At 8 months pregnant, my wealthy husband cruelly injured my arm because I was too exhausted for a client dinner. “Tell the doctors you slipped, or you’ll never hold this baby,” he hissed, playing the perfectly worried partner in the ER. He silenced me for hours. But when the Radiology doors finally closed, the technician saw my chart and whispered, “Clara?” My husband had spent 2 years isolating me. He had no idea the man about to read my X-ray was my fiercely protective older brother.

*Bang. Bang. Bang.*

“Clara? Are you done in there?” Julian’s muffled, commanding voice bled through the heavy metal.

My heart slammed against my ribs. Caleb turned toward the door, his fists clenching at his sides. If he opened that door right now, his protective instincts would trigger a violent confrontation that would undoubtedly get me, or my baby, killed before we could even attempt an escape. How could we possibly fight back?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *