Three Years In Chains, A Lifetime Of Vengeance

the half-open door, my hear

usband, Michael Rivera. The sentence was reduced by three mon

t like a beam of light. It lit up the world that

smile Michael would show when I opened the door. I also imagined my daughte

It was the belief that carried me through the cold nights. My ho

Kregan was the home I miss

n. The scent in the entryway

was not

smine diffuser oil. He said the smell was as fresh as I

ike an overripe apple giving off its last burst of sweetn

asmine diffuser

ss the entryway wa

ch was gone. Lily's picture in her princess dr

otos once hung. Those marks looked like sca

Christmas tree i

filled me. Breathing s

led into the living room. The sound carried through the qui

e ans

Signs of life surrounded me, yet none

able. Faint lipstick stains marked the rims

gn showed too much skin, and the size was larger than anythin

fa. As my hand brushed across the s

fingers into the narrow space beside it. My fingerti

it free. A small bo

uzzle box. One corne

k hit me. Then everythin

hday gift. I was the one who gave

always made

d spoke in her soft little voice. "Mommy, this

ight in her arms. Tears streamed down her face while sh

t word puzzle box was a treasure. She woul

ner, tossed aside like trash

Where was my lit

aughed together in the bedroom above. Their playful voices

ces were

ng. My husband. The one I had spent three years missing. The woman laug

arning. Then just as suddenly, e

slipped Lily's word puzzle

I even realized what I was doing. Each step

closed. A small gap remained. Through that

ce. Now the man I protected lay naked in bed with

her face while Michael leaned down and pressed a kiss agains

me something, Michael. When Anna learns Lily

...

armth drained from my body, and for

o stop any sound from escaping. The ta

ow I got her to take the blame for that car accident. And don't forget something else. The insurance policy I bought for her lists me as t

ura

mory rushed bac

ke the blame for him. He promised it was only accidental and said the sentence would be sh

nsurance policy. At the time I believed it meant he cared about my safety. Now th

band wanted me dead. The wom

had only led me into a lie that

elieved in had been

that room and kill them both with my

ced mysel

while my hands cu

r. Without making a sound, I tu

r, someone appeared outside. It

he moment she saw me

" I an

rom upstairs s

I looked back, Michael and Sofia had already pulled o

ck flashed across his fac