Broken Trust

Chapter 1

Camila

Everything hurts, and there is a beeping sound keeping me awake. What is going on? Did I survive the fall? It seems impossible, but I don't have any memory of what happened. I try to move, and the room seems familiar. I have a bad feeling. Am I in hell? It feels like it, for I am in a place I never want to experience again.

"Good, I see you are awake," the doctor says entering the room. It's Nando's sister, the one who helped me after that terrible night that started my downfall. "You went through a terrible experience, and I'm not sure how much you remember. I've been trying to contact your husband, but I have been unable to..."

She keeps talking but I'm no longer listening. It's like deja vu, this is what already happened, and Scott is no longer my husband, he divorced me and left me in the streets. He took everything from me.

"Ms. Castillo? Are you listening to me?"

"I'm sorry, I don't, I can't..." I feel like I'm losing my mind. "What day is it?"

"It's Monday, September 26th. You have been out of it for more than a day," that's impossible. It's been months since Sharon's birthday and that awful day when I lost everything. "I'm sorry to be the one say this, but you need to know you lost your baby."

Tears start falling down my face. It hurts just as much as it did the first time. I had months to ease the pain, but it feels fresh. If my wish came true, and it's either that or I'm losing my mind, why couldn't I come a few days earlier so I could save my baby? Couldn't I be spared this pain?

"I'm so sorry," the doctor says, but I just cry louder. I scream my pain and frustration. I can hear her calling the nurses and I see one of them putting something in the IV. I know what it is. The first time around they had me drugged out of my mind for a few days because I was losing it. I can let it happen again, but it's too late, I'm already going under.

When I wake up again I hear voices. It's a replay of a conversation that send me into a nervous attack the first time, but right now I feel numb, and it's not the drugs making me feel this way.

"If you give me a moment, Mr. Stone, I'm calling in behalf of your wife," the nurse is saying, she is close enough for me to be able to hear both sides of the conversation.

"I don't want to know anything from that w***e," comes the response, before he hangs up.

I should be used to this, it's not the first time I had to hear it, but this time I don't feel sad or broken, I feel angry. Now I know why he acted the way he did, but he is my husband, he should be on my side. He left me when I needed him the most. The nurse turns to look at me, and she doesn't know how to act, she is mortified.

"Could you call my friend Rachel?" I ask. It took me a long time to reach out to her, but she turned out to be my saving grace. She believed me the first time, she was the only one to do it, so I know I can trust her. "Rachel Powell, she is a lawyer, you can find her phone with a quick search."

"Of course, let me look it up," the nurse gets out, as if she is running from me.

If I'm not going crazy, if this is indeed a do over, then I have to be smarter than I was the first time. When this first happened I was too drowned in my pain to realize what was going on around me, and when I finally realized it, it was too late. Rachel was the one that stood by my side, but she wasn't prepared either, and we lost. This time around, we will be prepared. I'm already too late to save my baby, but I won't allow them to take more from me. I will make them pay.

It's crazy, but easy enough to confirm everything. I already know that part of it it's playing the same. Scott believes I betrayed him, and his family is going to keep him from me.

I'm still going through my memories, when Rachel arrives.

"Oh my god! What happened to you?" she runs to my bedside.

I have no idea how I look, but from her face I can tell I'm not looking so hot right now. Instead of answering her question I break down in tears. She is here, and that already gives me hope that I will be able to face what's coming my way.

"It was awful," I finally manage to answer. "Something horrible happened at Sharon's party. I don't remember exactly what," the only clear memory I have, and it's something it took me weeks after the incident to piece together, is Scott walking away from me, disgust on his face, "but I'm pretty sure I was drugged and," it's hard to say it, but I need to. "I think I was r***d," I whisper, barely unable to say it out loud.

"What?" she looks startled, like this was the last thing she expected me to say, and to be honest, it kind of is.

"I don't remember much, but that in itself makes me things something happened," I explain.

"Well, what does Scott has to say about this? Where is he?" she looks around, as if he is going to appear.

"I don't know. He doesn't want to know anything about me," I say, and start crying all over again. No matter it has been months to me, his rejection still hurts. And right now I don't even know if he was part of the conspiracy to bring me down or if he was another victim. I'm not sure who was with Sharon when I was pushed from the balcony, could it have been Scott?

"Oh, honey, don't cry," Rachel hugs me while I keep crying. I needed this so much. I was all alone for most of my ordeal the first time.

It takes me a while to calm down, and by the time I do, the doctor is back.

"How are we feeling?" she asks, and then she looks at Rachel. "Are you a relative of Camilla?"

"She is my friend and lawyer," I say, "you can talk in front of her. I want her to be informed of everything that is going on with me."

"Okay, if that's okay with you. I might need your signature to include her in the list of people we can share your medical records with," she explains.

"And talking about that. Camilla mentioned she suspects she was assaulted, did you do a r**e kit?" Rachel asks, going to professional mode, something I'm grateful for, since she will take care of all those messy details I have no idea about.

"When she came we were more worried about her miscarriage. We had to do some procedures that I'm afraid interfere with what needs to be done for a r**e kit. We had no idea of something like that could have happened," she explains, but I can tell she is feeling guilty. "To be honest, when Nando brought her here, he just said he found her bleeding. She was out of it, and we had no chance to ask what had happened."

"I'm sorry, did you say miscarriage?" Rachel asks, her eyes big.

"I think they did something to me, do you think that caused the miscarriage?" I have to know. If what they did to me caused me to lose my baby, then I will never forgive them.

"It could, but it's not likely. It's probably if you were already at risk that what happened only accelerated the process. But stressful situation can in fact cause a miscarriage. I'm not saying it was the cause, just that is possible."

"We need to search for any signs of r**e drugs," Rachel says.

"I'm afraid this is a small clinic, we don't have the resources," the doctor starts.

"Just take the samples, I know of a laboratory that can do the tests. We need to take this seriously. Maybe it's nothing, but we need cover our bases," that's what I love about her, even when you throw a curve ball at her, she is cold headed enough to take care of the situation. So many people underestimates her and her amazing brain.

"Okay, we are within the window, but we need to take the samples fast. Give me a minute to prepare and I will personally come take the samples," she walks out, and I look at Rachel.

"Okay, tell me everything. What the hell is going on?"

I debate telling her what is really going on, but she is a logical person, and who in his right mind would believe that I died and woke up back in the worst day of my life? I need her help, and I have to be as honest as possible, but no, no one can know my secret.

"I don't remember much. I have just a few hazy memories of Sharon's party. You left early, right?" I ask and she nods. "Do you remember John? The guy I was talking to?" she nods again. "Well, Sharon introduced us and asked me to stay with him, since we both spoke Spanish, and I think he put something in my drink. I don't remember much of the party, but I have a vague memory of being in a room with John, and Scott calling me names. The next thing I remember is waking up here."

"I don't get it, if you remember Scott, why isn't he here with you?"

"I think he thought I was cheating on him?" I think that's what he believed, what they made him believe. I'm still not sure of his role in all of this.

"That's ridiculous, I have to call him, give me a moment."

Rachel takes her cell phone out of her purse and walks out of the room. I have a good idea of where this is going, but still, it's good to know I have someone in my corner.