Chapter 548: Perspective

Speaking with Willow helped to put things into perspective for Mina, and she knew her friend was right. If Sadie really wanted to get rid of Ren, it would make no sense to send him into the bed next door. Especially when there was no guarantee that sort of plan would work, not to mention it would have had profound consequences for everyone involved. Mina knew her sister, and while Sadie was not exactly the nicest person; she had always been her protector, except for the night they had both lost control.

With those thoughts in mind, Mina began nodding in and out of sleep. She was still in President Lee's study, working on the request he had made of her, although she could barely keep her eyes open. When he came back, she could tell he was shocked to see her awake, but he did not comment on it directly.

"Did Willow stop by?" Mina responded with a question of her own, one that Willow told her they had to ask because they needed to gauge how far President Lee was willing to go to 'protect' her.

"Why are you being nice to me?" Ian could see that Mina was tense, so instead of walking close to her, he sat in his armchair a good fifteen feet away.

"I don't want to lie to you. I feel guilty, and this is my way of making it up to you. Once I figure out who shot you, we will be even." Ian said he did not want to lie, but he was lying. He was being nice to Mina because of the way he felt toward her, but he was not ready for her to know; not until she stopped looking at him like an adversary.

Ian watched Mina consider his words before letting her shoulders relax. She had apparently decided that it was a suitable time to tell him why she believed she was shot. She explained her contract with the Lamar family, then went on to explain what she did for them, and how they used her appearance and language skills to better negotiate a contract signing. Ian kept his face unreadable as she stared up at him, obviously waiting for him to speak.

"That complicates things a bit." Ian could sense Mina's unease, so he explained what he meant. "What I mean is that whatever route I take may negatively impact your friend and his family. I will have to navigate it carefully, otherwise the Lamar's could suffer. That is assuming that your theory is correct."

"I don't know anyone from Scleva. Other than Antonio Sylvan, I have only had a handful of dealings with people from that country."

"I will look into it, but in the meantime, I need you to get some sleep. Doctor Witt is already asking me to bring you back to the facility, and I know you do not want that. He says that putting you to sleep for a few days could help with the nightmares." Mina nodded, agreeing to whatever the man decided, which did not go over well with Ian. He stood up and approached her with caution. "Let's get you in bed."

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President Lee had gone to his office, and Mina had free run of his study while he was gone. She buried herself in the work she was doing for him, because it was the only thing that distracted her from her toxic thoughts. Dom had come to visit, but she barely looked up at him; afraid he would give her another piece of advice that would serve to torment her further.

"Are you mad at me?" Mina shook her head, still not speaking. She had stopped trusting her mouth, figuring it was better to pay no attention to men, not unless she had intentions, and so far, she had none; with anyone. "Will you ignore me forever?" Mina nodded, and Dom grew annoyed. He stalked behind the desk and knowing she could not get away; he rolled her out of the study and out of the house.

"Where are you taking me?"

"To see Doctor Witt."

"What? Why?" Mina was beginning to panic, and she tried to use her uninjured leg to stop the wheelchair, but Dom tilted it back on its hind wheels, rendering her helpless.

Mina was practically tossed into Dom's car before he seat belted her in. It felt like only a blink of an eye had passed when they pulled up at the Lee facility, and she tried to make herself too heavy for him to carry. Dom just looked at her as if she were a fool for trying. He wheeled her through the many gates and doors, not bothering to warn her about trying to reuse the passcodes because there was some sort of investigation going on and when Mina asked about it, he told her that one of the trainees snapped and tried to run.

It normally would not have been an issue, but the man stumbled while reciting his code and the result was death.

"That is horrible."

"I know, but it could have been worse." Mina remembered James telling her about a man who had turned his gun on his comrades before turning it on himself and she wondered what kind of training they went through to get to that point.

"Is it that bad?"

"It's not easy and some people cannot handle the torture training." Mina looked up at Dom who was smiling down at her. "You've already experienced the first level." Mina frowned because she knew he meant isolation. There were many days that she wished she would die in her sleep, not because of hunger, but because the silence was maddening.

"Have you?" Mina found herself asking despite knowing the answer. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I showed you some of the things I learned. Haven't you used them?" Mina shuddered remembering the man who had beat her because she refused to speak. It was painful, but she followed Dom's advice, and she believed it was all that stopped her abductor from doing what he had been hinting at the entire time. He wanted her to beg so he could feel strong, but she refused.

Mina's mind suddenly travelled to Ren. He had behaved similarly to the man who had kidnapped her, only he was not using his fists; he was using rhetoric. He was speaking poison into her mind, knowing that she would not be able to confidently deny his words, nor would she be able to ignore them. In the years that Sadie and Troy dated, Ren was a constant in Mina's life, so he knew everything about her; including the fact that she could not forget.

"I wasn't expecting my genius to be brought here by you." Mina looked up and saw Doctor Witt smiling at her in a way that made her shiver.

"She isn't here to stay." Dom rolled Mina passed Jeremy and into the lift that was already waiting.

"Then why is she here?"

"Mina thinks the sick f*ck who stalked her did so because she was nice to him. I need you to tell her she is wrong." Mina felt uncomfortable in the situation she had been forced into, and she slid down into her chair, but not before Doctor Witt stood in front of her.

"You are wrong." Mina's mouth hung open, and after a few minutes she laughed. She laughed until her chest hurt, and she had begun to cry. "Did that work?" Mina shrugged and once she was out of the lift, she was confronted by Rebecca, who she had not seen in weeks.

"How did you get shot before me?" She seemed genuinely displeased and Mina was left speechless.

"Leave it alone for now Doc, Mina isn't quite herself."

"It looks like she hasn't been eating… or sleeping." Rebecca came close and flashed a light into Mina's eyes. "Your file said that you showed signs of PTSD. What kind of episodes are you having?"

"Nightmares," Mina whispered.