Rose Harrison never imagined that someone like her would end up in a place like this. A cold, cynical smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, even as tears pooled in her eyes. Her fingers hovered over her flat stomach, her gaze unfocused, drifting into the void. Where did it all go wrong?

Delilah Kelly had walked away from Maximus Anderson willingly. That much she knew. As for why her father had forced Maximus to marry her? It was because he’d taken her virginity! How she had ended up in Maximus's bed that night remained a haze she couldn't pierce. Back then, she had been too blinded by her own naive love for the man to ever question the truth.

"Hey, you the new girl? Rose Harrison?"

The voice was raspy, cutting through her thoughts. Standing before her was a towering woman in a coarse, grey-prison jumpsuit. She radiated raw, animalistic cruelty. Rose curled into a ball, her small frame trembling. Fear burned in her eyes. "Y-yes. I'm Rose. Is... is there a problem?"

"A problem?" The woman chuckled, a low, guttural sound. "We just don't like your face."

"It's an old rule here," another woman added, sneering. "New meat needs a lesson."

They circled her. Rose’s heart slammed against her ribs. Before she could gasp a word of defense, the first blow landed. A heavy fist slammed into the crown of her head, sending a white-hot spike of agony through her skull. She screamed.

Before she could recover, her hair was grabbed, her head yanked back with a savage jerk. "Listen here, you pathetic little slut. Take a good look at where you are."

"P-please... let go!" Rose sobbed, clutching her scalp.

Smack! Smack!

The sound of bone meeting flesh echoed in the cell. Rose’s face erupted in swelling. "That's for being a manipulative little bitch," someone hissed.

Harley Dixon loomed over her, eyes glittering with a perverse, manic excitement. She looked down at Rose like she was nothing more than a crushed bug. "Get her up. Don't let her move."

"You got it, Harley!"

The goons hauled Rose up, pinning her arms behind her back. Rose felt her breath hitch, her body instinctively arching to protect her belly. Her teeth clicked together, her soul rattling with a primal, suffocating terror.

"Heh. Pathetic." Harley stalked toward her. She wound back and drove a fist straight into Rose’s stomach.

Pain—a sickening, visceral tearing—exploded in Rose's gut. She doubled over, gasping as a wave of nausea and agony hit her. She felt the area around her womb scream in protest.

"Get off me! Please, stop!" Her voice was a broken, jagged rasp. Sweat poured down her face, stinging her eyes.

"What a piece of trash," Harley spat, disgusted. She grabbed Rose by the hair and threw her back onto the cold floor.

Rose hit the ground with a thud, curling into a ball, hands white-knuckled as she clutched her midsection. The room spun.

"No... please... someone help me..."

They didn't stop. They didn't care.

Kicks rained down like hail—heavy, relentless boots striking ribs, shoulders, and, with agonizing precision, her stomach. Rose felt her heart shattering. *Who? Who could hate her this much? Who wanted her baby dead?*

She bit her lip until the metallic taste of copper flooded her mouth, trying to block out the world. She hugged her belly, shielding the life inside her, but the boots kept coming. The darkness finally crept in, heavy and suffocating, as she slipped into the void.