The Blood on His Hands

“I was staring at the black-and-white ultrasound of our baby, waiting to share the joy with the man I had loved for eight years. But Preston walked into the clinic flashing a brand-new solid gold wedding band. He told me he had just married a mafia princess to secure his territory. He demanded I become his secret mistress and keep our unborn child. If I dared to abort his heir, he would pull his protection and leave my father for dead. When I refused and tried to leave him, his new wife orchestrated a federal raid on my father's business. Preston stood by and let it happen, using my family's ruin to force my submission. Driven to absolute despair, my father jumped from the roof of his building. Hours later, my mother suffered a massive, fatal heart attack from the shock. Preston rushed to the emergency room, dropping to his knees and begging for my forgiveness. He cried that he didn't know his wife ordered the hit, claiming he only wanted to scare my father so I would stay. I looked at the man who had promised me the world, my bare feet covered in my own blood, my parents lying dead on steel slabs just steps away. "You have nothing left to threaten me with." Returning to my empty apartment, I bypassed the mafia's digital firewall and uploaded their darkest secrets to the world.”