Chapter 2 - The Two Words
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The very first strike landed viciously across my outer thigh.
A blinding, white-hot pain tore through my body, so intense it momentarily stole my breath. I let out a piercing scream, curling myself even tighter around my unborn child, presenting only my back and legs to his wrath.
From the table, Helena clapped her hands together once, a sharp, horrific sound of approval.
“Again!” she demanded cheerfully. “Maybe she’ll finally learn some respect for this family.”
Through my blurred, tear-filled vision, I saw Nora standing perfectly still. She never stopped filming. Not once. She just adjusted her angle to get a better view of my humiliation.
I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for the next blow, but as my head shifted against the floor, I spotted it. My cell phone had fallen from the pocket of my cardigan when I collapsed and was now lying just beneath the edge of the dining table, barely two feet away.
I dragged myself toward it, inch by agonizing inch, my breath coming in ragged, desperate gasps.
“Stop her!” Raul shouted suddenly, noticing my movement.
But he was too slow. My trembling fingers closed around the smooth metal of the phone. I didn't look at the screen. I couldn't risk the time. I relied entirely on muscle memory, opening a hidden, encrypted messaging app. I opened a contact saved under a fake name, and I typed the only two words I had time to send before the darkness descended.
Help. Please.
I felt the subtle vibration indicating the message had gone through just a fraction of a second before Victor’s heavy boot slammed onto my hand.
He snatched the phone from my grip with a roar of pure rage and hurled it violently against the brick wall. The device shattered instantly, pieces of glass and plastic raining down onto the floor.
He grabbed a fistful of my hair, yanking my head back and forcing my face upward to meet his furious gaze.
“You really think someone is coming for you?” Victor whispered, his breath hot against my cheek. “No one would ever dare challenge this family, Emily. You have absolutely no one.”
The heavy wooden cane came down again. And again.
The pain became a solid, suffocating wall, and then, mercifully, the darkness swallowed me whole.
When I finally forced my eyes open, my cheek was pressed hard against the freezing kitchen floor. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. From somewhere above me, I heard Helena laughing, a high, grating sound. Nora was still standing there, the red recording light still blinking steadily.
Victor stood over me, his chest heaving, raising the cane high above his head for another strike.
Then, the piercing scream of tires screeching on asphalt shattered the morning quiet outside our house.
One heavy vehicle arrived. Then another. Then several more in rapid succession.
Car doors slammed with aggressive, terrifying synchronization. Heavy, booted footsteps quickly surrounded the perimeter of the house.
The cruel laughter in the kitchen died instantly.
A single, booming knock shook the heavy oak front door.
Victor’s face drained of all color, turning a sickly, pale gray.
May you like
And despite the blood pooling in my mouth, despite the agonizing pain radiating through my body, I smiled. A true, genuine smile.
He had absolutely no idea who I had messaged.
