He tied me upside down from the ceiling beam and beat my swollen belly for hours, claiming it would force a son to come out. Blood dripped from my mouth and nose onto the floor while he laughed. The pain became too much and I passed out completely. The doctor reviewed the scans with shaking hands: “The fetus is dead and badly bruised… your spine is also damaged from the suspension.”

Going back to the house felt like stepping inside a tomb.

Detective Vance arranged for a ten-minute police escort, though he heavily advised against it. Two uniformed officers waited on the front porch while I stepped over the yellow crime scene tape and unlocked the front door.

The silence hit me first. The air was stale, smelling faintly of the expensive cologne Daniel always wore.

I forced my legs to move, leaning heavily on my cane. I bypassed the hallway leading to the utility room, keeping my eyes fixed on the staircase. I climbed the steps to Daniel's home office.

The police had already tossed the room looking for the rope, leaving drawers pulled out and papers scattered. But they hadn't found the drive. They didn't know Daniel the way I did.

I walked over to the massive mahogany bookshelf. On the third shelf sat a heavy, leather-bound copy of The Count of Monte Cristo. I pulled the book forward. It wasn't a book at all; it was a biometric safe.

"Come on," I whispered, pressing my thumb to the scanner. Daniel had programmed my print into it years ago, claiming it was for "emergencies." He never thought I would use it against him.

The scanner flashed green. The safe clicked open.

Inside sat a black, encrypted hard drive, along with a thick stack of cash and two passports. I shoved the hard drive into my jacket pocket, ignoring the money.

Suddenly, the house phone on the desk rang.

The piercing sound made me jump, my heart hammering against my ribs. It rang three times before the answering machine clicked on.