Lahat ng Kabanata ng MY HUSBAND'S TRAP: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

The AnniversaryThe champagne flute was trembling in the hands of Lottie Rice, but her smile was not.Ten years of experience had taught her that.“More wine, Mother Smith?” she asked, and her hand was already taking the bottle before Mother Smith could click her fingers.Mother Smith did not even look at her; instead, she stretched out the crystal glass, just like a hand would stretch to a dog that should serve her and receive nothing in return. The diamond rings glinted in the chandelier’s light like little cold knives.“You poured it too quickly last time,” Eleanor said in her voice as brittle as shattered glass. “There was foam on the tablecloth. Pour it properly, or don’t pour it at all. I am not going to spoil my anniversary celebration with clumsy pouring.”“Yes, Mother Smith.”Lottie held the bottle in such meticulous fashion that it appeared she understood the price that could come from making a small mistake. The gold liquid dripped in slow progress from the bottle. No drop

Enough to love me.That’s how it was. The dagger wrapped up in a compliment. The trap wrapped up in trust."If you love me," he whispered, "then you will do this, and after it is done, believe me when I tell you, I will make it up to you for the rest of my life. I’ll give you anything, a wedding, the respect of my mother, a place in my family that can never be questioned."Lottie looked into his face for the deception.She couldn’t find it.She wasn’t trying hard enough."Okay," she heard herself say, distant from where she was standing. "Okay, I’ll do it."Geoffrey’s shoulders drooped as if with relief.There was no relief.There was victory.The interrogation room was colder than the morgue that held the stranger she would never know.The fluorescent lights above made the harsh white glow over the metal table and two plastic chairs. The air reeked of old coffee and cleaning agent. Lottie sat in the chair, hands clutched together on her lap, the plastic bracelet rubbing against her a

She moved toward him with her eyes sparkling with malevolent delight. "There is nothing to worry about, my brother. Lottie has learned how to take everything that Mother has been doing to her. For ten years she’s taking her abuse in doses. She'll always love you and will never disappoint you. Have you seen her eyes when she confessed to that crime? What confidence! What an eagerness to protect you. Almost romantic, wouldn’t you say?" She lifted her glass. "Let us celebrate for now, my brother. By the way, who was your victim?"Geoffrey smiled once more and his smile was even colder than the last. He placed one hand on Vivienne’s hip and pulled her close. "Nobody. It was just one woman who was unfortunate enough to be in the street at the wrong time. I left her there. I discovered afterwards that she had been dead long before she even stepped onto the street." He shrugged as though it were only one more traffic accident. “And one more thing, forget about that as well. You can be sure t

The trial destroyed her by inches, then by yards, then by entire collapsing streets.Every single day the prosecution played the fabricated CCTV footage Geoffrey and Vivienne’s careful, meticulous, technical work. The video showed a grainy but unmistakable image of Lottie behind the wheel of the black Mercedes, face partially turned toward the camera at the precise moment the car struck the victim. The timestamp matched. The license plate matched. The angle had been chosen with surgical precision. The jury watched in heavy, horrified silence while Lottie’s stomach turned to stone and the gallery whispered behind manicured hands.She wanted to stand up and scream that the footage was wrong. That she had been home that night. That Geoffrey had called her after the fact, voice tight and controlled, and asked her to take the fall for a crime she never committed. But every time the impulse rose like nausea, Vivienne’s hand settled on her arm and her voice murmured, low and urgent and perfe

This fire broke out at 2:17 a.m. on the night before the start of formal sentencing.This fire occurred due to an electrical problem in the laundry section of the old building. This should have been easily solved with the use of the sprinklers after a few minutes. However, this system malfunctioned. In no time at all, the smoke filled the air and became very dark and moved throughout the ventilation ducts like a live, ravenous creature. The alarms blared until they exploded with sparks. Automatic doors of cells closed with metallic clangs. Prisoners cried and beat on bars for help that came far too late.Lottie stood right in the middle of her cell when the first wave of extremely hot, oven-like heat hit through the hallway. Lottie had to cover her face with her sleeve as she coughed so violently that she bent over, tears running out of her eyes because of all the smoke. The lights above them went off two times before the darkness engulfed them. Everything went into emergency red ligh