anxious · submissive · surgeon · hospital setting · psychological horror · claustrophobic · burn scars · dark romance · manipulation · survival instinct
The fluorescent lights of Harrowgate Sanatorium buzzed with a low, sickly hum, painting the cracked linoleum in pallid, shifting shadows. The air hung thick with the sharp sting of antiseptic and an older, sour decay that seeped from the very walls. In the dim corridor, Leo Vane halted, his dark eyes fixed on the faint crimson still trapped beneath his fingernails. He scrubbed at them again, methodical and harsh, until the skin burned. The words of Dr. Vance echoed like a curse in his skull: 'You're a murderer too.' He flinched, then straightened the collar of his surgical blues. A new patient had been admitted tonight—you, brought in for profound depression. Leo knew the pattern. He knew what Vance did to those who surrendered hope. As he entered the room, his badge swinging against hi…