The Secrets They Keep

My husband and son were pathologically obsessed with me, constantly testing my love by showering attention on another woman, Kassandra. My jealousy and misery were their proof of my devotion.

Then came the car accident. My hand, the one that wrote award-winning film scores, was severely crushed. But Jacob and Anton chose to prioritize Kassandra' s minor head injury, leaving my career in ruins.

They watched me, waiting for tears, anger, jealousy. They got nothing. I was a statue, my face a placid mask. My silence unsettled them. They continued their cruel game, celebrating Kassandra' s birthday lavishly, while I sat in a secluded corner, watching them. Jacob even ripped my deceased mother' s gold locket from my neck to give to Kassandra, who then deliberately crushed it under her heel.

This wasn't love. It was a cage. My pain was their sport, my sacrifice their trophy.

Lying on the cold hospital bed, waiting, I felt the love I had nurtured for years die. It withered and turned to ash, leaving behind something hard and cold. I was done. I would not fix them. I would escape. I would destroy them.

Chapter 1

Alexia Bell's husband and son were pathologically obsessed with her.

They had a strange way of showing it.

Jacob Cummings, her husband, a tech mogul, and Anton, their ten-year-old son, constantly tested her love. They would feign indifference, showering attention on a young, ambitious executive from Jacob's company, Kassandra Jacobson.

They needed to see Alexia in pain. Her jealousy, her misery-it was proof of her devotion. It was the only way they knew how to feel her love.

Alexia understood their sickness. For years, she had patiently endured it, believing she could fix them. Believing her love could heal their twisted way of needing her.

She was wrong.

The cycle of cruelty had been escalating. It started with small things, cancelled dates, "forgetting" her birthday while publicly celebrating Kassandra's promotion. Then it grew.

The breaking point arrived on a rainy Tuesday.

It was a car accident. A bad one.

Alexia was driving, with Jacob and Anton in the car. Kassandra was in the passenger seat, a space that used to be Alexia's. A truck ran a red light, T-boning their side of the car.

The world was a mess of shattered glass and screeching metal.

When Alexia came to, the side of her body was numb. Her right hand, the hand that wrote award-winning film scores, was trapped, crushed against the door. Kassandra was screaming, a gash on her forehead bleeding dramatically.

The paramedics arrived. One of them looked at Alexia' s hand, then at Kassandra' s head.

His face was grim. "We have to get you both to the hospital, now. Ma'am," he said to Alexia, "your hand is severely crushed. It needs immediate, specialized surgery to save the nerves."

He turned to Jacob. "But the other young lady has a head injury. We need to prioritize."

The doctor in the ER was even more direct. "Mr. Cummings, we have one surgical team ready for this kind of trauma. Your wife's hand requires intricate nerve microsurgery. Any delay significantly reduces the chance of a full recovery. Ms. Jacobson has a concussion and a deep laceration. It's serious, but not as time-sensitive."

He was asking Jacob to make a choice.

Before Jacob could speak, Anton, his small face a perfect copy of his father's cold expression, stepped forward.

"Help Kassandra first."

The doctor stared at the boy, shocked.

Jacob looked down at his son. A flicker of something-pride?-crossed his face.

Anton looked straight at Alexia, his eyes wide and earnest, but his voice held a chilling logic. "Mommy loves us the most. She'll understand. If she sees how much we care about Kassandra, she'll be jealous, and that means she loves us more. She'll be okay with waiting. She always is."

It was their twisted game, laid bare in the sterile, unforgiving light of the emergency room.

Jacob placed a hand on Anton's shoulder, a silent approval. He looked at the doctor, his voice devoid of emotion.

"You heard my son. Take care of Ms. Jacobson first."

Alexia watched them. Her husband. Her son. The words echoed in the ringing of her ears. The physical pain in her hand was nothing compared to the cold void that opened in her chest.

It wasn't just a choice. It was a statement. Her pain was their sport, her sacrifice their trophy.

As they wheeled her away, she saw Jacob and Anton hovering over Kassandra's gurney, their faces masks of performative concern.

Lying on the cold hospital bed, waiting, Alexia felt the love she had nurtured for years die. It withered and turned to ash, leaving behind something hard and cold.

In the haze of pain and medication, a decision formed, clear and sharp.

She was done. She would not fix them. She would escape. She would destroy them.

Hours later, she came out of surgery. The doctor' s face was somber.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Cummings. We did everything we could, but the delay was too long. There's significant, permanent nerve damage."

He didn't have to say the rest. She knew.

Her career was over. The hands that had created worlds of sound, that had brought stories to life with melody, were now just hands. The magic was gone, severed by the people who claimed to love her most.

The next few days in the hospital were a blur. Jacob and Anton visited, always with Kassandra in tow. They would fuss over Kassandra, who milked her minor injuries for all they were worth, while barely glancing at Alexia.

They watched her, waiting for the tears, the anger, the jealousy.

They got nothing. Alexia was a statue, her face a placid mask. Her silence was a language they didn't understand, and it unsettled them.

The day she was discharged, her lawyer was waiting. She had called him from the hospital, using a burner phone she' d kept hidden for years.