zapped me with electricity until I drooled, my body convulsing on the cold table. Through it all, Ava just covered her lover Ethan’s eyes, her voice laced with disgust. “It’s filthy. Don’t look.” Ethan’s “research” on me earned him a prestigious nomination. To celebrate, Ava set off a firework display that lit up the entire city. And I, under that same brilliant, festive sky, had my right leg amputated. The constant electroshock had caused the tissue to die. To hide his crime, Ethan arranged for a cheap prosthesis and threatened me never to tell Ava the truth. He told her my leg was just “injured” during an experiment. Numbly, I packed my own severed leg into a portable cooler. In seven days, at Ethan’s award ceremony, it would be my gift to her. … My eyes were red-rimmed as I begged Nate, one of the orderlies, for help. He was the only person in this hellhole who’d shown me an ounce of kindness, saying I reminded him of his brother. He didn’t have the power to save me from Ethan, but seeing me clutch my prosthetic leg, sobbing my heart out, he hesitated, then agreed. He’d just taken the cooler and turned to leave when he ran right into Ava. The faint, coppery smell from the box made her wrinkle her nose. She watched the orderly walk away before lowering her hand, her brow furrowed. But nothing could dampen her mood today; she was radiant, like a general returning from a victorious battle. “Ethan’s experiment was a massive success,” she said, her voice bright, almost speaking to herself. “He’s finally going to achieve his dream.” She’d been in my room for minutes, but her gaze was fixed on the fireworks blooming outside my window. She hadn’t spared me a single glance. Only when the silence stretched did her cool eyes finally sweep over me, her brow knotting in irritation. “Leo, this is the only thing Ethan has ever asked of you. You were just sitting at home recovering anyway, with nothing to do. Here, you can make some friends, help him out. You don’t have to look so miserable about it.” Friends. Let’s see. There was the old woman who’d snuck into my room to harass me. The old man who’d tried to strangle me, accusing me of stealing his money. The man who’d kicked me to the ground, screaming that I’d stolen his wife. These were the “friends” Ava was talking about. I was pumped full of Ethan’s drugs and subjected to repeated shocks until my leg rotted from the inside out. The doctor who treated me later said if I’d gotten to a proper hospital sooner, they could have saved it. But what good is a hospital when you don’t even have your freedom? Seeing me with my head down, my eyes burning with unshed tears, Ava finally moved closer, ready to question me. “Leo—” Her word was cut in half as her phone lit up. The moonlight fell across her face, illuminating an expression of pure, unadulterated happiness. She was so absorbed that in the twenty minutes she spent in my room, she never once noticed that my right leg wasn’t real. I was exhausted, about to drift off, when one of Ethan’s assistants came in with my daily dose of pills. The thought of my empty trouser leg filled me with a sudden rage, and I swatted the pills to the floor. Ava, who had been texting by the window, startled. She strode over, scooped the dusty pills from the ground without a second thought, and held them to my lips. Her voice was merciless. “This is part of Ethan’s research. If you don’t take them, how is he supposed to write his report?” Tears blurring my vision, I turned my head away, but she gripped my chin, forcing my mouth open and shoving the bitter pills down my throat. She was about to say more when her phone buzzed again. With a final glance, she turned and left, forgetting her coat in her haste. I knew why she was leaving. I opened my social media feed. The first thing I saw was a cute, goofy picture of Ethan with tissue paper stuffed up his nose. The caption read: Watched fireworks all night and caught a cold. Btw, taking an extra cold pill won’t kill you, right? Ava’s reply was the first in the comments. You have a cold? Why didn’t you tell me? You silly goose. We won’t know if it’s serious until you get checked out. Wait for me. She didn’t come back that night. After midnight, I silently wished myself a happy birthday. I remembered, before all this, Ava taking me for a check-up. The doctor had said my cancer surgery recovery was going well, and her face had lit up. “The day you’re fully recovered is your birthday! We have to celebrate properly.” But times had changed. Now, she was setting off a city’s worth of fireworks for Ethan’s meaningless nomination. The next morning, Nate brought me a small, palm-sized cake. “I remember you said today was your birthday,” he said, his voice soft. “But your leg…” He trailed off, but still lit the candle for me. His care was the only thing keeping me sane. I closed my eyes, made a wish, and was about to blow out the candle when a figure appeared in the doorway. Ava saw the scene, her brow twitching as if she’d just remembered something. “Oh. It’s your birthday.” Flustered, she fumbled in her coat pockets, searching for something, anything, to serve as a gift. What she pulled out was a half-empty box of condoms. Mortified, she shoved it back into her pocket. “That’s… someone must have put it there as a joke. I’ll get you a proper gift later.” I blew out the candle with a sharp puff. “Don’t bother.” Her face instantly darkened. She shoved her hands in her pockets, radiating impatience. “Are you really going to be like this over a gift? I paid for your father’s medical bills when he was sick. And now you’re giving me attitude over some stupid birthday? Don’t you think you’re being unreasonable?” I just bit my lip and listened. She was right. She was my family’s savior. The debt I owed her was one I felt I could never repay. Nate, sitting beside me, couldn’t take it anymore. He stood up and brushed past Ava on his way out, bumping her shoulder. She stumbled, her expression turning even uglier. She shot me a glare and turned to leave, only to run into Ethan, who was just arriving in his lab coat. Beneath the collar of his white coat, a faint red mark was visible. Ava’s anger vanished like smoke. She rushed to his side, her voice tender. “I told you to rest at home. Why are you here?” Ethan let out a theatrical sneeze. “You gave me your coat to keep me warm yesterday. I’m much better now.” He suddenly remembered I was there and pulled his adoring gaze away from her, offering me a strained smile. “I came today because there’s an important experiment we need to run. I’ll need your cooperation, Leo.” A jolt of terror shot through me. I looked at Ava, pleading with my eyes, shaking my head, silently begging her to say no. But she just smiled generously at Ethan. “It’s fine,” she said breezily. “He’s not doing anything else.” The knife I felt hanging over my head finally fell. Ethan’s lips curved into a smile. He looked back at me and added, “This one might hurt a little more, but you just have to bear it. You’ve been so cooperative before, Leo. I’m sure you’ll do great.” A deep, dark premonition coiled in my gut. Ava had poured a fortune into setting up this lab for Ethan. She let him test his concoctions on living people, even using barbaric electroshock therapy. And every time something went wrong, she was there to clean up the mess. She seemed to enjoy it. But I never thought she would let him torture me. I didn’t fight back. I owed her too much. But after this, I thought, the debt would surely be paid. At a clap of Ethan’s hands, a group of technicians entered with various instruments. Once everything was set up, Ethan draped his arm around Ava’s shoulders. “Ava,” he whispered, “I’m a little worried. What if this one fails?” Her heart clearly melted. She squeezed his hand, her voice overflowing with tenderness. “It won’t. Let’s go outside. They can just bring us the data when they’re done.” Inside the room, I lay on the cold bed, staring at the ceiling as they strapped down my arms and legs. The light blurred. My consciousness began to fray. As they increased the voltage, my body went numb, but my mind drifted in and out of a strange clarity. In the haze, I heard them scrambling, the clatter of metal. “Shit, what are you doing? You can’t even control the voltage!” Then, an all-consuming convulsion. A distant voice shouting. “Get him to the ER! Now! We might still have time!” I didn’t struggle. It was like being knocked out with a club. When I opened my eyes again, I was in a new, unfamiliar room. Before I could speak, a man’s voice cut through the silence. “You really worked hard for us, Leo. Here’s a little something for your trouble.” Ethan flashed me a mocking grin and pulled a single bill from his wallet, placing it on my pillow. He turned and came face-to-face with Ava, who had just entered. His sneer vanished, replaced by a frown of remorse. “It’s all my fault,” he said, looking down. “I was careless and caused Leo to pass out. I’ve already apologized to him.” Ava barely glanced at me. She stroked Ethan’s face with a doting expression. “It wasn’t your fault. You don’t need to apologize.” Then she paused, as if remembering something. She walked to my bedside. “The doctor said there was a problem with your leg. Why didn’t you tell me you were hurt?” I said nothing. At the time, she was too busy watching fireworks with Ethan. I’d sent her countless messages. She hadn't replied to a single one. Nate, who was standing beside me, started to speak, but Ethan shot him a threatening look, cutting him off. He turned to Ava. “It’s my fault. There was an unexpected complication with the experiment, and I was so busy handling it I forgot to tell you about Leo’s injury.” “Why would it be your fault?” Ava said lightly. “He’s fine now, it’s no big deal.” She forgave him on my behalf before I could even open my mouth. To keep Nate from talking, Ethan steered him out of the room. Ava turned back to me, a sliver of guilt in her eyes. “You’ve been cooped up for a while. I’ll take you out to a nice restaurant tonight. We’ll celebrate.” She didn’t wait for my answer, simply dragging me to a high-end clothing store and buying me a suit. As I was changing, she saw the mass of bruises, black and blue, covering my back. Her hand, holding out the shirt, faltered. But in the end, she said nothing. She made an excuse and waited outside. Guilt? The thought was so absurd it was almost funny. She saw the state I was in, and she felt guilty? Everything she saw was her own damn handiwork. At the restaurant, Ava’s eyes never left her phone. At one point, she disappeared to the restroom for over twenty minutes. When she returned, she finally remembered to ask the waiter for a menu. But she was completely distracted, randomly pointing at a line on the page. The waiter was baffled. She was pointing at the restaurant’s address. With a sigh, I took the menu and ordered for both of us. The food had just arrived when Ava suddenly stood up, grabbing her coat. “Ethan’s getting bullied at a party. I have to go, now.” She started to leave, then paused, her voice cold. “You should come too. It’ll be hard to get a cab this late.” In the car, she was silent, her eyes glued to her phone, terrified of missing a message. We rushed to the location Ethan had sent. The private room was anything but a scene of bullying; it was loud and celebratory. The moment Ethan saw me, his smile vanished. He quickly composed himself, looking down with an expression of self-reproach. “I didn’t know you were with Ava, Leo. I only sent her the address because I lost a dare.” Ava, still catching her breath from rushing in, showed no sign of annoyance. “It’s not a big deal. We were just having dinner.” Every eye in the room fixed on me. I dug my nails into my palm, wanting to end the farce. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going.” I turned to leave, but Ethan called out. “Leo, my research isn’t finished yet. You can’t go home. You should stay in the hospital a while longer.” A mocking voice piped up from the crowd. “So that’s Ethan’s little test subject. No wonder he’s covered in scars.” Another person chimed in. “Scars are one thing, but look at him. A cripple in a suit that expensive. What a waste. It’s hideous.” I kept my back to them, biting the inside of my cheek to swallow the lump in my throat. Ava acted as if she hadn’t heard a thing. “Ethan’s right,” she said, her voice firm. “You’ve come this far. You can’t give up now. Go back to the hospital.” I gritted my teeth, enduring it. But before I could even leave the room, my phone rang. It was the hospital. “Mr. Evans? It’s about your father. His condition is critical. If you can, you should come back… to say goodbye.” My world exploded. I tried to run, but two burly men, clearly bodyguards, blocked my path. I struggled, turning to Ava with desperate, pleading eyes. Her face was a mask of displeasure. “Ethan has worked so hard to get here. Do you have to cause trouble at the last minute?” Seeing my silence, her voice hardened, leaving no room for negotiation. “You are going back to the facility. Tonight.” I couldn’t hold it in any longer. “My father is dying! I have to see him!” For a fleeting second, she seemed moved. But then Ethan tugged on her sleeve, his face a mask of wounded innocence. Her tone shifted instantly, becoming harsh. “There’s plenty of money in your father’s hospital account. What good would you do there? Ethan has been nominated. The awards are in a few days. Can’t you stand to see him succeed?” My throat closed up. The blood in my veins turned to ice. Her face was a storm of impatience. She gave a slight nod. The bodyguards seized me, dragged me out, and unceremoniously threw me into the back of a van from the psychiatric facility. The journey was long. I was locked back in that cold, dark room. It wasn’t until I saw the official notification of my father’s death that the world shattered completely. Images, sounds, memories—they all crashed down on me. It was like being plunged into a frozen lake. In the days that followed, I was a walking corpse. Ethan could do what he wanted to me. I no longer fought back. On the final day, Ava accompanied Ethan to the award ceremony, a constellation of flashing camera lights. And I was finally free. With a plane ticket Nate had bought for me, a heavy box of ashes, and a body full of scars, I went home. The moment I landed, my phone screen was flooded with missed calls. All from Ava. I thought for a moment, then typed out a single message. Ava, I want a divorce. Then I blocked her number and disappeared into the crowd. Back in my old, run-down neighborhood, I let out a breath I’d been holding for months. I was halfway through packing up my father’s apartment when Nate called. “It’s all over the city news…” Before he could finish, I opened the video link he’d sent. It showed Ava, calm and composed, getting ready backstage. Her evening gown was a perfect match for Ethan’s tie. Nate, just as I’d asked, brought the cooler to her. Ava recognized him, pausing as she adjusted Ethan’s tie. A mocking smile played on her lips. “Did he send you?” she asked. “Knowing him, he’s probably petty enough to put a bomb in there, isn’t he?” The stylists and makeup artists around them burst into laughter. Nate just placed the cooler on the table, his voice unnervingly calm. “Mr. Evans asked me to give this to you. He said it was a gift.” Ethan frowned, looking at the cooler with disdain. “Ava, what good could possibly be in there? Get someone to throw it out. The ceremony is about to start.” Ava scoffed and gestured for her assistant to take it.
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