She burst into tears, kicking the door.
“Just you wait! I’m going to get my Dad to
come back and beat you up!”
Wait?
I would wait.
I was so going to enjoy watching how that
spoiled brat would fare with her precious
Daddy.
I looked down at the suitcase.
Filled with her clothes and toys.
I’d been a damn slave for years, and I didn’t
even own a decent dress.
く
Mark would be back soon.
I threw all her crap out the window.
I grabbed my ID and phone and got the hell
out of there.
I had bought a train ticket earlier.
But I knew I had to throw him off the trail.
So I bought a plane ticket for another city.
Without that little anchor weighing me down, I
booked everything.
Two hours later, I was on a plane, leaving my
old life behind.
Unlike before, I didn’t ditch my old number.
<
I popped it into my burner phone.
That little brat thought Mark was a saint?
I wanted to see how heavenly her life would
be without me around.
I thought Mark would be happy enough to
play happy family with his precious informant.
I was wrong.
The texts flooded in.
I unlocked my burner phone.
The first thing I saw was Sarah’s bruised and
swollen face.
It came with Mark’s furious voice message
く
“Jen! Get your ass back here, or I’m gonna
beat this little burden to death!”
Mark abused me, but never hesitated to hurt
Sarah as well.
I was always there to shield her.
I thought she would appreciate my sacrifices.
Instead, she seemed to think Mark would
never hurt her.
This payback sure came fast.
Last time, I would have been breathless with
panic.
Now I just felt a sense of satisfaction.
く
A little smile crept across my face.
I thought for a moment and finally replied:
“She’s your daughter, I know you can take
care of her. Good luck!”
I sent the text, then switched off the phone.
Once an abuser, always an abuser.
This “happily ever after” was just beginning.
I needed to rest up so I could watch it all
unfold.
I switched the burner phone back on a week
later.
The messages were pouring in.
<
Over five hundred missed calls.
I swiped through the screen, stopping at a
familiar phone number.
Linda.
Linda was my sister–in–law.
She also lived under the shadow of abuse
from her husband.
Once, her husband threw her out a second-
floor window, and she broke her leg.
She was still in a cast when he attacked her
again, and damaged her organs.
We bonded through these experiences.
<
Before I left, I sent her a message to say
goodbye, she asked me to lunch.
I declined because I had to catch my train.
I later found out Linda told Mark I was going
to lunch, and he wanted her to ambush me.
I didn’t understand why.
Now I knew.
She had become twisted and dark, all she
wanted was someone else to be even more
miserable.
Like crabs in a bucket, if one tries to escape,
the others drag it down.
L
Both Linda and my viper daughter were
traitors.
I had a revenge plan for both of them!
As if she sensed me thinking of her, Linda
called again.
I smiled, and answered the phone.
She seemed surprised I answered.
She yelled, “Where have you gone? You can’t
just leave your daughter! Mark is beating the
hell out of Sarah!”
He hadn’t killed her yet?
What a shame.
<
I remembered that awful look Sarah gave me
that day.
I mimicked her tone, “Sarah said her Dad
works so hard, a few hits are nothing. You
can just toughen up!”
Didn’t she like speaking for other people?
I was giving her the chance!
“I know you’re upset,” she said, “but you need
to let the small things go. You need to go
back, or Mark could do something terrible!”
That was ridiculous.
