When the cold water hit me, nothing around me paused.

Cold ran from my scalp down my spine.

I placed my hand over my stomach as my baby kicked sharply, reacting to the shock.

Lillian set the bucket aside, smiling.
“Well… at least you’re clean now.”

Marcus chuckled under his breath. Vanessa hid a grin behind her hand.

They had been building toward this for months—slowly turning me into someone invisible.

Their mistake?

They thought I was powerless.

I didn’t cry.
Didn’t yell.
Didn’t move.