“At 3AM, my brother dragged me out of bed and b.e.a.t me until my lips split while my father stood in the doorway laughing. I called 911 with shaking hands… then everything went black. When I woke up, they were telling the police I was the problem.”

Aaron did not answer with words, because he never needed explanations when rage had already granted him permission to act. His face was twisted into that expression I knew too well, a volatile mixture of anger, contempt, and a chilling confidence that came from years of knowing no one would ever truly stop him.

He shoved me backward into the hallway wall with brutal force, my cheek slamming against the drywall so hard that sparks exploded across my vision, followed instantly by the metallic taste of blood flooding my mouth.

“Say you are sorry right now, Madison, and maybe this does not have to continue any further,” he hissed, his breath hot and trembling with aggression.

“For what exactly should I apologize when I have done absolutely nothing wrong tonight?” I spat back, barely able to shape the words through a lip already swelling with pain.