Chapter 1
At 4:52 in the morning, Sebastián kicked open the bedroom door and ripped the blanket off Camila.
She was six months pregnant, her ankles swollen and her back burning after spending almost the entire night unable to sleep.
“Get up. My parents want breakfast.”
Camila took a deep breath.
“Give me one minute, please.”
Sebastián grabbed her wrist and yanked her up until she was forced to stand.
“Being pregnant doesn’t make you special.”
Ever since they had moved into the Cárdenas family home on the outskirts of Guadalajara, everything had gotten worse. Sebastián had spent months telling her that she had to obey because his family had given them a roof over their heads.
Camila’s mother-in-law would enter their bedroom without knocking, decide what they bought, and even check how much money was left in the couple’s bank account.
In the kitchen, Rebeca and Raúl, Sebastián’s parents, were already waiting.
Nora, his younger sister, was there too, holding her phone in a way that looked far too deliberate to be casual.
Camila noticed the tiny red recording dot.
“Well, look at that,” Rebeca sneered. “She’s carrying a baby and already thinks she deserves hotel service.”
Sebastián pointed toward the stove.
“Eggs, bacon, and pancakes. And don’t burn them like last time.”
Camila opened the refrigerator.
Then everything started spinning.
She placed one hand over her belly, tried to steady herself against the counter, and collapsed to her knees on the tile floor.
Raúl let out a laugh.
“Here she goes with her act again.”
Sebastián didn’t even bend down to help her. He walked toward a corner, picked up the heavy wooden cane his father used because of an old injury, and came back.
“I told you to get up.”
The first blow struck her thigh.
Camila screamed and curled up, shielding her belly with her arms.
Rebeca clapped.
“Let’s see if she learns her lesson now!”
Nora kept recording.
Camila could barely see clearly, but she spotted her phone underneath the table. Slowly, she crawled toward it while Sebastián continued yelling insults at her.
“Take it away from her!” Raúl ordered.
Her fingers reached the phone.
She opened a contact she had kept hidden for years under a neutral name.
She didn’t have time to explain anything.
She typed two words.
“Come. Dad.”
The message was sent.
Sebastián snatched the phone from her hand and hurled it against the wall. The screen shattered.
Then he grabbed her by the hair.
“Who did you text?”
Camila didn’t answer.
“You really think someone is coming for you? Nobody messes with the Cárdenas family.”
The next blow knocked her unconscious.
When she opened her eyes, her cheek was pressed against the cold floor and there was a metallic taste in her mouth.
Nora still had her phone raised.
Rebeca was still saying that Camila “needed to learn.”
Sebastián raised the cane again.
Then they heard tires screeching to a stop outside.
One vehicle.
Then another.
Then three more.
Doors slammed shut. Firm footsteps surrounded the house.
Raúl’s smile disappeared.
Someone knocked on the front door exactly once.
Sebastián went pale.
Camila, barely conscious, smiled.
Because he didn’t know who she had called.
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But her father did.
This is a fictional story created for entertainment purposes.
