Calling Cardinal

Prologue

I remember screaming.

I assure you, ma'am. I don't mind the name.

I remember screeching so loud that it shatters all the glass in the room.

Well, boys. I'm here to stay.

A doctor speaks my name, but it doesn't sound like a name I would have. 

"I don't think that's right."

Who will I be if I'm not?

The man behind the rose-tinted glasses glances over to his assistant. She stops wiping the blood from her ears.

"I beg your pardon? I said your name was⁠—"

A doctor without steady hands is useless.

"I don't think that's my name."

He folds his hands across his stomach. "Then what is it, pray tell?"

"I don't know."

I love you! What do I get?  I get betrayed, abandoned, and controlled while you sit there and watch!

"Perhaps until you figure it out, we can use the one I gave you."

"Do you know who I am?" I ask.

"I haven't the slightest clue, my dear. We can find out who you are together."

I hope it works out, whatever it is you decide to do.

After that, my memory fails me.

I could never leave you.

Well, that's not entirely true.