VICTORIA'S POV - SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - PRIVATE HOSPITAL
Pain.
That was the first thing Victoria Ashford became aware of as consciousness slowly dragged her up from the darkness. Not just pain....agony. A burning, throbbing, all-consuming sensation that seemed to radiate from her hands up through her arms and into her entire body.
Her eyes fluttered open, and harsh fluorescent light made her wince. White ceiling tiles. The steady beep of monitoring equipment. The antiseptic smell of a hospital.
Where was she?
Victoria tried to piece together her fragmented memories, but everything was hazy, distorted by pain and trauma. She remembered... the warehouse. Cold concrete floor. Darkness. Damien's face.....not the face of the man she'd loved, but something cold and cruel and absolutely terrifying.
And then pain. Unimaginable pain.
"Miss Ashford! You're awake!" A nurse rushed to her bedside, her accent distinctly Australian. "Don't try to move yet. Let me get the doctor."
