Chapter 3 — The Bruises No One Explained
That night, after Margaret left to stay with relatives, Michael and Emily sat together until sunrise.
For the first time in over a year...
There were no interruptions.
No fear.
Only truth.
Emily finally rolled up her sleeves.
Bruises marked both arms.
Small burns dotted one wrist.
Michael struggled to breathe.
"She did this?"
Emily nodded.
"When your letters stopped..."
"I had nowhere else to go."
Margaret convinced everyone Michael had abandoned her.
Friends slowly disappeared.
Family stopped calling.
Money became tightly controlled.
Emily stayed because she believed Michael no longer wanted her.
The letters had not only been hidden.
They had been replaced.
Margaret had forged several messages telling Emily to stop waiting.
Michael quietly unfolded one of the forged notes.
His hands shook.
May you like
Years of military training had prepared him for war.
Nothing prepared him for betrayal inside his own home.
