Chapter 4 This time, Linda beat me worse than she ever had before. In the past, she'd at least come up with semi-reasonable excuses-I over-salted the food, didn't use disinfectant in the laundry, left water streaks on the floor... Today's reason was that I'd stayed out all night. I desperately tried to explain I'd been at the ER getting IV fluids, but she wouldn't listen. She just kept hitting me like a hurricane, blow after blow. When the mop handle broke, she took off her slipper and started beating me with that instead. Finally-SMACK-the slipper hit my face and my cheek immediately swelled up. Something inside me that had been building for so long just exploded. "What the hell did I do?! Why do you treat me like this every single day?! WHY?!" I shoved her away. Her small frame stumbled backward and crashed into the shoe cabinet. The pain made her groan, but she didn't hit me again. She just stared at me. I clearly saw a flicker of... something. Reluctance? Guilt? Flash across Linda's eyes. But she quickly recovered that furious expression and said, "Why? You really don't know?" 'Know what?!" I sobbed: "I've been running around like a hamster on a wheel for this family, for all of you-and this is how you treat ne? Can't you just tell me what's going on?!" The whole family suddenly turned to look at me. The house fell so silent you could hear a pin drop. But not one person spoke. 'Fine. If you won't tell me, then I'm leaving. You don't want to see me? You got your wish!" Rage burned through my veins. Tears kept streaming down my face. slammed the door and walked out. Not one person tried to stop me. My heart felt desolate, I was completely done with this family. I'd moved here from over a thousand miles away to marry Callum. I still remembered how my mom couldn't bear to see me go so far away. She'd cried her eyes out at the airport saying goodbye, Looking back now, I'd been so naive. I'd been blinded by what I thought was love. Chapter The man I thought would protect me for life had turned cold overnight after seeing what was on Linda's phone. The father-in-law I'd come to see as my own dad now believed her too, and no longer stood up for me. At least I still had some savings. Enough to rent a place for now, then discuss divorce with Callum. But even now, I still held onto a sliver of hope. What was on that phone? Callum had been so good to me. How could he treat me so coldly over this? I firmly believed I hadn't done anything to betray my conscience. It had to be some huge misunderstanding. Suddenly, I felt a surge of courage. I was going to sneak back home-steal Linda's phone and see for myself what was on it! The Vaughns all went to bed early. I figured around 2 AM would be safe, so I snuck back into the house. tiptoed into my in-laws' bedroom. My father-in-law was probably out again-only Linda was there, curled up in bed. Her phone was right next to her, screen still lit up. My heart leaped with excitement. I reached out to grab it- But my eyes got there first and saw what was on the screen. n that instant, it felt like all the blood in my body rushed to my head at once. My heart turned to ash.