through her body, a thousand times worse than the labor pains. Her muscles seized, her back arc

went white

led the device away, Grace collapsed, a trembling, twitching heap on the floor. Her heart

from the point of contact. A burn

s, couldn't cope with the electrical shock. A fresh wave of dizziness wash

ough the haze of pain. "That wasn't so bad, was it? Now

d shut, plunging Grace ba

t had been tased was almost completely numb, a dead weight attached to h

this black box, and the people who put her he

ogan, for Collins, for the entire Edwards family, was a poison in her veins. It

as no match for the physical re

darkness. A single, desperate thought echoed in her

into uncon

hen the sound of the panel sliding open again

t this time it held a note of impatience, not just cru

't move. S

u're pathetic. Did you really bleed a

s face as she peered in. She seemed to be looking n

help, but to retrieve the taser she had dropped. When sh

ed as if they had been dipped in a powerful acid. A few drops of

d, her voice a pitch of fury. "You bitch

ce. All she knew was the throbbing pain and t

pay for this!" she snarled. She fumbled for something else in her pocket. Gr

ace a mask of pure hate. She brandished the letter opener. "He ma

ening again, the sharp po

that little monste

burst of adrenaline. "No!" she screamed, managing to roll her body just enough so the sha

er bicep. Collins yanked the letter

l, you wor

ade, now coated in Grace's blood, was already starting to

ntering her eyes. She looked from the corroding blade to

ng, dropping the ruined letter op

ered, her voice trembling s

t, leaving Grace once mor

the cacophony of agony racking her body. The world tilt

t, desperate wail that seemed t

. It

h was now unnervingly still. The frantic movements of her son, his little kic

ared,

ult. She had trusted Brogan. She had loved a man who was a monst

down her face, mixing with the blood and sweat on

the most fundamental way a mother could. She couldn't protect him. She

om her throat. It was a sound of pure agony, of a mother mo

she screamed

her arm, the numbness in her leg-it all began to fade, replaced by a profound, heavy

s at t

sound echoed through the room. It was

room door

ngle. A figure was silhouetted in the doorway. It wasn't Brogan. It wasn't

ok in the scene. The blood on the f

, rushing to her side. "O

r lips felt thick and clumsy. "Help... m

ng. "Mr. Edwards, sir! It's Marcus. You need to come to the pani

blood everywhere. She's unconscious." Another pause. "Sir, with all due

ned from Marcus's face, replac

wife!" he plead

t his phone, then back down at Grace, h

strained. "He said you were a liar trying to ruin

ayal. Even a stranger's pl

ace. He scooped Grace into his arms. She was terrifyingly light. "The hospital wing in t

hallways of the mansion. Each step sent jolts of pain through Grace's bo

mall, private medical wing. Marcus la

supplies, for a phone to call an outs

room w

mergency kits were gone. The

ting on his orders, h

t was another dead end. Another

te face, and then at the empty r

nt to leave that