Chapter 2: The Truth Beneath the Blanket
Jake dropped to his knees beside the bed, his entire body trembling.
The bruises stretched from Megan's ankles to the tops of her thighs. Some were deep purple. Others had already turned yellow with age. Thin red welts crossed her calves like old scars, while fresh fingerprints darkened the inside of her knees.
They weren't random.
Someone had grabbed her.
Hard.
Repeatedly.
Jake felt sick.
His stomach twisted so violently he had to brace himself against the mattress.
"What... happened to you?" he whispered.
Megan couldn't answer.
She only buried her face in her hands and sobbed.
Behind him, his mother gasped dramatically.
"Oh my God!" she cried. "Jake, look what she's done to herself!"
Jake slowly turned.
His mother's face looked shockedâbut her eyes didn't.
There was no confusion.
No horror.
Only calculation.
She had expected him to see the injuries.
She had simply expected him to blame Megan.
"She must be unstable," his mother continued. "Pregnancy affects women's minds. She's probably been hurting herself for attention."
Jake stared at her in disbelief.
"Stop talking."
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
His mother frowned.
"What?"
"I said stop talking."
The apartment fell silent.
Jake turned back toward Megan and gently lifted her shaking chin.
"You don't have to protect anyone anymore."
Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.
"It was your mother," she whispered.
Jake froze.
"My first fall wasn't an accident."
She swallowed painfully.
"Three weeks ago... you left for work."
"She came over."
Jake's breathing became shallow.
"She said I was making you weak... that I was trapping you with this baby."
Megan's voice cracked.
"When I told her to leave..."
"...she pushed me."
Jake felt every word like a knife.
"I fell against the coffee table."
"I couldn't stand afterward."
His hands clenched into fists.
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"And every time you were at work..."
"She came back."
