Page 37 of Beneath Her Skin

"Come, let's get you some dry clothes," Rey says as he takes my hand and helps me out of the car and into the house. His grip tightens slightly, enough to send a chill down my spine.

"What were you doing outside, in the rain?" he looks at me over his shoulder, his face searching, scanning, as if looking for something. The aura around him is different now, suffocating. I feel it, the tightening grip around my wrist, the look of disconnection on his face, like he is assessing, calculating.

"Serena, you are not protecting our baby. I don’t know if you’re cut out for this."

The words strike deeper than the cold air clinging to my soaked skin. My stomach tightens, but it’s not just the contraction—it’s something else. A warning.

"Rey, who is she?" I ask once again, but it’s not about the affair. It never was. I don’t care about the woman he’s been sneaking around with. I care about her. The woman who was murdered in this very house, her baby ripped from her. And the man who did it.

From behind me, as we make it to the top of the stairs, a voice cuts through the air.

"HER NAME WAS LILY." Josh shouts, his voice echoing, trembling with anger. "SAY HER NAME, FERNANDO." He looks at Rey, and my stomach sinks.

Fernando.

No.

Slowly, I turn to see my husband, searching for something, anything—a flicker of recognition, a lie, an excuse. But there is nothing. Not a flicker of emotion, no fear, no regret, just empty calculation.

"Who are you?" is all he says in a low and murderous tone that sends shivers down my spine. I try to pull away, but the contraction rips through me again, forcing me to hold onto my husband’s hand for balance, my other hand pressing under my stomach.

"TELL HER THE TRUTH." Josh’s voice is closer now as he moves up the stairs, cautious, deliberate steps but not backing out.

"Go to the room," Rey says as he moves away from me and closer to Josh, but I don’t move. I won’t. I watch as they draw in closer. Everything moves too slowly. The stairway and house are dark and cold. Lightning flickered outside, illuminating the area and heightening the tension between them. "You killed my sister, her child and David."

"I don’t know what you’re—" Rey's words are cut short as Josh’s fist connects with his face, a sickening thud that makes me jump a little and cover my mouth. I watch as they tussle on the stairs, the weight of their struggle pressing into the house itself, the walls groaning under their fight.

"You killed my sister… SAY IT."

Punch.

"SAY IT."

Punch.

"SAY HER NAME. MY NIECE. MY SISTER. THE MAN SHE LOVED."

Josh continues his assaults, his voice cracking, breaking, bleeding with every word. And then I see the charred man standing by the edge of my room, as if waiting—but too scared to move. But Lily is here too. Cradling her empty womb watching beside me her thin, bony fingers stretching out, trembling slightly as she points to the front door.

Run.

When I look back at the man, I see Rey has the upper hand, smashing Josh’s face into the wall.

"She was a whore," he sneers, each word dripping with venom. "Who abandoned her husband. Let another man touch her while she carried my child."

My knees buckle. His voice—his words—are acid against my skin, poisoning my mind, sinking into my bones like a sickness. He couldn’t have done that.No. But despite my hesitation to believe this is real… his words are real. I won’t let them take me under. I won’t let what happened to her happen to me. Taking a deep breath, my hands ball into fists, I need to focus. Only focus on surviving.

"A WORTHLESS WHORE!" His voice rips through the house, shaking the air, and for a moment—I swear the walls breathe with it. I creep down the stairs, moving carefully, slowly, my breath shallow, my body screaming, run, run, run. Then—his head snaps toward me.

Our eyes lock.

I bolt.

But I’m not fast enough.

His hand snatches my wrist, yanking me backward with a crushing force. Pain explodes through my stomach as I slam intothe stair railing, my body folding, my breath escaping in a sharp, broken gasp. My knees hit the steps.

"YOU STAY THERE."

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