Chapter 2

Two men in hunting gear emerged from the trees.

They were rough, their faces impassive as they hauled me to my feet.

My legs buckled, the pain a blinding wave.

They dragged me, uncaring, towards a clearing.

A large screen flickered to life, displaying my vital signs.

Heart rate erratic, blood pressure plummeting.

"Subject's advanced pregnancy noted," a clinical voice announced from the speakers. "Belly circumference: 39.3 inches."

A sick chuckle from one of Ethan' s cronies, "Ninety-nine point nine centimeters. Lasting love, eh?"

I saw Ethan on a smaller monitor, Chloe draped over him, her eyes gleaming with malice.

He looked at the measurement on the screen, a flicker of something – unease? – crossing his face for a split second.

Then it was gone, replaced by a dismissive sneer, "Thought my Sarah's was unique. Coincidences happen."

My Sarah.

He still called me that, even as he watched me die.

Desperation fueled a surge of adrenaline.

There was a gesture, a secret one we' d created years ago.

Lost hiking in Yosemite, terrified, we' d agreed on it. A specific sequence of hand movements. If ever in dire need, unable to speak.

My bound hands fumbled behind my back.

I made the gesture, repeating it, hoping he' d see, hoping some sliver of the man I married remained.

He saw it. I knew he did. His eyes narrowed on the monitor feed of me.

Then he scoffed, a sound of pure contempt.

"She even copies Sarah's gestures to try and seduce me! Pathetic."

Seduce him?

He turned to an unseen subordinate, "Release two more attack dogs. Teach her a lesson."

No.

The barking started, vicious, hungry.

They burst from the undergrowth, sleek, dark shapes, teeth bared.

I screamed, a raw, primal sound of terror.

The first dog hit me, knocking the air from my lungs.

Teeth tore at my leg, my arm.

Pain, unimaginable pain.

"Sarah's the luckiest woman in California, so pampered by you, Ethan!" one of his friends guffawed through the speaker system, the sound swallowed by my screams and the snarls of the dogs.

Pampered.

As I lay there, bleeding, being torn apart, I thought of our vows.

To protect. To cherish.

He was protecting Chloe' s amusement. Cherishing her whims.

The world started to fade, the green of the forest turning grey.

Just before I lost consciousness, Chloe' s voice, dripping with saccharine venom, floated through the speakers, "Since she's dying anyway, darling, let's make it more interesting. A new wager... boy or girl?"

Ethan' s laugh. "An excellent idea, my love."

Our child. A game.

He had once sworn on his family' s rare Bible, after a previous miscarriage scare that had devastated us both, that he would protect this child with his life.

That vow was dust, scattered by Chloe' s casual cruelty.

Darkness. Finally.