orbett

t the officers pushed me outside, sweat mixing with the r

police lights, my eyes stayed locked on Chadwic

I staggered against the wet, cold metal door of the

gathered the last shred of strength left

will never lo

k stopped dead in his tracks, h

t the roar of the storm. The engine thundered to

d plastic seat, closed my eyes, and l

and stopped outside the towering concrete wal

th chain-link fencing, heavy iron doors clanging shut be

cated my cheap wedding ring, tilting my chin up

into a star player's money," she sneered. "Y

threw me a stiff orange jumpsuit, a

of damp mold, then slammed the heavy steel door with a c

rms wrapped around my knees, gasping

neighboring cells. Chadwick's reach had clearl

ng, a faint, almost imperceptible f

, I pressed trembling fingertips against my fla

onth. Fear and panic exploded in my

throat, I bit my lip hard, refusing t

favoritism had already wounded me to the bone, yet on the nig

n was Anabel's-clearly, unmistakably Anabel's-yet I st

But right then and there, I swore my oath-the man who had thro

and forced myself to breathe. For this child, I had t

end at last, in the echo of i

ver cleared all year long, the white fog of scalding irons hiding the hands that pinned me down. When the iron pi

-and then there was nothing. When I woke, my little finger had healed crooked into an angle no finger

erating table" was a wooden plank covered in a filth

through the fabric, I heard the sound of my own body being ripped apart. No anesthesia. Only the midwife's h

ed every blow down-until, five years later, th

ht fell upon

pled right hand buried deep in my pocket, I stepped onto t

k Justi

obby, I watched the patrol car's red and blue lights vanish into t

echoes in my ears, rattling the com

nd forced a low, suppres

her murder

ed into the muddy water and crystal shards on the marbl

ess in her eyes when my hand was ar

, edged up cautiously, offering a clean whi

strode down the players' tunnel toward the locker room,