Chapter 3

Ethan' s rage was a physical force in the room, but it was nothing compared to the storm brewing inside me. He stood over me, his chest heaving.

"I killed that damn gator for Maria," he confessed, his voice dripping with self-righteousness. "For our child. Brother Rufus said its evil was a threat. It was a sacrifice for the good of my family."

I stared up at him, the man I had once loved, the man I had bound myself to. The man who was now a stranger.

"Your family?" I whispered, the words tasting like ash. "You swore an oath to me, Ethan. On our wedding day. Ninety-nine promises. You swore to protect me, to cherish me. You broke every single one."

"Promises?" He scoffed. "What about your promise to be a wife? To give me an heir? You failed, Jocelyn. You are the one who broke this family."

Suddenly, Maria appeared in the doorway, a picture of fragile innocence. She clutched her stomach, her face pale and tear-streaked.

"Ethan, darling, please don't be angry," she whimpered, rushing to his side. "It's all my fault. I shouldn't have worried you about the... the evil spirits."

She shot a look at me, her eyes filled with triumphant malice. It was a look I knew well.

"She' s just lashing out," Maria continued, her voice soft and persuasive. "She' s a woman scorned. We have to be patient with her."

Ethan' s expression softened as he looked at her. He wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. "It's not your fault, my love. It's hers. She' s always been this way. Cold. Cruel."

I wanted to scream. I wanted to tell him how this manipulative parasite had played him, played us all. But the words wouldn't come. My energy was focused on holding my fracturing spirit together.

"You see, Ethan?" Maria said, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "She's staring at my belly. Brother Rufus was right. She's trying to curse our child."

Ethan's face hardened again. He looked at me with pure disgust.

"Get her out of my sight," he growled to a pair of groundskeepers who had appeared in the doorway, drawn by the shouting.

They hesitated, looking at me with a mixture of fear and pity.

"Now!" Ethan roared.

They flinched and moved towards me. I didn't resist. I let them grab my arms and drag me from the room, my bare feet scraping against the cold floor.

As they pulled me past Ethan and Maria, I met Maria' s gaze. She gave me a tiny, triumphant smile. The devout Christian, the woman of God. She was worse than any beast in the bayou. She was a snake, and my husband had welcomed her into his heart.