My Husband, My Enemy

wn the stairs. As the head child psychologist at an elite academy, I was u

he faculty parking lot, dragged i

et me use her phone to call my husband, Franco. When he didn't answer

inutes ago, showed him in a hospital room, gently

ed. "That teacher

e, was a soothing murmur. "I know, buddy. Daddy alrea

had vowed to protect me forever, my loving husband, had tried to h

en legally registered. As I lay there, broken, I remembered the wedding gift

ind out it was hi

pte

' d seen my share of difficult children, but Leo was different. He was defiant, with a coldness in

led with soft colors and plush toys meant to be

I said, my voice gentle. "Can

, Kayleigh Baxter. No father listed. He was a scholarship student, a ra

I told him finally. "I need you to thi

d. It was a look

day had been long. I just wanted to go home to my husba

t. Before I could scream, a rough hand covered my mouth. A s

er. My head throbbed, and my hands were tied behind my back. I was in the trunk of a car. Panic seized

rists were raw from the zip ties. I tried to think, tried to fight

ned. Blinding light flooded in, and I squeezed my eyes shut. I saw the silhouet

gh my shoulder.

oice a hoarse whisper. "

el, ugly sound. "

. That meant they didn't plan on letting me live. They started kicking me. My head, m

e tearing apart. I screamed, a raw, animal sound of agony. Then, another kic

ought of Franco. My sweet, loving Fran

. I was floating in a sea of pain.

iker by his clothes, was leaning over me. He was on the phone. "Yes, I

I was

y was a universe of pain. In the emergency room, a nurse kindly helpe

. He always answered my calls. I tried again. Voicemail. A knot of

ng," the nurse suggest

ge. His public profile was filled with pictures of us, of his tech co

t, from just thirty minu

room, not unlike the one I was in. Franco was there, his back to t

d, propped up by pill

Leo B

ce petulant. "That teacher i

stopped

han my own, a face I had loved for a decade. But the expression on it was on

soothing murmur. "Don't worry. Daddy already to

to Leo, and the boy chompe

oking Leo's hair. "Daddy will

t I was seeing. The attack. The men. She won't ever bother y

through my soul. My husband. The man who had saved me when I was an orphaned teenager, the ma

fe. It was all a l

d it. I lost the baby, a boy, and my uterus was damaged beyond repair. I was told he was s

ars old. He had Franco's eyes. My son. He was my son.

was a choked so

o my side. "What i

iolently. The video played on a loop. Franco, my Franco, with ou

vomited onto the floor. The pain in my abdomen flared, white-hot and blin

need a doc

ager. He was the heir to the Anderson fortune, handsome and brilliant. He took me in, cared for me, loved me. He told me I was hi

th a sudden, chilling cl

han the last, cut through the

I gasped to the nurs

s school that I had asked the police to retrieve. "Kaylei

ing to seduce Franco. He had told me himself, his face a mask of disgust. He said he couldn't stand women wh

adn't sent her away. He had set h

t echoed in the sterile room. I was a joke. My

sation deep inside me. Blood soaked through my h

saw was a police officer standing by m

tell you this. Your injuries... the doctors had to pe

st it five years ago, during the first "attac

," I said, my voi

Ms. Thompson... there's no record of your marriage

and for five years. I had worn his ring. I had buil

nal, devastating piece. The boy. My son. Leo Baxter. His last name wasn't Anderson. It

hat made my skin crawl. He had fired her, or so he said. He had told me she tried to get pregnant

ad beli

on has already filed a restraining order against

he room seemed to close in on me. The weight of it all-the lies, the betrayal,

nd collapsed onto the cold, hard floor,

the nurse's phone, still clutch

, random attack. I'm rushing to your side. Don't worry

e sickening hypocrisy. A sound escaped my

avior. He w

he was my

ime. An unknown number. I almost ignor

asked, hesitant. "It's

o had lived next door before my parents died. The boy I hadn't spo

ispered, my v

voice tight with concern. "I'm outside th

couldn't form the words. The tr

cold flicker of something new ignited in the ruins of my

had won. He didn't know who he was dealing with.

empire. He thought it was

ind out it was hi

e suddenly clear and ste