Hailey's POV
The sudden light stabbed through my eyelids, not in a soft or gradual manner but in a blinding and violent way.
I flinched before I was even fully conscious, head jerking slightly, and pain detonated behind my skull. A sharp, splitting ache pulsed from my temple down to my jaw. My mouth tasted like blood and dust. My tongue felt swollen.
I forced my eyes open.
The entire environment was white, too white.
The light above me buzzed faintly, fluorescent and unforgiving. It painted everything in sterile brightness that made shadows look darker than they were.
I tried to move.
My wrists didn't.
Something bit into the skin when I tugged—rope. It was rough and tight. My hands were bound behind the chair, even my ankles too. My shoulders screamed from the an
