CHAPTER 4: THE DETECTIVE'S ARRIVAL
Detective Marcus Vance of the Fairfax County Police Department pushed open the swinging doors of the intensive care unit just as dawn broke over the horizon.
With twenty years of homicide and violent crime experience, Vance had seen plenty of horrors, but the medical report detailing Victoria Carter’s injuries made his jaw tighten with controlled rage.
He stepped quietly into Victoria’s private room, finding her awake, staring blankly at the iv pole with tears silently tracing the edges of her bruised cheeks.
"Good morning, Mrs. Carter. I am Detective Vance, and I need you to tell me exactly what happened in that kitchen," he said gently, pulling a chair close to the bedside.
Victoria turned her head slowly, her voice raspy and fragile as she recounted the premeditated assault by her mother-in-law and the sadistic indifference of her husband.
She detailed how Ethan stepped over her paralyzed body to watch a football game, forbidding anyone from calling an ambulance while she bled onto the tile.
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Detective Vance listened with rapt attention, his pen flying across his notepad as he recorded every single horrific detail of the domestic torture chamber.
"They thought I was going to die out there in the mud," Victoria whispered, her eyes suddenly flashing with a cold, terrifying brilliance. "They didn't realize who I really am."
