The penlight's beam burned into Evelyn's vision like a white-hot needle. She flinched, but Dr. Langford's fingers held steady beneath her chin, his touch impersonal and cold.
"Pupillary response normal," he murmured, his voice exactly as she'd heard it moments before he spoke. "Heart rate elevated, but expected given the circumstances."
Evelyn's nails bit into her palms. This isn't possible. Yet the clipboard had fallen. The code blue had been called. Every detail precisely as foreseen.
Hayes squeezed her wrist. "Try to relax, Ms. Carter. You're—"
"Safe?" Evelyn croaked. The word tasted bitter.
The morphine drip hissed as the nurse adjusted it. Cool relief flooded Evelyn's veins, dragging her toward sleep—
Flash.
This time, the vision didn't just flicker—it detonated behind her eyes.
The hospital room dissolved into chaos.
Alarms shrieked. The heart monitor jagged into frantic peaks before flatlining—one endless, screaming tone. Red emergency lights strobed, painting the walls in pulses of blood.
Crash cart wheels screeching.
Doors slamming open.
Voices shouting over each other:
"—no pulse—"
"—charge to 200—"
"—clear!—"
And then—
Darkness.
Silence.
Evelyn gasped awake, her body jerking against the bedrails. The heart monitor beeped steadily beside her, the sound suddenly precious. Sweat slicked her skin beneath the thin hospital gown.
"Easy!" Hayes steadied her shoulders, her grip firm. "You're alright. Just a bad dream."
But Evelyn wasn't listening. Her gaze locked onto the figure standing in the doorway—a man who hadn't been in her vision.
Tall. Broad-shouldered. A charcoal suit that fit too perfectly, like armor. His face was all sharp angles and calculated calm, but his eyes—pale gray, almost silver—held something darker.
"Ms. Carter?" His voice was polished, smooth. Wrong. "I'm Detective Cole. I need to ask you about your accident."
Hayes stiffened. "She's not cleared for questioning—"
"It wasn't an accident." Cole stepped forward, his shadow stretching across the bed. Up close, Evelyn caught the glint of his cufflinks—tiny silver hourglasses. "The other vehicle left no skid marks. No attempt to brake." His gaze pinned hers. "They aimed for you."
The heart monitor spiked, its rapid beep-beep-beep filling the silence.
Because Evelyn suddenly understood:
The visions weren't random.
They were a warning.
And the man who'd tried to kill her?
He wasn't done yet.