Chapter 1 - The First Blow
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I pushed open the heavy oak door of our Alexandria home at 8:20 p.m., every bone in my body aching. Being seven months pregnant and working a twelve-hour shift was taking a physical toll I could barely endure. My swollen feet throbbed inside my flat shoes, my uniform smelled of hospital disinfectant, and sharp, persistent pains had been stabbing through my abdomen since mid-afternoon.
I never even got the chance to close the front door behind me.
Carter’s open palm exploded across my right cheek. The sharp impact sent me stumbling sideways, my shoulder slamming violently into the hallway wall. Blood immediately filled my mouth, metallic and hot.
“Do you have any idea what time it is, you useless bitch?” Carter roared, his face twisted in unbridled rage as he loomed over me. “Get in that kitchen and cook for my mother!”
From the living room, Mrs. Eleanor sat comfortably beneath a cashmere throw blanket, watching the entire scene with a cold, triumphant smile. She didn't flinch. She didn't offer a single word of restraint.
“What are you waiting for, Sarah?” Eleanor’s voice was dripping with condescension. “A child requires discipline starting in the womb. A lazy, disrespectful mother raises a lazy child.”
Deep inside my abdomen, my unborn baby kicked hard, as if sensing my terror.
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I swallowed the iron taste of my own blood and pressed a trembling hand against my bump. I knew better than to argue when Carter was in one of his moods. For two years, I had walked on eggshells in this house, playing the quiet, submissive wife they wanted me to be.
I kept my eyes on the floor, turned on my heel, and walked straight into the kitchen.
