Chapter 2

That recalled message chilled me to the bone.

The thunderstorm raged outside. I didn't want to dwell on it, so I lay on the bed and squeezed my eyes shut.

Not long after, Andy, who had been coming home late every night for a week, actually came back early for once.

I felt the mattress sink beside me as he lay down carefully, followed by the faint sound of fabric rustling.

He started taking off his clothes.

I instinctively froze.

We'd been married for five years, and not once had we ever been intimate. So what was he planning to do?

"Andy, her face totally creeps me out!" Jenny's voice was sickly sweet and flirty as ever. "With her right next to you, can you even do it tonight?"

I was floored. How could they be having such an explicit conversation right next to me?

Andy's voice oozed with desire as he teased back, "You're about to be a mom, and you're still worried I can't give you what you need?"

"Well, then I guess Daddy deserves a real treat tonight!" Jenny giggled.

The bed shook, their moans and breathy groans crashing against my ears.

I bit down hard on my lip, nails pressed deep into my palms. I was too terrified to even twitch.

Humiliation and disgust washed over me in relentless waves.

With his final, guttural growl, that sickening noise was finally cut off. The air reeked.

I lay there with my eyes wide open, tears silently streaming down my face. I didn't sleep a single minute all night.

As soon as it was barely light out, I got up and hurried over to the hospital.

As I lay on the cold operating table, I took a final moment to say goodbye to the fragile little life inside me.

"I'm sorry, baby..." I whispered.

Just as the anesthesia started to sweep away my consciousness, my phone erupted with frantic vibrations, catching me off guard.

My sister-in-law was sobbing on the phone. "Lydia! Jason... he didn't show up for the police academy physical exam! He's missing!"

Impossible!

My nephew Jason Todd had always dreamed of getting into the police academy. Today was the big day. It was the most crucial physical test. There was no way he'd miss it.

The very next second, my phone lit up with an unknown number.

"Aunt Lydia..." Jason's voice came through, strained and muffled.

My heart clenched. "Jason! What's wrong? Where are you?"

"Lydia Todd, this little bastard came over bugging me! Figures, what do you expect from a punk with no dad?" Jenny's sharp voice stabbed through the phone.

I bolted up from the operating table.

Jason yelled back, "Bullshit! I saw you hooking up with my uncle behind my aunt's back! You two are nothing but cheating scumbags!"

Then, the sound of a slap rang out through the call.

"Still mouthing off, huh? Back when I was with Andy, your hideous aunt was probably rotting away in some gutter!" Jenny sneered.

I shouted, my voice trembling, "This is between us! Leave the kid alone!"

Jenny let out a nasty laugh. "Alright, Lydia, haul your ass over here. Every minute you're late, that's ten slaps for the kid!"

"Miss! You've just been given anesthesia. You can't exert yourself right now!" the doctor yelled.

But I pushed past him, nearly collapsing as I scrambled off the operating table and barreled toward the door.

"Don't touch him! I'm on my..." I cried out shakily.

Before I could finish, Andy's voice slithered through the phone, cold and venomous. "Because you ratted me out, we almost lost our baby!"

Then, Jason's blood-curdling scream ripped through the line.

Even though the anesthesia was making my head spin, I forced myself to keep going.

I kept tripping and losing my balance on the way, but somehow I finally managed to reach that private club.

I threw the door open and walked straight into hell itself.

Jason was stripped naked, his body battered and bruised, with humiliating insults scrawled across his skin in bright red lipstick.

His privates were barely covered by a flimsy banana peel, and Jenny had her foot poised, about to stomp down.

"Well, well, you got here pretty quick!" she mocked, shooting me a smug look.

"Just a little slower, and your precious nephew would've ended up as nothing but mushy banana." She sneered.

Jason was young, but he'd always been tough as nails.

The last time I saw him cry was three years ago, the day my brother died in that car accident.

Back then, Jason promised he'd grow up fast so he could keep me and his mom safe.

But now, looking at him, his face was soaked in tears.

My heart felt like it was being ripped apart, but before I could get near him, Jenny slammed her foot down on Jason's ankle.

Jason gritted his teeth, veins standing out on his forehead, but not a single cry escaped him.

"Go on, scream! Didn't you just think you were so tough a minute ago?" Jenny let out a vicious, triumphant laugh.

I lunged at her, shoving her away with everything I had. "Touch him again and I swear I'll ruin you!"

"Andy! He's just a kid! How could you two be so heartless?" I screamed, my voice trembling with fury and despair.

Andy was sitting in his wheelchair. He helped me up — gentle, almost tender.

"You fool, you're still carrying my baby inside you. I can't have you getting all riled up like this," he murmured.

Then his voice iced over. "If his stupid rumors end up costing me my kid, his death wouldn't even begin to cover it."

"Guess I'll have to discipline him properly today. Consider it paying back my so-called dearly departed brother-in-law," he sneered.

Andy barely raised his eyes, and with just a cold glance, his goons jumped in and mercilessly snapped Jason's other leg.

Jason screamed in agony before collapsing unconscious.

"Jason!" I tore myself out of Andy's grip and rushed straight over to him.

Jenny grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked so hard I couldn't even move. The pain was blinding.

She said, "If I hadn't left back then, who's to say who the mistress really is?"