I was struck by panic. My uterus had always been a source of torment, each cycle more agonizing than the last. Vernon Hamilton, my husband, had sought countless doctors to help regulate my condition, hoping it might one day allow me to conceive.
Before Riley came into the Hamilton family, I had at least been able to take painkillers under medical advice to ease the pain. But ever since her arrival, she had forbidden me from even that small mercy.
Every time the pain hit, she would lock me away in this dark room. She knew my fear of snakes, so she would throw in toy snakes and play with the hissing sound on a loop, tormenting me in every possible way, physically and mentally.
The more I thought about it, the more terror gripped me. My body was drained from the excessive blood loss, and I no longer had the strength to keep begging.
Summoning the last of my strength, I crawled into the corner, feeling my eyelids grow heavy. And then, I drifted into a deep, exhausted sleep, my only hope that Vernon would come.
I dreamed.
It was a memory from five years ago. Vernon had already been a rising star in Asheville’s financial world. Young, handsome, and wealthy, he could have any woman he wanted.