“Chloe!” I screamed, falling directly into the freezing mud beside her soaked body.

Her face was swollen and bruised, making her difficult to recognize.

She was trembling uncontrollably, soaked through in a thin silk nightgown that provided no warmth against the biting wind.

“It’s Mom, baby,” I cried out, afraid to touch her broken skin for fear of causing more pain.

“Please tell me who did this to you.”

She struggled to speak and clutched my wrist like she was holding onto life itself.

“The silver…” she whispered, her voice cracking under the weight of her pain.

“I didn’t polish the silverware right…”

“Oh sweetie, don’t worry about that now,” I pleaded, wiping rain from her cheeks.

“Evelyn held me down by my hair…” Chloe gasped, fighting for every tiny breath.

“Garrett used his golf club… I begged them to stop, Mom… I told them the baby was hurting…”

“What did they say to you, baby?” I asked, my blood boiling inside my veins.

“They said the baby was a mistake,” she whispered softly before her eyes closed completely.

Everything around me vanished in an instant, including the heavy rain, the roaring sirens, and the cautious police officers.