My husband buried me up to my neck while I was pregnant—then slapped me for spitting in his face, never realizing what I had already set in motion.

They did not leave me buried continuously for three days.

That would have killed me too quickly.

They pulled me out when my legs went numb, let me use the downstairs bathroom, gave me crackers and water, then pushed me back into the trench whenever I refused to sign.

The repeated burial was worse in its own way.

Each time Grant loosened the dirt, I believed some part of him had returned. Each time Teresa placed the papers on the patio table, he chose her again.

On the first night, they left the patio light on and tied my wrists beneath the soil with a soft landscaping strap. Grant said it was to stop me from hurting myself.

Mosquitoes gathered around my ears. Somewhere beyond the fence, a dog barked and a garage door opened.

I tried to shout.

Grant turned on the lawn mower and let it idle beside the shed until I stopped.

My baby moved hard against my ribs.

I began counting the kicks.

At the clinic, we told anxious mothers that movement patterns mattered more than exact numbers. I knew when my son was active. I knew how he responded to meals, music, and my voice.

That night, his movements slowed.

“Grant,” I called.

He stepped outside with a beer in his hand.

“The baby isn’t moving normally.”

His face changed for one second.

Then Teresa opened the kitchen door behind him.

“She said the same thing yesterday.”

“I did not.”

“She’s manipulating you,” Teresa said. “That’s why you’ve never been able to manage her.”

Grant stared at my buried body.

“You’ll be checked after you sign.”

I turned my face toward the dirt so he would not see me cry.

Earlier that month, my coworker Jasmine had helped me create a private safety plan after noticing bruises on my upper arm. We agreed that if I missed two scheduled prenatal check-ins without calling, she would contact my sister Rachel and request a welfare check.

I had missed the first appointment that morning.

The second was scheduled for Wednesday at nine.