Chapter 1
On the day SAT results came out, my husband drove nails all over our daughter Joyce Barnes’s body and locked her in the garage.
All because I slapped the college girl he was keeping.
He hammered five hundred nails into Joyce.
“Nails the length of a finger sank deep into her flesh.
In the video, her screams grew so raw they bled, yet he didn’t hesitate for a second.”
My vision went red. I lunged at him, hitting and cursing. “You monster! She’s your own daughter! How can you be this cruel?”
He gripped my throat, smiling with a gentleness that was somehow even more vicious.
“Five finger marks on Kat’s face mean five hundred nails in your daughter’s body. Perfectly fair, isn’t it? If Kat so much as sheds one tear from pain, I’ll make sure you two understand what true agony feels
like.”
Then, Joseph Barnes hurled a key at my face.
“Go on. If you hurry, you might still catch her last breath.”
I snatched the key and stumbled toward the garage, half crawling, half running. But when I got there, all I saw was red-sharp, blinding red that swallowed everything.
***
Joyce Barnes was nailed to a wooden board in the shape of an X, the floor beneath her soaked through
with blood.
Right over her chest was a nail as thick as my finger.
The thought that she was going to die from the pain alone made my knees give out. I collapsed on the cold concrete, my voice breaking. “Joyce…”
She heard me.
Her pale face turned toward me, and, as if afraid I would worry, she forced out broken words to comfort
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- “Mom… don’t cry… It doesn’t hurt…”
My chest felt like it was being ripped apart. I crawled to her feet, wanting to touch her, but my hands. froze in midair.
The 500 nails were packed so close together that they covered her arms, legs, and torso.
Her small, still-developing body was riddled with holes, blood seeping from every one.
I stared, my fingers clawing at the ground until my nails broke and blood smeared the floor, just to keep myself from breaking down completely.
Wiping my tears, I forced the tremor from my voice. “Joyce, don’t be scared. I’m going to get you out of here.”
I fumbled for my phone, but before I could call, a deafening clang came from behind me—the garage door was rolling shut.
My heart lurched. I bolted toward it, pounding on the metal with all my strength.
“Open the door! Let Joyce go! Whatever you want, I’ll agree-just let her out!”
Outside, a few men laughed coarsely.
“Open the door? Not a chance. You two can die in there.”
The word “die” froze my blood. I turned back to see Joyce’s face, already pale and struggling for breath.
Tears streamed down my cheeks as I dropped to my knees before the door.
“Take me! I’ll die! Just let Joyce go…’
My broken screams echoed in the suffocating space, but no one answered.
“Mom… Mom…”
Her voice was weak, fraying, as if she was about to fade away.
I quickly wiped my face, flipping open my phone with trembling hands. “Sweetheart, I’m going to save you. I promise.”
“Mom… I… I can’t hold on.
་་
She drew a shallow breath, then spoke again. “When… you get my SAT scores… give them… to Dad… maybe… he’ll like them…”
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It was as if she had finished what she needed to say. The moment those words left her lips, her limbs and head went limp.
“Joyce!” My scream tore through the air.
Right then, someone finally picked up the call. I shouted into the phone, “I’m at the garage in Wynners Villa! Please help us! Please!”
After getting the exact address, they promised they would come as fast as they could.
I clutched the phone and broke down, sobbing so hard I could barely breathe.
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