CHAPTER 1: WHAT SHE WAS HIDING
The blanket slipped from Megan’s legs—and I stopped breathing.
Her skin was a map of bruises.
Deep purple, fading yellow, angry red. Some old. Some fresh.
Finger-shaped marks wrapped around her calves. A dark swelling climbed up her ankle. And worst of all… a jagged bruise near her hip that no fall could ever explain.
“Megan…” My voice cracked. “Who did this to you?”
She didn’t answer.
She didn’t have to.
Slowly—too slowly—I turned my head.
My mother stood behind me.
Silent.
Watching.
Waiting.
And for the first time in my life… I saw something in her eyes I had never seen before.
Not concern.
Not anger.
But fear.
“You’ve been hurting her,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
“That’s ridiculous,” she snapped instantly. “She probably fell. Pregnant women are clumsy—”
“Stop.”
The word came out sharper than I expected.
Megan grabbed my wrist weakly. “Jake… please…”
May you like
But it was too late.
Everything was already falling apart.
