Those three days stretched like years. Sleep never came.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw my father-in-law’s face—the fear in his eyes more terrifying than any threat. If it had all been a joke, why would a man used to power and wealth look as though he was waiting to die?

On the fourth day, I turned my phone back on.

More than two hundred missed calls. Messages flooding in. My mother crying. My father begging. My husband’s messages shifting from rage, to worry, to desperation.

One text came from an unknown number:
“You made the right choice by leaving. Do not come back. No matter what happens.”

No name was needed. I knew who it was.

Continue reading…