“We were married. Massio and I.”
My stomach falls, landing at my feet, and the beat of my heart can be heard in my ears.
How could he? I trusted him. My breath stutters, and everything around me becomes cloudy as I fight the need to sob out loud.
“I was going to have his baby. You!” she bellows.
My heart stills.
My world tilts on an axis.
I can’t breathe.
Oh, Jesus, no.
My mother moves toward me with a pillow in her hand.
What the hell is happening? My vision turns hazy, and I’m screaming for someone to help me, but all I hear is my mother’scoldhearted laugh and the crazed look in her eyes haunts me as I slip into darkness.
I grip onto the bedsheets, one hand trying to locate the buzzer while her hysteria fills my ears and her words haunt me.
“You.”
She steps closer toward me.
Is she really moving, or am I dreaming? Is this all just a nightmare?
What the hell have Massio and I done?
Something covers my face, and I don’t panic. I don’t fight; I relax into the bed. My head lolls backward, and I fall against the pillows; darkness consumes me, and I welcome it.
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
MASSIO
“Veronica was behind the wheel, Massio.” Miko’s words take a moment to register. “She tried to kill her.” My mouth becomes dry. Veronica tried to kill her. Her own daughter? “Do you hear me?” he snaps.
“Yeah.”
“She’s in the hospital somewhere. I hacked the cameras,” he grinds out.
Something settles in my veins: anger, horror, and a savage need for retribution fills my veins.
“Send backup!” I snap.
“Already on it,” Miko says, and I end the call.
I open the waiting room door, and the heavy footsteps of Ford rushing after me echo like background noise as I scan the names on the patient board.
The moment I see hers, my heart skips a beat.
Theodora Marino, room ten.
My wife.
My everything.
I race down the corridor, my veins filling with trepidation with each step.
