BENEATH THE GOLD
Chapter 8: Shattered Beyond Repair
It was bound to happen.
Kate had been careful—so careful. But no one living under the same roof as a monster could hide forever.
One evening, Dominic came home earlier than expected.
Kate had been in the library, researching shelters and legal advice, her laptop open in front of her.
She didn’t hear him walk in.
The sharp crack of his voice made her freeze.
“What. Is. That?”
Kate’s heart plummeted. She slammed the laptop shut, but it was too late.
Dominic stormed across the room, yanked the laptop from her hands, and stared at the screen.
There it was, clear as day: searches about how to safely leave an abusive husband, women’s shelters, restraining orders.
His face turned a shade of red Kate had never seen before. His whole body trembled with rage.
"You think you can leave me?" he growled, voice thick with venom. "You ungrateful little—"
The first blow came fast, knocking Kate off the chair. Her head hit the hard floor with a sickening thud.
She barely had time to gasp before Dominic was on her again, raining down fists on her body—her face, her ribs, her stomach. There was no mercy. No control this time. He beat her with a fury born of fear of losing the power he had worked so hard to maintain.
Kate tried to protect her stomach with her hands, but it only seemed to enrage him more. When he finally stopped, panting and wild-eyed, Kate lay still on the cold marble floor, barely conscious, blood pooling around her. He spat at her feet and stormed out, slamming the front door so hard it shook the walls.
It was one of the housemaids, Mariam, who found Kate minutes later.
The young girl screamed, her cries echoing through the empty house, before fumbling for the phone and calling an ambulance.
The hospital was a blur of bright lights, urgent voices, and sharp pain.
Kate drifted in and out of awareness as doctors hovered over her. She heard fragments of words — “internal bleeding” … “severe trauma” … “pregnancy complications.”
Pregnancy?
She hadn't even known. Somewhere deep inside, a tiny life had been growing — a life she never got the chance to celebrate.
And now it was gone.
The doctors did everything they could, but it was too late. Kate lost the baby.
When the reality hit her, the grief was so raw it felt like her soul had been ripped apart. Alone in a sterile hospital bed, bruised and broken, Kate wept for the child she had never met, for the life she had lost, for the woman she used to be.
Her sister came first, surprised to see Kate on low cut but didn’t say anything about it.
Eyes red from crying, heart shattered, she held Kate's hand and whispered, “I’m here. I’m here now.”
Then her parents arrived. Between gasps and sobs, Kate told them everything.
The hair cut. The beatings. The threats. The isolation. The night after night of fear. The baby she hadn't even known she was carrying.
And they listened with a grief so deep, it filled the room. "Dad, Mom. I'm sorry," Kate whispered over and over, as if their love was something she no longer deserved.
Her mother stroked her hair gently.
"You're alive," she said. "You're here. That's what matters now."
Kate let the tears fall, as she wept bitterly.
Question
1. What mistake does Kate make that leads Dominic to discover her plan?
2. How does Dominic react when he confirms Kate is trying to escape?
3. What tragic event happens to Kate after the brutal beating?
4. Who helps Kate after Dominic leaves her unconscious?
5. Was Kate aware of her pregnancy before?
Vocabulary Guide
1. Venom (used emotionally): Harshness or bitterness in someone's tone or words.
Example: “You think you can leave me?" he growled, voice thick with venom."
2. Plummeted: Fell or dropped suddenly and quickly.
Example: "Kate’s heart plummeted."
3. Sterile: Clean and free from bacteria
Example: “Alone in a sterile hospital bed…”
4. Trauma: A deeply distressing or disturbing experience.
Example: “Severe trauma…”
5. Fragments: Small pieces or incomplete parts.
Example: “She heard fragments of words.”
6. Hover: To remain in one place in the air or around someone closely.
Example: “Doctors hovered over her.”
7. Isolation: The state of being separated from others.
Example: “The threats. The isolation.”
8. Shattered: Completely broken or destroyed (especially emotionally).
Example: "Eyes red from crying, heart shattered..."