“I’m feeling better now.”
“Are you wearing the bracelet?”
She gripped the phone tighter.
“No.”
“Why?” Vladimir’s voice rose. “Do you want the attack to happen again? Anna, I don’t understand what’s wrong with you. I’m trying to take care of you, and you’re ignoring my requests.”
“Vladimir, I made an appointment with a cardiologist. Today at 4:30 PM. I want to check if this bracelet is helping me.”
Another pause, a longer one. When Vladimir spoke again, his tone had changed, becoming softer, almost affectionate.
“Why do you need doctors? You know they just want your money. They’ll order a bunch of unnecessary tests, prescribe a ton of medicine. And for what? The bracelet is a proven remedy. Just put it back on and don’t stress. Stress is what’s bad for you.”
“I’m still going to the doctor,” Anna said firmly.
“Fine,” Vladimir sighed. “If it makes you feel better. But put the bracelet on. Please. For me.”
She glanced at her jacket pocket, where the ill-fated piece of jewelry lay.
“No. I want the doctor to examine me without it. To compare my condition.”
“Anna,” a threat crept into his voice. “You’re not listening to me. This will end badly.”
“What exactly will end badly?” She felt everything inside her tense up.
“Your health!” Vladimir almost shouted. “Without the bracelet, you’ll get even worse. I’m telling you this as someone who cares about you.”
Anna closed her eyes. The old doctor’s words echoed in her head: “Don’t let anyone manage your health for you.”
“Vladimir, I have to go. I’ll see you tonight.”
She hung up without waiting for a reply and silenced her phone. Her hands were shaking. Her heart was beating fast, but not like it had in the morning. This was fear. Fear of what she was beginning to understand. Her husband wasn’t caring for her. He was controlling her. And the bracelet was a tool for that control.
Anna finished her cold tea and looked at the clock. Three hours left until her appointment. She took a notebook and a pen from her bag, opened a clean page, and started writing. Everything she remembered. All the oddities that had previously seemed like minor details.
- January: gave me the bracelet. Insisted I wear it constantly.
- End of January: first dizzy spell.
- February: attacks became more frequent. Vladimir talked me out of seeing a doctor.
- March: condition worsened. Vladimir got angry when I took the bracelet off.
- April: today. An old doctor said the bracelet is harmful.
She reread what she had written and added another line:
“Vladimir knew about my tachycardia. He was with me at the cardiologist appointment.”
The picture was becoming clearer. And more terrifying. The phone vibrated silently on the table. Vladimir was sending message after message. Anna didn’t read them. She needed to wait for the appointment, to learn the truth. And then… then she would decide what to do next.
She got up from the table, paid her bill, and went outside. The air was fresh, the sky was beginning to clear, and rays of sun were breaking through the clouds. Anna walked slowly along the embankment, feeling it become easier to breathe with every step. Without the bracelet on her wrist, she felt free for the first time in three months.
At half-past three, Anna was at the medical center, a modern building of glass and concrete in the city center. The lobby smelled of antiseptic and freshly brewed coffee. The same young woman who had scheduled her appointment over the phone was sitting at the reception desk.
“Anna Vasilyevna Kornilova?” she confirmed.
“Yes.”
“Room 307, third floor. Dr. Malakhova is waiting for you.”
Anna took the elevator up, found the right office, and knocked. A woman in her mid-forties with a short haircut and an attentive gaze sat at the desk in a white coat. She took Anna’s medical chart.
“Hello, Anna Vasilyevna. Please come in and have a seat. What seems to be the problem?”
Anna sat down in the soft chair opposite the doctor and began to tell her story. Everything: about the bracelet, the attacks, the old doctor’s words, how her husband had insisted she wear the jewelry constantly. Dr. Malakhova listened attentively, asking clarifying questions from time to time.
“Show me the bracelet,” she requested.
Anna took it out of her pocket and placed it on the desk. The doctor picked up the item, turned it over in her hands, and held it up to the light.
“Magnetic inserts. Quite strong, judging by the weight. You have a history of tachycardia?”
“Yes. It was diagnosed a year ago.”
“Who recommended you wear this?”
“My husband. He said it would help.”
Dr. Malakhova shook her head.
“Anna Vasilyevna, with tachycardia, such items can be dangerous. A magnetic field can affect the heart rhythm unpredictably. For a healthy person, it might be harmless, but with rhythm disorders, it is strictly contraindicated. We’ll do an ECG now to check your condition, and then I’ll give you my conclusion.”
Anna nodded, feeling a cold certainty grow inside her. Vladimir knew. He couldn’t have not known.
The electrocardiograph hummed quietly, printing out a long strip of paper with jagged lines. Anna lay on the couch, staring at the white ceiling, trying to breathe steadily. The cold sensors on her chest felt heavy, like anchors holding her in place. Dr. Malakhova leaned over the machine, studying the readings, and her expression gradually grew more serious.
“You can get dressed now,” she said finally.
Anna sat up, removed the sensors, and pulled on her blouse. Her hands were still trembling slightly—not from weakness, but from inner tension. She was afraid to hear the diagnosis and, at the same time, longed to know the truth.
Dr. Malakhova returned to her desk, placed the ECG printout in front of her, and studied it in silence for a few seconds. Then she looked up.
“Anna Vasilyevna, your rhythm is within the normal range right now. There is a slight tachycardia, but it’s manageable. Tell me, how long have you been without the bracelet? Since this morning?”
“About five hours, maybe.”
“And how are you feeling?”
Anna thought for a moment. The dizziness had passed while she was on the embankment. The pressure in her chest was gone. She felt tired, but it was a normal fatigue, not the debilitating weakness of the past few weeks.
“Better,” she admitted. “Much better.”
The doctor nodded.
“I thought so. You see, magnetic bracelets are a pseudoscientific medical device. Their effectiveness has not been proven, and under certain conditions, they can cause harm. You have tachycardia, which is a tendency for a rapid heartbeat. A magnetic field can provoke additional rhythm disturbances, causing dizziness, weakness, shortness of breath. Everything you described.”
“So the bracelet is contraindicated for me?” Anna’s voice was quiet.
“Absolutely. Moreover, I recommend you never wear such things again. I’m going to give you a referral for additional tests now. A 24-hour Holter monitor, an echocardiogram. We need to check if the prolonged wearing of the bracelet has caused any serious damage.”
Anna felt a chill run through her. Serious damage. For three months, she had been wearing something that was slowly destroying her health. And Vladimir knew about it. He couldn’t have not known.
“Doctor,” she frowned, “who could have recommended such a bracelet? My husband said he bought it from a specialist.”
Dr. Malakhova paused to think…
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