Stan looked down at me. There was nothing in his eyes. No pity. No hesitation. Nothing.

"This is just the beginning."

"Jade, everything you owe Annette, I will take back from you. Piece by piece."

For days after the blood draw, I burned with a fever that wouldn't break.

Stan refused to let anyone call a doctor. The only thing the housekeeper was allowed to give me was a bitter herbal concoction forced down my throat each day.

I was too weak to leave the bed.

Annette, on the other hand, made a point of visiting my room to gloat.

"Jade, you really are pathetic right now."

She dragged a manicured nail down my cheek.

"Stan doesn't love you. He never did. Every time he touches you, it makes his skin crawl."

"Your wedding night, he actually..."

She paused on purpose, pressing her fingers to her lips to stifle a coy little laugh.

"He actually hired some homeless man off the street to keep you company."

"Too bad you ran. You missed the full experience."

My eyes snapped open. I stared at her, unblinking.

Even though I already knew the truth, hearing it spoken aloud still made bile rise in my throat.

I forced my trembling body upright and slapped her across the face with every ounce of strength I had left.

"Get out."

Annette shrieked and tumbled to the floor.

Footsteps pounded outside the door. Stan burst into the room. The moment he saw Annette on the ground, the color drained from his face. He rushed to her side and gathered her up.

"Annette, are you okay?"

Annette clutched her cheek, tears streaming down her face.

"Stan, I just felt sorry for Miss Kaufman. I only came to check on her."

"She hit me..."

Stan turned and glared at me, fury blazing in his eyes.

"Jade, you have a death wish."

He strode over and backhanded me across the face.

I had no strength left. The blow knocked me onto the bed, and blood trickled from the corner of my mouth. All I could hear was a high-pitched ringing in my ears.

"Touch her again, and I'll end you."

I wiped the blood from my lips and lifted my face, laughing.

"Go ahead. Kill me now."

Stan seized my chin in a crushing grip.

"Kill you? That would be letting you off too easy."

"Annette's kidneys are failing. Your tissue was a perfect match."

"Next month, you're going into surgery."

My mind went blank. He was going to cut a kidney out of me while I was still breathing.

"I won't do it!"

"This is a crime!"

Stan's lip curled.

"In this house, I am the law."