Chapter 1 - The Black Jar
"EMILY!"
Ryan's voice hit the living room one second before he did.
I was pinned against the couch, nine months pregnant, with Margaret's forearm pressed across my shoulders and her fingers digging into my jaw. Thick black liquid ran from the corner of my mouth onto my shirt.
Ryan stopped in the doorway, suitcase still beside him.
"What the hell are you doing?"
Margaret jerked away.
I coughed so hard my stomach tightened.
"She forced me to drink something," I managed.
Ryan crossed the room in three strides. He pulled me upright, saw the glass jar in his mother's hand, and stared at her as if he had never seen her before.
"Tell me that's not what it looks like."
Margaret lifted her chin. "I was helping her. Women in my family have used this for generations."
"You were holding her down."
"She's dramatic."
Ryan's hand moved before I expected it. The slap cracked through the room. Margaret stumbled into the coffee table and the jar flew from her fingers, striking the rug without breaking.
"You put something unknown into my pregnant wife's mouth?"
Margaret's face changed.
Not anger.
Fear.
Ryan grabbed his phone and called 911.
"No," Margaret said quickly.
He looked at her. "Why not?"
"Because it's harmless."
"Then tell the paramedics what's in it."
Margaret lunged for the jar.
Ryan blocked her.
A contraction seized me so sharply I bent over his arm.
"Ryan."
He turned pale. "Emily?"
"That one was different."
Sirens began to rise in the distance.
Then someone pounded on our front door.
Ryan opened it.
His older sister, Jessica, stood there breathless. She saw the black liquid on my blouse and went white.
"Mom gave that to Emily?"
Margaret whispered, "Jessica, don't."
Ryan stared at his sister. "You know what this is?"
Jessica nodded slowly.
"Emily needs to tell the paramedics before they take her in."
"Tell them what?"
Jessica looked straight at Ryan.
"That Mom used the same mixture on another pregnant woman twenty-six years ago."
The room went still.
Ryan swallowed. "Who?"
May you like
Jessica's answer barely made a sound.
"Your biological mother."
