Chapter 2

Ethan stared down at Sarah, her body shivering violently in the cold shack.

"Faking it again, Annie?" he sneered. "Dreaming of your precious Liam?"

His voice was a lash. "You think I don't know? Promiscuous bitch."

Sarah' s fever-glazed eyes widened.

"Those twins," Ethan spat, his face contorted with rage. "They were Liam's bastards, weren't they? I was merciful not to have their little bodies burned."

The words hit her like stones. He truly believed it. That was the root of this monstrous cruelty.

"You trapped me, Annie," he seethed. "Trapped me into this marriage while your heart was always with him."

Heartbreak warred with a sudden, burning rage.

She saw a tin cup on the dirt floor beside the cot. With a surge of desperate strength, she grabbed it and threw it.

It clattered harmlessly against his boots.

"Never!" she gasped, her voice hoarse. "Liam is my friend! Like a brother! How could you think...?"

She dissolved into wracking sobs, her body shaking uncontrollably.

Brenda rushed in, her face a mask of concern, placing herself between Sarah and Ethan.

"Ethan, darling, are you alright? Don't let her upset you."

She turned to Sarah, her eyes cold. Then, dramatically, she clutched her own stomach.

"Ethan," Brenda announced, her voice trembling but loud enough for Sarah to hear clearly, "I... I think I' m pregnant. With your child."

The world went black. Sarah fainted.

She woke to agony. Sharp gravel dug into her knees.

She was in the main barn, forced to kneel.

Ethan and Brenda stood before her, openly affectionate. Brenda was wearing one of Sarah' s favorite silk scarves, a bright blue one, flaunting it like a trophy.

Ethan' s voice was cold. "You will kneel until you learn respect."

All night, she knelt. The pain in her knees was excruciating, her C-section wound throbbed with every shiver.

The next day, weak and trembling, they forced her to work.

Mending fences in the biting wind, her hands raw and bleeding.

Cleaning stables, the stench making her gag, her muscles screaming.

Brenda approached her as she struggled to lift a heavy bucket, a look of feigned concern on her face.

"Oh, Sarah, you look so pale. Let me help you."

As Brenda reached out, she "accidentally" knocked a small wooden box from a nearby shelf. Pastor Davies had given it to her, she' d claimed, a "protective charm."

The box lid sprang open. A small, agitated rattlesnake slithered out, its rattle a dry, menacing sound.

It struck Sarah' s bare ankle before she could react.

A searing pain shot up her leg.