The Wife He Threw Away, Rebuilt

finally escaped. I crawled back home, driven only by

didn't recognize my emaciated frame. He calle

Carla. And my own son ran i

n. He had me committed to a "rehab facility," which was actually th

d through me, but he just turned his b

me through Project Nightingale-a full cybernetic

s knees begging for forgiveness, I felt nothing. I just turned t

pte

nda

e, each step a brutal reminder of the four years I' d spent in hell. But I pushed through, driven

ymbol of the life I' d fought so hard to reclaim. I stumbled, my tor

m the guardhouse. They blocked

rowled, his hand a

asp. "It's me," I tried to say, but

ffed. "Another one trying to pu

the house beyond the gates, its familiar silhouette a cruel

harpe's family is inside. You don't look anything like Mrs. Sharpe." He pu

pulled up to the gates from

as B

mbered, his jawline sharp, his dark hair catching the afternoon sun. He' d recognize me.

ring those endless

se carved into a tree in our backyard: "Amanda + Brody = Forever." He alw

e, a rival company tried to poach me, offering millions. Brody bought the company, just to keep me. He was obsessive, yes, but it was my obses

anyone else read him bedtime stories for months after I disappeared. He even kept my side of the bed un

pture, the endless interrogations, the simulated drown

ked annoyed by the commotion. My heart swelled, a desperate hope blooming in my chest. H

hand slipping into Brody's. She was beautiful, dressed

rl

ways tried to outshine me. She was laughing, her head thrown back, a sound

left my lungs in a whoo

, his face rounder, but those mischievous eyes were still

launching himse

rayed threads of my sanity. Mom. Not Mother. Mom.

his tiny arms outstretched, calling "Mama!" He hated Carla's family, hated their

a perfect, happy tableau. A family unit. And I was o

my vocal cords. I rattled the iron gates, the cold m

on my pathetic form. "What the hell is going on here?" he demanded of the g

shoved me again. Harder this time. I stumbled, sc

ing, willing him to see past the grime, past the sc

hed with disgust. My heart leaped.