The revelation cut deeper than my wounds. My son hadn\u2019t just betrayed us \u2014 he had joined forces with his wife to avenge her family, her father, by destroying his own.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey didn\u2019t just want us gone,\u201d Robert whispered. \u201cThey wanted closure. Justice, in their eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I pressed my hand against my chest, trying to steady my racing heart. Anger warred with sorrow. I thought of Daniel\u2019s first baseball game, the way he used to run into my arms after school, the years I believed our family could withstand anything.<\/p>\n
And now, lying broken in the dirt, I realized it had been crumbling for decades, from secrets I never knew.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do we do now?\u201d I asked, voice trembling.<\/p>\n
Robert\u2019s grip tightened. \u201cWe survive. We climb out of this ravine, we find help. But Maggie\u2026\u201d He locked eyes with me. \u201cWe don\u2019t go to the police yet. Because if Daniel knows we\u2019re alive, he won\u2019t stop. Not until we\u2019re truly dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
The afternoon sun slipped lower, shadows stretching long across the ravine. My body screamed with pain, but Robert\u2019s words lit a fire in me stronger than fear.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t stay here,\u201d I said firmly. \u201cWe\u2019ll bleed out.\u201d<\/p>\n
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