Chapter 3

That night, after they pulled me out and brought me to the hospital, the doctor found I was three months pregnant.

But my body had taken too much damage, and the pregnancy was badly unstable.

"She can't be under any stress right now, and she can't overexert herself, or she'll likely lose the baby."

Now the pain in my lower belly was sharpening, and a hot wetness spread beneath me.

Terrified, I braced myself against the couch, but my legs had gone too weak to stand. Shaking, all I could do was call Irvin.

The phone rang a long time before he picked up.

"What is it this time?"

"Not done yet? You want another fight?"

The pain was too much to get a full sentence out.

"Irvin, my stomach hurts so bad—"

The line went quiet for a beat, then he exploded.

"Lily, is there no end to this?"

"Millie had cramps that night and called me over, and now you're going to fake a stomachache too?"

"She calls me once and you have to twist it into some revenge?"

Cold sweat covered me. I forced the words out.

"I really—"

"Enough!"

He cut me off, hard.

"Millie almost destroyed herself just now because of you, she's still crying, and here you are dragging her again with your sniping!"

"Lily, when did you turn this vicious?"

"You want to fake being in pain? Fine, I'll make sure every emergency line ignores your calls. Let's see whether it's real or not!"

The call ended.

The pain in my belly stabbed through me again. I slid off the couch and curled up on the cold floor.

I called for an ambulance over and over, but no one would take it.

In desperation, all I could do was call my parents.

The only thing that came back was my father's cold, furious voice.

"We don't have a heartless daughter like you!"

"Just to get even, you not only hurt your own best friend, you don't even care whether your own mother lives or dies."

"Whether you live or die is nothing to us!"

Before I could get a word in, my brother took the phone.

His tone was just as cold.

"Sign the statement."

"Admit that you left with him that night of your own free will, and drop the appeal."

"You sign, and I'll come right now."

It felt like a hole had been chiseled open in my chest, and a bitter wind screamed in through it, until I couldn't stop shaking.

The phone slipped from my hand and hit the floor hard.

"Lily?"

"Did you hear me?"

My brother's voice was still coming through the screen, but I had nothing left to answer with.

When I woke again, I was already in a hospital bed.

The doctor's face was full of regret.

"You were brought in too late. We couldn't save the baby."

"To stop the hemorrhaging, we had to remove your uterus. You're still at risk of infection, so we need to keep you under observation."

I stared at him blankly, and only after a long moment did I give a numb nod.

The others in the ward recognized me soon enough.

"That's her, right? Assaulted, and her own family's forcing her to drop the case. Poor thing."

Someone immediately scoffed.

"Poor thing, my foot. A married woman dressed like that, drinking whatever they gave her on purpose—who knows if she just couldn't agree on a price and is trying to shake somebody down?"

A strange man sat right down on the edge of my bed, his clammy hand reaching toward me.

"I hear you like it wild. Down whatever they give you and wait to get picked up."

"Play with me too. I'll make it worth your while, I promise."

I flung his hand off in terror and screamed.

"Get out!"

He'd taken a slap from me, and in his rage and shame he shoved me down to the floor.

"Playing the chaste virgin? Whore!"

The next second, someone yanked him back.

A woman with her hair in a ponytail stepped in front of me, her voice cold.

"Harassing a patient, hurling insults, putting your hands on her and injuring her—it's all on the security cameras."

"Touch her again and I'll call the police and press charges."

The man's face changed. He left, cursing under his breath.

Only then did the woman turn and hold out her hand to me.

"My name is Marlene Henson. I'm a lawyer. I handle assault cases."

Her voice caught a little.

"I was there for the whole last hearing."

"I know what was done to you. If you're willing to trust me, I'll get you justice. I promise."

The tears came at once.

I gripped her hand, shaking.

"Please help me."

...

On the day of the next hearing, she stood at the courthouse doors and steadied me.

"Don't be afraid. We're going to win this."

Standing in sunlight I hadn't felt in so long, I finally let a faint smile show.

But the moment I walked into the courtroom, that little bit of a smile froze on my face.

Sitting beside the man who had violated me was my own brother.

He wore his lawyer's robe, a thick stack of defense materials laid out in front of him.

Right after that, the witnesses came in.

My mother, my father, my husband, and Millie walked in one after another.

They didn't come toward me.

They took their seats on the other side's witness bench.