Chapter 1: Fifteen Minutes Later
Chapter 1: Fifteen Minutes Later
The silence after I ended the call felt heavier than the pain in my chest.
Daniel stared at me as if waiting for me to admit it had all been a bluff.
It wasn't.
"You actually called them?" he asked.
"I did."
Gloria scoffed.
"They won't arrest a husband over one little argument."
I looked at her without speaking.
An argument.
That was what she called a slap hard enough to break bones.
Minutes crawled by.
No one touched their dinner.
No one dared move.
Daniel paced across the dining room, running his hands through his hair.
"You'll regret this," he muttered.
"I already regret marrying you."
The words struck him harder than any slap.
Outside, distant sirens grew louder.
Daniel froze.
Gloria walked to the window and peeked through the curtains.
Her face lost its color.
"They're here."
Three police officers entered the apartment after I unlocked the door with trembling hands.
The lead officer immediately noticed the swelling on my face and the way I struggled to breathe.
"Ma'am, are you injured?"
"I think my ribs are broken."
An ambulance was requested immediately.
The officer turned toward Daniel.
"Sir, did you strike your wife?"
Daniel straightened his shoulders.
"She fell."
"I watched him hit me."
Gloria stepped in.
"My son would never hurt anyone."
The officer calmly asked the question again.
"Does this apartment have security cameras?"
Daniel answered before thinking.
"Of course."
He realized his mistake the second the words left his mouth.
The officer nodded.
May you like
"We'll need the recordings."
For the first time that night, Daniel looked afraid.
