Chapter 2

Boom!

The massive impact sent the car spinning out of control. My daughter burst into terrified wails.

"Mommy, my head hurts so bad!"

I wanted nothing more than to tear that psycho limb from limb, but I couldn't stop. I dared not stop.

His car was terrifyingly fast. The moment he rolled down his window, my stomach dropped.

In the next second, a bucket of thick, yellow mud splattered across my windshield, blinding me completely.

Despair crushed my chest. I frantically turned on the wipers, but they only smeared the muck further.

I gritted my teeth and glanced at the GPS, checking how far we were from the next exit.

Only three minutes left!

I gripped the steering wheel, desperately trying to pull away from him.

Suddenly, another sharp object smashed through the passenger window, showering the interior with shattered glass.

Before I could even process what it was, a piercing scream tore from my daughter.

I snapped my head around and froze in horror.

The left side of my daughter's face was bathed in blood. A massive construction spike had punched through the window, impaling Lily's cheek.

Her lips were ghostly pale, her eyes squeezed shut.

"Lily, don't move! Listen to Mommy! Don't move! And don't fall asleep, okay?!"

My heart ripped to shreds in that instant.

My only thought was getting her to the nearest ER. Pure terror and raw hatred consumed every inch of my body.

Moments later, the killer's car boxed me in, forcing a violent collision that left my vision swimming.

An axe came crashing down through my shattered driver's-side window.

The force from outside was overwhelming. I wanted to fight back, to make a desperate final stand. But when I saw his cold eyes shift toward Lily, instinct took over.

I threw my own body across the console to shield her.

"Take me! Just kill me! Don't hurt my baby!"

My eyes burned crimson with fury as excruciating pain ripped through me.

A curtain of hot blood washed over my face. He had struck my head.

I could hear Lily screaming for her mommy at the top of her lungs, but I couldn't turn to look.

I could only keep my arms stiffly locked over her, taking every hit to protect my child.

Strike after strike tore into my arms and legs, filling the cabin with the sickening stench of copper and iron.

When he finally stepped back, satisfied, he still showed no mercy to my little girl.

As my daughter and I lay dying in a pooling sea of crimson, my phone suddenly rang.

The killer paused in his tracks and answered the call for me.

From the speaker, an obnoxious, familiar voice drifted out.

Christian was still demanding, "What the hell is taking you so long? Get your ass back here right now!"

Too late. I'm already dead.

In my fading moments of consciousness, police tape was finally strung across the road.

My husband, his arm draped around his mistress, Chloe, strolled over late.

When he saw our mangled bodies, his pupils contracted in sheer disbelief.

He stumbled backward, falling onto the pavement in shock.

After a long silence, he reached out, stroked Chloe's face, and muttered to himself, "Serena must have crossed the wrong people outside. Thank God I kicked her out."

"If anything had happened to you, I'd never forgive myself... It's just bad luck for Serena and Lily."