Chen Li showed up the next afternoon like she promised.
She was younger than Wanyin expected, maybe early thirties. Short hair, no makeup, dressed in jeans and a plain sweater. She looked nothing like the glamorous entertainment managers Wanyin remembered from her modeling days.
"You look terrible," Chen Li said as soon as she walked in.
"Thanks. That's exactly what I needed to hear." Wanyin tried to smile but her split lip hurt. "Sit down. Please."
Chen Li pulled up a chair but she kept glancing at the door like she expected someone to burst in at any moment. "I can't stay long. If he finds out I'm here—"
"Shen Jingwei. Everyone keeps saying that. What did he do to you?"
Chen Li's expression went dark. "What didn't he do? Wanyin, he destroyed my career when you signed with Tianyi. I was your manager at Star King, remember? We had everything lined up for you. International campaigns, runway shows in Paris and Milan. You were going to be huge."
Wanyin felt sick. "I don't remember any of that."
"I heard about the amnesia. Is it real? You're not just—"
"It's real." Wanyin's voice came out sharper than she meant. "I wouldn't fake this. I wouldn't choose to not remember five years of my life."
Chen Li studied her for a long moment and then nodded. "Okay. I believe you. So what do you want to know?"
"Everything. Start from the beginning."
Chen Li leaned back in her chair and sighed. "You met him at a charity gala. Five years ago. You were there as Star King's representative, he was there as CEO of Tianyi. You caught his eye apparently. He pursued you hard, sent flowers to the agency, called constantly. At first you weren't interested because you knew he was married. You had standards back then."
Standards. Past tense.
"But he was persistent," Chen Li continued. "Kept saying his marriage was over, that he was getting a divorce, that you were different from anyone he'd ever met. Classic lines but you fell for them. Started seeing him secretly. And then..." she paused. "Then he made you an offer."
"What kind of offer?"
"He said if you signed with Tianyi instead of Star King, he'd make you the biggest star in China. Said he'd give you everything Star King promised and more. But there was a catch. You had to break your contract with us first. And you had to be... exclusive to him."
Wanyin felt cold. "So I chose him."
"You chose wrong." Chen Li's voice was bitter. "You broke your contract, Star King blacklisted you industry-wide out of spite. And Shen Jingwei? He never made you a star. He kept you hidden. Gave you maybe three modeling jobs in four years, all for Tianyi's in-house brands. Nothing international. Nothing big. You went from being the next big thing to being... his kept woman."
Those words again. Kept woman. Mistress.
"Why didn't I leave?" Wanyin whispered. "If it was that bad, why did I stay?"
"Because he made it impossible." Chen Li leaned forward. "Wanyin, listen to me. Shen Jingwei is not just controlling, he's dangerous. He isolated you systematically. Got you to cut off your family by making them financially dependent on him. Got rid of your friends by spreading rumors about you. Made sure every aspect of your life ran through him. The apartment, the money, even your phone bill. Everything. You couldn't leave because you had nowhere to go and no way to survive without him."
"That's... that's abuse." Saying it out loud made it real. Made it horrible.
"Yes. It is. And I tried to tell you that, tried to help you get out. That's why you called me before the accident. You said you were finally ready to leave him for good. You asked me to help you get your career back."
Wanyin's heart started racing. "What did you say?"
"I said yes. I told you I'd been working on something, a way to get you back into modeling without going through the traditional agencies. Independent contracts, direct with brands. It would take time but it was possible. You were so hopeful, Wanyin. You sounded like your old self again."
"And then I crashed my car."
"Yeah." Chen Li's expression was grim. "The night you called me, you said you were leaving the hotel where he'd stashed you. Said you were done waiting, done being his secret. You sounded determined. And then the next thing I heard, you were in the hospital."
Something about the way she said that made Wanyin's stomach drop. "You think it wasn't an accident."
Chen Li didn't answer right away. She looked at the door again, then back at Wanyin. When she spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper.
"I think Shen Jingwei is the kind of man who doesn't let go of things he considers his. I think you were finally escaping and that threatened him. And I think it's very convenient that you have amnesia now, that you don't remember wanting to leave, that he gets another chance to control the narrative."
"You think he caused the accident." It wasn't a question.
"I can't prove anything. But Wanyin, I've known him for five years through you. I've seen what he's capable of. So yes. I think it's possible."
The room felt too small suddenly. Too hot. Wanyin couldn't breathe right.
"I need to get out of here," she said. "I need to get away from him."
"I can help with that." Chen Li pulled out a business card. "This is my contact info. When you get discharged, call me. I have a friend who runs a women's shelter, they can give you a place to stay while you figure things out. It won't be fancy but you'll be safe."
Safe. The word sounded foreign. Had she felt safe at all in the past four years?
"Thank you," Wanyin took the card with shaking hands. "Chen Li, why are you helping me? After everything that happened, after I destroyed your career too—"
"Because I remember who you were before him. And I think that person is still in there somewhere, just buried under all his manipulation." Chen Li stood up. "I have to go. He has people watching, I don't want them to see me here. But Wanyin? Don't tell anyone I came. Not the nurses, not your family. Especially not him. If he finds out we're in contact again—"
"I won't say anything. I promise."
After Chen Li left, Wanyin sat in the too-white hospital room and tried to process everything she'd just learned.
She'd thrown away her career for a man who'd lied to her.
She'd let herself be isolated and controlled.
She'd been trying to escape when the accident happened.
And there was a possibility, slim but real, that the accident hadn't been an accident at all.
Her phone buzzed. She looked at it instinctively.
Shen Jingwei: "The doctor confirmed your amnesia is real. We need to discuss living arrangements for when you're discharged. I'll come by tonight."
Not a question. Not a request. Just an expectation that she'd comply.
Wanyin deleted the message without responding.
Then she pulled out the business card Chen Li had given her and memorized the number before hiding it in the back of the Bible in her bedside drawer. If Shen Jingwei came looking through her things, he wouldn't think to check there.
She had three, maybe four days before discharge. Three or four days to figure out how to disappear.
Three or four days to save herself from a man who might have tried to kill her once already.
---
That night, Shen Jingwei came like he said he would.
Wanyin was pretending to sleep when she heard the door open. She kept her breathing slow and even, her eyes closed.
She heard his footsteps approach the bed. Felt him standing over her.
Then she felt his hand on her hair, stroking it gently.
"I know you're awake," he said softly. "Your breathing changes when you're faking."
Shit.
Wanyin opened her eyes. Shen Jingwei was sitting on the edge of her bed now, too close. She could smell his cologne, something expensive and woody.
"I don't want to talk to you," she said.
"Too bad. We need to talk about what happens when you leave here." His hand was still in her hair. It should have felt intimate but it just felt possessive. "The apartment is ready for you. I've had it cleaned, restocked. Your clothes are all there."
"I'm not going back there."
"Where else would you go?" He said it like it was a genuine question but his tone made it clear he already knew the answer. Nowhere. She had nowhere else to go.
"I'll figure something out."
"Wanyin." His voice got harder. "Stop being difficult. You need somewhere to live. You have no money, no job, no support system. I'm offering you a solution."
"You're offering me a cage."
Something flickered in his eyes. Anger maybe. Or hurt. It was hard to tell.
"Is that what your family told you? That I was holding you prisoner?" He laughed but it wasn't a nice sound. "Wanyin, I gave you everything. That apartment, your lifestyle, I even paid for your father's cancer treatments when your family couldn't afford them. And this is how you repay me? By calling me your jailer?"
"You paid for those things so I'd be dependent on you," Wanyin said. Her heart was pounding but she forced herself to keep talking. "That's not generosity, that's control."
His hand tightened in her hair. Not enough to hurt but enough to make his point. "Be very careful what you say next."
"Or what?" Wanyin met his eyes. "You'll hurt me? You'll take away the money? Go ahead. I don't remember loving you. I don't remember needing you. All I know is what people have told me, and what they've told me is that you ruined my life."
For a second she thought he might actually hit her. His face went dark, his jaw clenched. But then he let go of her hair and stood up.
"You'll change your mind," he said. "When you're discharged and you realize how hard it is out there with nothing, you'll come back. They always do."
They. Like she wasn't the first woman he'd done this to.
"I won't," Wanyin said even though she had no idea if that was true.
Shen Jingwei walked to the door. Paused with his hand on the handle.
"I loved you, you know. Still do. Everything I did was because I wanted to keep you safe, keep you with me. You used to understand that. You used to appreciate it."
"That's not love," Wanyin whispered. "That's obsession."
He left without another word.
Wanyin waited until she couldn't hear his footsteps anymore before she started shaking. Her whole body trembled, adrenaline crashing through her system.
She'd just stood up to him. Actually told him no.
And it had felt good. Terrifying but good.
She grabbed her phone and pulled up the text she'd started earlier but hadn't sent. To Chen Li's number.
"I need that shelter address. I'm getting out of here as soon as possible."
The response came back almost immediately.
"Give me two days. I'll have everything arranged. Don't tell anyone, not even the nurses. When you're ready to be discharged, text me and I'll send a car. We'll get you out before he knows you're gone."
Wanyin deleted both messages immediately.
Two days. She could survive two more days.
And then she was going to do what she'd apparently been trying to do the night of the accident.
She was going to disappear.