Betrayed By Her Beloved

Ten years. That' s how long I' d spent in Ironwood, a frozen hell disguised as a "rehabilitation" facility, stripped bare.

Finally, I was home, a woman I barely recognized, clinging to Marcus and Leo' s hollow promises of normalcy.

I just wanted peace, to be safe. The recycled air inside felt foreign after the clean Alaskan crispness.

But peace was a cruel illusion.

I overheard them talking, my husband and my son, their voices low and urgent.

"She took the fall," Marcus confessed, "It was convenient."

My blood ran cold.