Chapter 1: A new beginning
It’s been one year now, one year since the most horrific day of my life. Every time I think back, I relive every second, feeling the physical and emotional pain Chase inflicted on me, punching me brutally. And I’m feeling again the impotence and fear of losing my unborn child! I begged him to think of our baby and finally stop, but my words only made him angrier. He’d become obsessed with the insane idea that the child wasn’t his, but Dylan’s, the colleague with whom I was working at the Youth Center in San Antonio.
After marrying Chase, I continued to attend college and graduated in social education after three years. I love my job, love working with children, and the challenge of helping especially the difficult boys and girls. Unfortunately, Chase had hit me several times before, since he was jealous of some men I was in contact with, without any reason. I was blinded by love and gave in when he begged me for forgiveness, every fucking time! When I got pregnant, I actually believed he was just as happy about the child as me and that he was going to change.
My husband had become obsessed with the insane idea that the child wasn’t his... He was seeing the pregnancy as a threat to our marriage from the very beginning! One day, he began to hit me, not letting go off me, almost beating me to death. Only when I was lying consciousless on the floor, covered in blood, did he realize what he’d done, but it was already too late... He called the ambulance service, and I was taken to the hospital. He actually told the doctors, who were taking care of me, that I had fallen down the stairs, but given my severe injuries, they didn’t believe him! The cops were called in and began investigating.
When I woke up from the coma two days later, my parents were with me. Mom and Dad were sitting by my bed, waiting for me to finally wake up! It was very hard for them to tell me about the loss of my baby, and we were crying together and comforting each other. It felt so good to feel their love and care, and it eased my intense pain a bit. But besides the pain, I felt something else: endless rage and immense hatred for the man who had done this to me!
I was searching for revenge on him for the physical and emotional abuse I’d suffered during the three years of our marriage. My parents weren’t very fond of my husband, and they supported me when I made my decision to testify against him. I told the investigators everything Chase had done to me over the past few years, without leaving out any detail. It felt liberating to finally get it all off my chest! At first, I was afraid the cops wouldn’t believe me.
Chase McKenzie was born into a working-class family and, through hard work and ambition, he managed to earn a college degree in architecture. Shortly after graduating, he applied for a well-paid job as an interior designer and he got the job! His kind and charming manner made him very popular not only with his friends and colleagues, but with most of the people. No one would have suspected that his friendly smile was hiding a psychopath who was abusing his wife. However, my doubts were unfounded, because the investigators believed every word I said!
It was obvious that the numerous injuries on my body couldn’t be caused just from falling down the stairs.The doctor even discovered older injuries on my body! And my ex-husband’s psychological report revealed a severe personality disorder with a violent tendency. Chase never admitted his guilt and always claimed that I was inventing everything to get rid of him. He was obsessed with the idea that I had been cheating on him with Dylan.
I was going through hell, again, when I had to testify against him in the trial. Chase was sitting there in the dock and didn’t take his eyes off me for a second. Sometimes it seemed as if he was looking right through me. Despite everything he had done to me, it touched my heart to see him like that: pale, emaciated, exhausted, almost apathetic. When I married him four years ago, I was madly in love with him. Nevertheless, I managed to repeat in court everything I had already told the investigators, severely incriminating my husband.
The sentence was harsher than I expected, as Chase was sentenced to five years in prison! He accepted the verdict in silence, without showing any emotion. He was staring at me, and I will never forget his expression, so full of anger, disappointment, and hate. I’m feeling scared every time I remember it! But Chase can’t hurt me anymore, at least not for the next five years. By the time he gets out, I’ll be living a new life, far away from Texas...
Last year, I moved back to my parents in Victoria, because my parents’ home is probably the best place to recover from my physical and emotional trauma. With a heavy heart, I quit my job as an educationer at the youth center in San Antonio because I never want to return to that city. The time with my family was truly good for me, since Mom and Dad were spoiling me and anticipating my every need. My younger sister, Linda, who lives with her girlfriend, often came to visit, and we were chatting for hours, revelling in memories. We were reminiscing about our childhood, when we were living in our little perfect world.
It was also my sister who drew my attention to the online ad: “Young entrepreneur and single dad is seeking a babysitter for his five-year-old daughter, with room and board, in South Hill, Virginia.”
That sounds very interesting to me: a full-time job as a babysitter, in Virginia, no less. I’ll be moving 1,300 miles away from San Antonio. I applied immediately and got the job. It’s too good to be true! My parents are a bit sad that I’m moving so far away, but they understand that I want to finally get closure to my past.
Tomorrow is the day: I’m starting for a new life! I’m taking the flight to Richmond, Virginia, and from there I’ll take the bus to South Hill. I’m so excited because I can barely wait to meet my new boss, Matthew Carpenter, and especially my little protégé, Emily. I have no idea yet that meeting father and daughter will change my life forever!
