Prologue*

The sound of her heels echoed down the pristine hallways of General Hospital, each step a rhythmic reminder of her purpose. Dr. Maya DuPont had arrived. Her presence, striking and commanding, drew eyes from every corner as she walked with the confidence of a woman who knew her worth. Tall, with deep brown skin that shimmered under the fluorescent lights, her hair flowing like waves of midnight, Maya was a force to be reckoned with—and she knew it. She had to be.

Psychiatry wasn't just a job to her. It was a lifeline. A way to reach into the darkest corners of a person's soul and pull them back from the brink. Maya had spent her career doing just that, and now, her next challenge lay ahead: Elizabeth Webber.

The name had been whispered through the corridors, coated in a kind of reverence. Elizabeth was no stranger to trauma or tragedy—Port Charles knew her story well. But as Maya reviewed Elizabeth's file, she sensed something deeper. Something unsaid. It wasn't just the loss of loved ones, or the tumultuous relationships, or even the countless brushes with death. No, there was something that ran beneath the surface, a silent scream that no one had yet heard.

Maya sighed, leaning back in her office chair, the weight of the task before her settling onto her shoulders. There were always stories—patients who came to her with their fractured minds, hoping she could put the pieces back together. But Elizabeth's case was different. The hospital wanted answers, and Maya could feel the pressure building.

Her fingers traced the scar along her jawline, a faint reminder of her own past. The battles she had fought—and won. She had survived more than anyone could imagine, which is why she knew she could handle whatever secrets Elizabeth might be hiding.

But in Port Charles, the past was never truly buried. And as Maya would soon discover, some wounds were too deep to heal.