Prologue

Victoria

How did I get into this mess?

I was tending to my bruised face. Two days ago, Michael hit me. He had a stressful day, and I tried talking to him but caught him at the wrong time. He still hadn’t apologized, and I didn’t expect him to. Michael never apologized for hitting me.

I should’ve seen this coming. Ever since our first date, Michael had been possessive and manipulative. It wasn’t long before he started hitting me. I tried to understand him. I knew nothing was on purpose, but I was tired. I needed to get away, so I came up with a plan. I was waiting for the right time.

I was so lost in thought; I was startled when I felt strong arms wrap around my waist from behind. I looked in the mirror and saw Michael smiling as he rested his chin on my head and pulled me closer to his chest.

“You know I love you, right?” He asked.

“Yeah. I love you too.”

Michael sighed and lowered his head. He gently kissed my neck. My body relaxed, and I instinctively stretched so Michael would have more access to my neck. I could see Michael smiling in the mirror as I let out a sigh.

“I have some business to take care of. I won’t be back until late morning, so you’ll have to go to sleep without me,” Michael whispered as he gently nibbled at my neck. I let out another sigh.

“Okay.”

Michael smiled and looked into the mirror. He pulled away and turned me around so I was facing him. He gently pulled me close, wrapping his arms around me. I enjoyed being in his embrace; it was always comforting. I took in a deep breath, taking in his scent.

“I have to go now. I love you.”

Michael kissed my cheek and walked out of the bathroom. I put everything away and looked in the mirror.

I guess tonight’s the night.

After making sure Michael was far from the bedroom, I lifted the toilet tank lid and got the disposal cell phone I hid under. I text my friend Kelly.

Now.

Almost immediately, she texts me back.

On my way.

I went into Michael’s closet and grabbed one of his hoodies. It was baggy on me and had pockets inside, perfect for hiding things. I reached under the bed and grabbed the money I had stolen from Michael’s office. It was roughly fifteen thousand dollars. Michael was so wealthy; I doubted he noticed it missing. I put the money in one of the inside pockets and pulled up the zipper. I grabbed the note I had been hiding and put it on Michael’s pillow. It explained that I had taken off alone and hadn’t been kidnapped. I took off the necklace he gave me and held it in my hands. As I held it, I remembered when he gave it to me. He was so excited, and he seemed so happy when he saw my reaction. It was a white gold chain with a heart-shaped pendant covered in tiny diamonds. I was going to leave it with the note, but I was reluctant. I sat on the bed, debating whether or not I should leave the necklace. It was so sentimental because Michael gave it to me on my birthday.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when I received a text from Kelly informing me that Michael’s cameras were down. She could hack into part of his security system, but only for approximately five minutes. I put the necklace back on my neck and took off out the door.

I casually walked to the basement. I picked the lock with some tools I found in Michael’s office and slowly walked down the stairs. I was not too fond of the idea of being in the basement. That’s where Michael did all the torturing. I quickly walked through the hell hole and tried to ignore the stench of the blood and the pleas of Michael’s prisoners begging to be set free.

One tile popped out of the ground; it led to a small tunnel in the woods. I quickly walked through the tunnel and stepped into the open wooded area. I took in a breath of fresh air and headed toward the road.

As promised, Kelly was parked at the edge of the woods on the main road. I ran up to Kelly’s car and got inside.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey.”

“Are you ready?”

“Not really, but I have to do this.”

“Wait, Victoria, what happened to your face?” Kelly asked with a look of concern. I cursed myself for not putting on makeup to cover the bruise.

“Nothing. Let’s just go.”

“You said you wanted to leave because he was controlling. Has he been hitting you this whole time?”

“No. He didn’t mean it; it was an accident.”

“Victoria, you shouldn’t have put up with that. How long has he been abusing you?”

“He doesn’t treat me like that. I caught him when he was in a bad mood, and this is what happened. I’m fine, though.”

“Victoria, why did you ask me to help you run away from him?”

“Because I need to get away from him. He’s controlling and possessive. He won’t let me go out; I can’t live like that.”

Kelly let out a sigh of defeat.

“Okay. Well, let’s go start your new life.”

*** Two months later ***

I had just finished settling into my new apartment. I felt relieved. Kelly managed to get me more than enough documents to create a new identity. I had no idea how she managed to get everything, but I was grateful.

Instead of being Victoria Watson from Nevada, I was Leslie Parks from Chicago. It would take some getting used to, but I knew I would be able to manage. I had already gotten a job as a barista at a rather large coffee shop.

My new life had started.

Right as I sat down to watch a movie, I felt nauseous. I ran to the bathroom and threw up everything in my stomach; I couldn’t stop, even when I was just dry heaving. I had occasionally been vomiting over the past few weeks. I assumed it was anxiety from running away, but I had a feeling it wasn’t that.

Finally deciding to trust my instincts, I went to the pharmacy down the street and got a pregnancy test. When I got home, I shakily took the stick out of the box and did my business. The instructions on the box said to wait three minutes; I set a timer on my phone and paced back and forth.

When the three minutes were up, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I sat on the floor and looked at the result.

It was positive.

“Oh, crap.”