“Daniel, stop it—don’t hit her, please!”
But in the same moment, she pressed her heel down on the shards of plastic, grinding them viciously into the floor. Her lips curled as she leaned closer, whispering so only I could hear:
“What a pity. Just like your son—dead.”
I snapped, slapping her across the face with all my strength.
The sound rang sharp in the air. The next thing I saw was Daniel’s enraged eyes blazing at me.
“She’s pregnant! How dare you lay a hand on her?”
“You’ve defied me again and again, Emma Carter. This time, you’ll learn the consequences!”
He seized a heavy vase from the table and brought it down hard on my head.
The world spun. Darkness swallowed me. Just before I lost consciousness, I saw Jason smiling at me, waving as if to welcome me.
Am I finally going to be with him again? That would be… so wonderful…
But time passed. A sharp, brutal strike jolted me back to awareness.
I blinked, dazed, and realized I was hanging in the middle of a shadowy forest. The air was damp, the woods silent except for the eerie echo of my own screams.
“Help me! Someone, please help me!”
Only the hollow reverberations answered.