Chapter 2 – The Attack
Chapter 2 – The Attack
Vanessa's open hand struck my face so hard that my head snapped to the side.
The sting spread across my cheek in an instant.
For a moment, I couldn't even process what had happened.
Then she shoved me again.
"You think I'm bluffing?" she hissed.
I stumbled backward until my legs hit the edge of the sofa.
"Vanessa... please."
"Don't say my name."
"I really don't know the recovery code."
"You're lying."
She grabbed the front of my maternity sweater with both hands and yanked me toward her.
I gasped, instinctively shielding my stomach.
"Please," I begged. "The babies—"
"I said I don't care."
I tried to push her away, but my balance was gone. Carrying twins had shifted my center of gravity for weeks, and every movement felt slow compared to hers.
She threw me backward.
I landed against the coffee table, pain shooting through my lower back.
A framed ultrasound picture crashed onto the hardwood floor, its glass shattering beside me.
For one brief second, Vanessa looked at the broken photograph.
Then her eyes drifted back to me.
"The code."
"I don't have it."
Her breathing became faster.
"You've forced me into this."
"No," I whispered. "You're choosing this."
Those words pushed her over the edge.
She lunged.
Her fist slammed into my stomach.
A sharp burst of pain exploded through my abdomen.
The room spun.
I folded forward, wrapping both arms around my belly.
"No..."
Another wave of pain rolled through me.
Warm liquid rushed down my legs.
At first, I thought I was bleeding.
Then I realized what had happened.
"My water..."
I looked down at the growing puddle beneath my feet.
"My water broke."
Fear unlike anything I had ever known flooded my body.
The twins weren't due for another month.
"We need an ambulance," I cried.
"Call 911!"
Vanessa stared at the puddle.
For just an instant, panic crossed her face.
Then it disappeared.
"No."
She reached for my arm.
I pulled away.
"Don't touch me!"
She grabbed a fistful of my hair instead.
I screamed.
"If the neighbors hear you," she growled, "I'll make this worse."
"You've already made it worse!"
Another contraction hit, stronger than the first.
I collapsed onto one knee.
Every instinct told me to protect the babies.
Every second mattered.
"Please..." I gasped.
"They're coming."
"I said give me the code."
"I don't know it!"
She dragged me across the hardwood floor by my hair.
The burning pain across my scalp made tears fill my eyes.
My free hand reached desperately toward the kitchen counter.
The landline.
Only a few more feet.
Vanessa noticed.
She kicked the phone off the counter.
It crashed against the floor, breaking into pieces.
"No!"
"You won't be calling anyone."
Another contraction tore through me.
I could barely breathe.
My vision blurred.
I whispered a silent prayer that my babies were still alive.
Then I heard tires outside.
A vehicle stopped in the driveway.
Vanessa froze.
"Who is that?"
I didn't answer.
Car doors slammed.
Footsteps hurried toward the front porch.
My heart pounded.
Impossible.
Daniel wasn't supposed to return until that evening.
A key slid into the lock.
Vanessa released my hair.
The front door swung open.
Daniel stepped inside, still wearing his travel jacket and carrying a small suitcase.
He smiled at first.
"Surprise..."
His smile vanished.
The suitcase slipped from his hand and hit the floor.
His eyes locked onto me.
I was lying on the hardwood, soaked from the waist down, barely able to breathe.
A trail of broken glass stretched across the room.
Vanessa stood only a few feet away.
For one endless second, nobody moved.
Then Daniel shouted my name.
He rushed across the room and dropped beside me.
"Oh my God..."
His hands trembled as he gently touched my shoulders.
"What happened?"
"I..."
Before I could answer, Vanessa spoke.
"She attacked me."
Daniel slowly turned toward his sister.
"What?"
"She lost control," Vanessa said, backing away. "I came to check on her, and she started screaming. She shoved me first."
Daniel looked back at me.
My cheek was swollen.
My hair was tangled.
Fresh scratches covered my arms.
His expression hardened.
"Emily?"
I struggled to speak through another contraction.
"She... hit me."
Vanessa pointed at me.
"She's lying!"
"I watched her fall."
"You weren't here," Daniel replied quietly.
Vanessa swallowed.
"I mean... I figured it out."
The explanation sounded weak even to her.
Daniel stood.
He wasn't shouting.
That frightened Vanessa more than if he had been.
"Call 911," he said without taking his eyes off her.
"My phone..." I whispered.
"She took it."
Daniel reached into his pocket, but before he could unlock his phone, Vanessa moved.
She darted toward the hallway.
"What are you doing?" he yelled.
She ignored him.
A loud crash echoed through the house.
Daniel followed.
Seconds later another crash shook the hallway.
I heard him shout.
Then silence.
When Daniel returned, he was holding the broken remains of our hallway security camera.
"The camera..." he muttered.
Vanessa stood behind him, breathing hard.
"It fell."
Daniel looked at the shattered device.
Then at the fresh footprint across its casing.
"It didn't fall."
She folded her arms.
"It doesn't matter."
"You destroyed it."
"There was nothing on it anyway."
Daniel stared at her for several long seconds.
Then he said something that drained every bit of color from her face.
"You forgot one thing."
"What?"
"The camera backs up every recording automatically."
The confidence vanished from Vanessa's eyes.
She had destroyed the hardware.
But not the evidence.
May you like
Outside, the distant sound of approaching sirens filled the air.
For the first time since she had entered our home, Vanessa looked genuinely afraid.
