He Stole My Babies' Hearts , So I Burned His World Down1
It wasn't until my third pregnancy that I learned the truth about my husband, Bertram Delgado, and the kind of man he really was.
My mother-in-law handed me a bank card and told me to have the baby, then disappear. If I refused, she'd dig up my mother's grave.
I laughed in her face, snapped the card in half right in front of her, and told her she didn't know the first thing about love.
That night, I was kidnapped. I called Bertram ninety-nine times. He didn't pick up once.
A baseball bat slammed into my lower abdomen. Blood soaked through the hem of my dress.
By the time everything was beyond saving, Bertram finally showed up.
His eyes were red as he personally dealt with every last one of the men who'd hurt me. Then he pulled me into his arms, stroking my hair again and again. "Prue, we'll have another baby. I swear I'll find whoever did this and make them pay."
I thought that was the worst thing I'd ever endure. I had no idea it was only the beginning of hell.
Not long after, my mother-in-law personally led a crew to desecrate my mother's grave. My father collapsed from a heart attack on the spot.
I stumbled my way to the surgical ward, and just as I reached the doors, I caught sight of Bertram and his mother around the corner.
"She disrespected you, Mother. I simply gave her a small punishment."
"And now what? Alexis is your sister. All we had to do was wait for this third baby to be born and she'd finally be cured for good. The first two were useless; their hearts were too weak. If we keep dragging this out, Alexis's body won't hold."
"Don't worry, Mom. If there's no baby, we'll just take her heart instead. She owes Alexis that much."
So the killer he'd sworn to hunt down was himself all along.
He'd stolen my children under the guise of miscarriages and given their hearts to another woman.
I collapsed onto the freezing floor, both hands clamped over my mouth.
All this time, I hadn't thrown myself into love. I'd thrown myself into a game where I was the sacrifice.
Everything I was, everything I had, was nothing more than cold medicine to keep Alexis Pruitt alive.
I wiped my tears. With trembling hands, I dialed a number.
One week. In one week, this game would have a new player writing the rules.
...
"I'll marry you."