CARBO FANFICTION- FALLEN PART 17

Bo paced the floor of the hospital’s waiting room, filled with anxiety and fear. Alerted by panicked shouts, he’d rushed over to find people surrounding Carly; his heart painfully clenching at the sight of her on the ground, pushing people aside to crouch beside her and cradle her in his arms, calling her name urgently. Lexie had to gently tell him to let go of Carly so that she and Daniel could examine her. Nathan ran into the house to get his medical bag.

 ‘What’s wrong with her?’ Bo demanded harshly as the three doctors attended to her, anxious and impatient to know what caused Carly to faint. The guests waited breathlessly, Melanie wringing her hands in distress.  

Daniel was grim faced. ‘She’s gone into shock because she’s bleeding internally.’ He said, to everyone’s amazement. ‘Her blood pressure’s way down.’

 ‘Somebody please call an ambulance quick, she’ll die if we don’t get her to the hospital!’ Lexie said frantically.

On getting to the hospital, Nathan had discarded his tux to assist in Carly’s surgery and they were yet to come out. Bo was very worried about Carly, scared for her and very confused. Most of the guests were back at Maggie’s house waiting for news. Sharing his vigil was Melanie, still in her wedding dress; Brady, Roman, Abe, Max, Chelsea, Jennifer and Hope.

Melanie walked up to Bo, touching his arm. ‘Does Carly have family you need to call?’ she asked quietly.

‘Oh God… Frankie.’ In the middle of his agonizing worry over Carly he totally forgot to call him. ‘She has a brother in D.C,’ he replied, bringing out his phone. ‘Her son’s in Europe and I don’t have his number so Frankie will have to tell him.’

Frankie answered on the third ring. ‘What’s up, Bo?’ he greeted, sounding preoccupied. Bo swiftly explained what happened and Frankie listened in horror. ‘What’s happening right now?’ he demanded.

‘She’s still in surgery and we’re trying to be optimistic she’ll pull through.  And I really want to know is what caused this.’

Frankie wasn’t sure if what Carly had been keeping from Bo was the cause of her present condition but he did know that Bo was definitely going to get a shock when the surgery was over. ‘I’ll take the first flight out,’ he said, upset about his sister.

‘Don’t forget to tell Nicky,’ Bo added quickly.

‘Please Bo, I’m counting on you; do what you can for Carly until I get there, okay?’ Frankie  grabbed his briefcase and was already out the door.

‘Okay man, see you soon.’ Bo hung up. ‘He’ll be here, Nicky as well.’ he told Melanie. Seeing the genuine concern on her face, he touched her arm. ‘Hell of a wedding day for you.’

‘I’m too worried about Carly right now.’

Bo looked at the young woman thoughtfully. ‘You really care about her, don’t you?’

‘She’s my friend.’ Melanie said simply. ‘And I’ve long realized she’s such a great person. I feel so bad  whenever I think how awful I was to her in the beginning.’

‘Well, just to show you can’t believe everything you hear,’ Bo said bitterly, thinking of the injustice thrown at Carly. Melanie went back to sit down and Chelsea walked up to him. ‘She’s going to make it, Dad.’ She said, rubbing his arm.

‘I sure hope so, Chelz. I can’t lose her again, I just can’t.’ Bo said, his voice shaking.

Hope, who was walking up to him from behind to resume their conversation, heard the heartfelt words and stopped in her tracks as though Bo had slapped her in the face. Bo was deeply in love with Carly. It was more than obvious, the way he was very upset. There was no way he could deny it now. Unable to bear it, she turned and went back to Jennifer. ‘I’m going back to Maggie’s,’ she said, picking up her purse.

‘Why?’

‘I don’t need to be here, Jennifer, I have to go.’ Hope said, refusing to break down in tears in front of everyone. ‘You’ll tell me what happened later.’

‘Hope, I realize you’re upset with Bo…’

‘Upset?’ Hope said, her voice angry and bitter. ‘Upset doesn’t even cover how I feel right now. I have to get away from here.’

Jennifer was unable to stop her from leaving. She sat in her chair, distressed and upset for her and Carly; wishing she hadn’t told Hope about the divorce papers. She didn’t mean to go behind Bo’s back in the first place, it had just slipped out and he wasn’t going to let her forget her blunder.

The hours went by and then finally;  Daniel, Lexie and Nathan came out and everyone sprang to attention to hear what they had to say.

‘Carly survived the surgery,’ Lexie said, to everyone’s relief. ‘We had to do an exploratory laparotomy because we weren’t sure where the bleeding was coming from.’

‘But what caused it ?’ Bo demanded.

Lexie’s face was filled with concern as she looked at Bo. ‘Bo… did Carly ever mention anything about being abused?’

‘Abused?’ Melanie, Chelsea and Jennifer echoed in disbelief.

Bo was shocked. ‘ No, never. Why do you think she was abused?’

‘Because Carly’s body shows glaring signs  of being beaten within the inch of her life for years. Several healed bones and whip scars on her back.’ Daniel  explained grimly. ‘She also has some puncture scars on her stomach and a larger one across, like  she was stabbed and almost eviscerated.’

‘My God…’ Brady said faintly. The others were dumbfounded.

‘The reason for the internal bleeding was leftover scar tissue.’  Nathan added, Melanie clinging to his arm.

Bo felt sick, like a massive sledge hammer had hit him. Finally it all made sense… the hardness on Carly’s face, never talking about her life with Lawrence and her blatant refusal to let him get close. Abe turned to Bo. ‘She never mentioned it to you?’

‘No… no she didn’t. And I didn’t have a clue!’ Bo said, unable to believe what he was hearing.

Daniel shook his head. ‘When Phillip attacked her, she shrank away from me when I tried to help her up.  I suspected PTSD but she denied it when I asked her about it later, she said she was simply in shock.’

‘That’s obviously why she didn’t let us examine her at the time or get X-rayed.’ Lexie said. ‘She didn’t want us to know about it.’

‘Oh my God…’ Jennifer ran her hands over her hair. Bo was ashen with shock, speechless.

‘Does… does that mean besides beating her, Carly’s husband also stabbed her?’ Melanie whispered. ‘What kind of guy would do that to his own wife?’

‘That sick bastard!’ Bo erupted; livid beyond measure at the terrible images of Lawrence beating Carly, after if ruining things between them with Vivian’s help hadn’t been enough for him. There was no doubt who the culprit was, that animal had abused Carly. That was Carly’s secret all along and Lawrence’s brutality must have traumatized her enough into rendering her self-loathing and broken, making her feel she could never be normal again… or have another chance at love with any man. She’d been carrying around such pain and heartache in her heart the whole time and getting unfairly dragged in the middle of his problems with Hope. God… if Lawrence wasn’t already dead, he would empty every single bullet in his gun into his head, which wouldn’t have been murder but avenging the woman he loved.

‘Bo, please don’t think you’re responsible for what happened to Carly,’ Roman said gently as Bo covered his face with his hands. ‘You couldn’t have known Lawrence would end up abusing her.’  

‘It’s not your fault Bo,’ Jennifer said, putting her arms round him. ‘I’m sure Carly doesn’t blame you for any of it either.’

Bo wiped the streaming tears off his eyes with the back of his hand. ‘Can we see her now?’ he whispered.

‘After she’s moved to Recovery, yes. But it might take a long time before she wakes up though. You can all see her for just a minute.’ Daniel directed.

‘Until Carly’s family gets here I’m not going anywhere,’ Bo said fiercely, his eyes red and damp. ‘I’m not leaving her all alone.’

‘Fine, you can stay with her.’ Lexie said, knowing from experience it was no point arguing with Bo. ‘But the rest of you, just one minute.’

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Carly looked wan and helpless on the bed, a breathing tube under her nose, hooked to monitors and an I.V attached to her arm. One by one, everyone tiptoed in to peer at her and hold her hand. Roman phoned Maggie to give her the news, instructing her to pass it on to the others. ‘One of the waitresses wants a word with you or Bo; she’s been acting rather agitated.’

‘What does she want?’

‘She wouldn’t say, except that it’s really important.’

Roman glanced at his watch, it was quite late. ‘Have her come by the station in the morning.’

Bo sat beside Carly after everyone had left; the room quiet except for the beeping noises from the monitors. Staring down at her, he felt the tears come back; unable to express the flood of emotions running through him, only knowing that he loved her and now that he knew what she’d been keeping from him was going to do all he can to help her heal. He felt more ashamed for his anger towards her for refusing to confide in him. It was just like the time he was ill with the virus, keeping it from her because he didn’t want her burdened by a man who was probably going to die. Carly’s love and care had shown him how foolish he’d been not telling her from the moment he began showing symptoms. How she must have suffered for years, going through such torment and cruelty from Lawrence; a man who always hid his true nature behind his disgusting aristocratic charm, who had delighted seeing him squirm when Carly didn’t remember him. For how long did the abuse go on? And where the hell was Nicky the whole time?   

‘I love you, princess.’ Bo whispered. ‘You’ve walked alone long enough. I’m here with you now, now and forever.’ He pressed his lips against her hand.

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By morning, Carly’s eyes fluttered open, groggy and disoriented. Bo, unable to sleep the whole night, was thankful; kissing her on the forehead. ‘Thank God,’ he said fervently.

Carly winced at the pain from her stiches and peered at him, trying to focus on his face. ‘Bo?’ she whispered.

‘Yeah, princess, it’s me.’ Bo sniffled, forcing back the tears this time. ‘I’ve been with you all night.’

‘What… happened to me?’

‘You collapsed at the reception. Do you remember anything?’

Carly closed her eyes, thinking back. ‘I remember… feeling sick the whole time. Then… I was talking to Victor.’

‘Okay.’ Bo encouraged.

‘I drank some champagne… I don’t… remember anything else.’  

‘It’s okay; don’t worry your head about that. I’m just glad you’re awake.’ Bo leaned to kiss her on the forehead again, still holding her hand.

‘I was… operated on?’

‘Yes you were. Carly, you were suffering from internal bleeding, leftover scar tissue from your old injuries.’

Carly stared up at him. ‘You know.’

Bo nodded. ‘I know. And I’m not mad at you but princess, why didn’t you tell me Lawrence abused you? And how long did it go on?’

Carly swallowed painfully. ‘I… was so ashamed. I chose to leave Salem with Lawrence… I hurt you so much.  It went on for years and … it was a terrible period of my life I wanted to forget. I didn’t want you to feel responsible… and I… couldn’t handle any form of pity. I just… wanted to start over.’ Carly squeezed his hand weakly. ‘Forgive me.’

‘Oh hey... there’s nothing to forgive, nothing.’ Bo said emotionally. ‘I want you to concentrate on getting better and we’ll take it from there.  There’s no reason why we can’t be together now.’

Bo may know about Lawrence abusing her but he was yet to know about her other secret. A secret she had no choice but to finally reveal. ‘Bo…’ she began.

‘Hush, princess,’ Bo soothed, stroking her cheek. ‘What matters right now is your health. I don’t want you to wear yourself out, whatever it is can wait.’

As he spoke, the door opened and Frankie entered the room, rushing to her side. ‘Sis… are you okay? How do you feel?’

‘Tired… and very stupid right now.’ A faint smile touched Carly’s lips. ‘I’m a doctor who didn’t recognize her own symptoms.’

Frankie leaned down to kiss her. ‘What matters right now is you’re alright. I called Nicholas before boarding. He’s handling a major crisis so he can’t come but he says to tell you he loves you very much and he’ll call as soon as he can.’

‘Okay.’ Carly closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep again.

Frankie turned to Bo and the two men hugged. ‘Thanks so much for staying with her.’

‘Come on, you know I wouldn’t do otherwise.’ Bo patted Frankie’s shoulder. ‘I know about what Lawrence did to her. Why didn’t you tell me?’

Frankie was about to reply when a nurse came in and they left the room to talk. Frankie explained how Lawrence deliberately blocked his entrance to Alamainia and how he was never able to make contact with Carly until after Lawrence died.

‘You should have told me all this.’ Bo’s voice was cold. ‘The fact I moved on after Carly left doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have helped her if I knew about the situation. I would’ve worked out a way to get her out of there, if you’d only come to me with this.’

‘You had your own family to worry about and excuse me for saying this, but I doubt Hope would’ve been thrilled letting you risk your life saving an ex you never told her about.’ Frankie replied just as coldly, long suppressed resentment surfacing at last. ‘From the moment Carly left, she was a closed subject to all of you; like she never existed. The last time I was here, none of you even asked about her. And I had to hear from Carly last Christmas how the family and the Hortons regarded her just to protect that wife of yours,  so obviously I was more than justified not telling you!’

‘Okay, it’s true; I admit it.’ Bo replied, stung by Frankie’s accusation. ‘But it was not for the reasons you think. I never forgot her and I really hoped she was happy, even though I hated Lawrence for luring her away. Since I found out about what he did, I can’t stop blaming myself for not working harder to keep her. But I want to make it right. Now that I know the reason why she felt we can’t be together...’

‘No way, I’m not thrilled about this at all.’ Frankie interrupted, his face stern and disapproving.

‘Why not?’

‘Because you’re unable of having a committed relationship with another woman when Hope’s around.’ Frankie said bluntly. ‘You guys have been married for a long time and you’ve had your rough patches but once Hope snaps her fingers, you’ll go running back to her and I’m be damned before my sister gets hurt all over again because of you. Carly doesn’t deserve a rebound relationship.’

‘It’s different this time, I love her.’ Bo protested.

‘So you say now.’

‘It happens to be the truth,’ Bo snapped, understanding Frankie’s skepticism but still infuriated by it. ‘If we never broke up, Billie and I wouldn’t  have ended up together, you know that.’

‘Oh really? Then what would’ve happened after Hope came back?’ Frankie challenged, his dark eyes hard.

Bo was silent.

‘I thought so.’ Frankie said bitterly. ‘Listen, just leave my sister alone. You are not going to use her as a substitute until Hope decides she wants you back.’

 Bo bit his lip as Frankie went back to Carly’s room. He had no answer to Frankie’s question, because it was a question he constantly refused to ask himself when Carly returned to Salem.

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Bo’s cell rang after he came out of the shower. It was Roman, who immediately asked about Carly’s condition and Bo told him she was awake. 
‘And to think she came back here to face more problems, with that terrible trauma she was trying to get over. I feel terrible.’

 ‘I imagine a lot of people will feel terrible unless they’re simply coldblooded.’ Bo rubbed his damp hair with a towel.

‘By the way, I got a visit from one of the caterer’s waitresses, a Sarah Logan. She had something really interesting to say.’

‘What that?’

‘She said she saw Victor and Carly talking by the buffet table. Then when Carly turned away from a moment, he slipped something into her glass.’

‘He did what?’ Bo shouted, enraged.

Roman went on, ‘When Carly collapsed seconds after drinking out of it, Sarah assumed Victor poisoned her. Victor was distracted when people ran to see what was wrong with Carly so Sarah managed to switch glasses; she was nearby clearing away a few used ones then. She figured Victor would hide it and she was right, she saw him wrap the false one with a hanky and put it in his pocket.’

‘That son of a bitch,’ Bo steamed, vowing all sorts of things to do to Victor. ‘I assume this woman handed in the glass. What was in it?’

‘That’s the very weird part, it wasn’t poison. Lab results showed traces of sodium pentothal.’

Bo sat down on his bed, now confused. ‘Why the hell would Victor put truth serum in Carly’s drink?’

‘Knowing Victor, a very nasty reason. I’ll go over to the mansion to question him. You need to be with Carly. Has Frankie showed up?’

‘Yes, he’s with her right now. Nicky had some business problem he had to take care of so he’s not coming right now.’

Roman detected contempt in Bo’s words. ‘If it’s really a business thing, he can’t exactly help it, can he?’

‘Carly’s far more important than his Daddy’s business. I would like to know where the hell he was the whole time Larry was beating Carly.’

‘Don’t go judging him until you hear what he has to say.’ Roman cautioned. ‘I’m as upset as you are over what happened to Carly but now’s not the time to get yourself worked up. Give Carly my love, okay?’

‘Okay.’ Bo hung up.                                                           

Just as he finished getting dressed, the doorbell rang and he went downstairs to answer it. Without preamble, Hope entered the house and he closed the door behind her.

‘How’s Carly?’ she asked quietly.

‘She woke up this morning.’ Bo replied, equally stiltedly.

‘I’m glad for her. But now I guess it’s no point asking you why you’ve decided to call it quits.’

‘Maggie must have told you what happened to Carly.’

‘She did.’

‘So why do you still persist on laying the blame on her? For god sakes!’ Bo snapped, infuriated by her attitude.

‘I’m not doing that, I’m not!’ Hope raised her voice, trying to talk over him. ‘I’m not heartless, Bo. I’m sorry about what happened to her and now I know I was wrong to assume the worst when she came back. But put yourself in my shoes…’

‘No “buts” and no, I will not put myself in your shoes.’ Bo replied coldly. ‘Carly herself told you she wasn’t after me, you chose not to believe her and then it was all you could obsess about, refusing to give her the benefit of the doubt. You blamed her for something you started, this separation. I’m not going to let you or anybody else blame her for our divorce.’

‘I was angry at the time!’ Hope cried. ‘Surely you knew me enough to know it’s not something I want.’

‘Since you left this house, I had trouble reading your mind or knowing what you really wanted. You put up this wall between us, you wouldn’t talk to me.’ Bo accused.

‘Okay, I messed up, I admit it.’ Hope said harshly. ‘If you did this to punish me or force my hand, I guess I asked for it. I still love you, despite…’

‘Despite what? Despite I gambled with Ciara’s life, is that what you want to say? Or despite me being less than perfect in your eyes, which is it?’ Bo challenged.

‘Stop yelling at me, I’m trying to tell you that I want us to work things out!’ Hope cried.

‘There’s nothing to work out this time!’ Bo shouted back. ‘You were prepared to let me maintain the status quo, living alone, but then Carly came back and all of a sudden you were a victim.’

‘Oh yes, perfect Dr. Manning; she’s not as bitchy and neurotic as your wife.’

‘I never, for one minute, described you in those terms. Carly’s only part of the reason why I filed for a divorce.  Every time we hit a rough patch, you always made me feel I had to vindicate myself. I would wait until you came back. You moved out with Ciara and you emotionally held me hostage, like you were testing how far I could go on without you. And I would’ve wallowed in misery but fate brought Carly back into my life and you turned around making me feel I should apologise for my past with her. I never planned on falling in love with her, but I did. And I want to spend the rest of my life with her.’

Hope said nothing, turning away to stare out of the window. ‘And nothing I say will change your mind?’ she whispered.

‘Hope, let’s just make this as honest and painless as possible.’

Hope sighed, wiping the tears of her eyes and composed herself before turning to face him. ‘I’ll be waiting on the papers and sign then, if it’s really what you want.’ Bo’s words had stung but were painfully true. Only this time she stayed away too long and overplayed her hand and as a result, lost Bo for good. Carly’s warning came back to her…  you’re going to lose Bo eventually but I’m not going to be the reason; it’s going to be your jealousy and this idiotic, childish game you’re playing with him! If only she had taken it to heart  rather than let that jealousy and pride blind her. It was over between them this time.

‘You’ll get them as soon as possible. And of course, we’ll work out what to tell Ciara.’

She nodded, her face now impassive. ‘Goodbye Bo.’ She said, opening the door and left the house.

‘Goodbye Hope.’ Bo said, without a trace of sadness. He had his answer for Frankie now. With everything Carly was to him and the various ways she saved him and never once made him feel less than worthy of her, he would never have chosen Hope over her.

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‘Just make this easy for yourself or you’ll be charged with malicious intent.’ Roman said.

‘Those charges will never stick,’ Victor said pompously. ‘I’m not responsible for Carly’s collapse.’

‘So what do you plan to say to the judge, that you were simply playing a prank on Carly? Don’t waste my time, Victor; why did you slip truth serum into her glass?’

‘I wanted to humiliate her.’ Victor spat. ‘I wanted to force her to confess she came back here to destroy Bo’s marriage and the only way to do that was dose her with truth serum and make her confession publicly. That’s why I did it.’

‘You’re a sick bastard,’ Roman said in disgust.

‘Call me what you like. I was doing it for my son, for Hope.’

‘Carly could’ve died.’

‘It’s not my fault she didn’t know she was getting a bellyful of blood. I didn’t commit a crime.’

Roman was eager to end the interview, filled with contempt for the man Bo was unfortunately related to. ‘Don’t hold your breath, Kiriakis. You’re going to be held accountable, whether you think so or not. I’ll be back.’

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When Bo went to visit Carly Jennifer, Chloe and Adrienne were just leaving. There were flowers in the room and a few balloons emblazoned with Get Well Soon. After exchanging greetings with the women, Bo closed the door. ‘Hi.’ He said, walking to the bed. ‘I brought you these,’ he said, holding a bouquet of yellow roses.

‘Thank you,’ Carly murmured.

‘And…’ Bo held up Ciara’s present. ‘The little one drew you a Get Well card.’

‘That’s so sweet of her.’ Carly smiled faintly.

Bo leaned down to kiss her on the cheek. ‘Where’s Frankie?’

‘I sent him… to the loft to get some sleep. He’ll be back later.’

Bo took her hand, staring down at the green eyes looking up at him. ‘We’re together now, princess. No more secrets between us and when you get better, I’ll do all I can to make up for everything you went through.’

‘It’s not… that simple Bo.’

‘If you’re talking about Hope or the family…’

‘No… no…’ she whispered. ‘Bo... I said I was ashamed to tell you what Lawrence did but there’s more … I have to tell you.’

‘We have all the time in the world to talk but not now, save your strength.’

‘Bo, please… I’ve carried this for so long… you must know about it now.’ Carly pleaded, holding to his hand. ‘Please… listen to me. I have… to tell you the truth.’

Bo leaned closer, still holding her hand. ‘It’s okay baby, I’m here. Calm down, I’m listening.’

Carly swallowed and began her story.

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After leaving the boat and her life with Bo and Shawn Douglas behind, Carly had gone to the airport where Lawrence and Nicky were waiting for her in the Alamain jet. Very happy she’d made the decision to go with him and their son, Lawrence had promised things will be different between them than before. The plane had departed to Paris and on getting there, Lawrence suddenly fell ill. His illness went on and he  insisted they get married in his hospital room, unwilling to wait any longer to make her his wife at long last. He was in the hospital for a month and he was told by his doctor later that the rare illness he suffered from had rendered him sterile. Lawrence didn’t take it well and it took a lot of reassurance from Carly that it didn’t matter to her, as she too was reproductively challenged. But for a long time Lawrence was sullen, angry and bitter, lashing out at her to vent his disappointment. He seemed go back his old self when they got to Alamainia. But things only grew worse. Carly discovered, to her amazement, that she was pregnant and it was obviously not Lawrence’s. Enraged, he demanded to know who she cheated on him with while he was ill. She denied it until she remembered something she did before she boarded the plane.

 Bo had led her into the boat to their bed, undressed her and they made love in an effort to reconnect. But it had only made the inevitable parting of ways even more painful and they’d exchanged one last hug in tears, after Carly gave him back her ring. Lawrence had stared at her in angry disbelief and struck her across the face, making her fall.  “You went back to have one last fling with that peasant! You deceived me!” he’d screamed at her and that was the beginning of her nightmare and the realisation she had made a terrible mistake, once again.

She tried running away but was caught and from then on was never allowed outside the compound alone. She was not allowed contact with her brother and the servants were too scared or loyal to go against Lawrence’s orders. The sight of her pregnant belly always triggered off Lawrence’s rages and he would beat her constantly. Nicky was away in boarding school and the times he was home, Lawrence put on the façade of the warm family man. Most times Nicky spent the holidays with Vivian or went on trips with his numerous school chums, he had no idea what went on. One night, he grabbed her by the hair and tossed her into the cellars, unable to bear the sight of her. She only had a mattress to lie on and nothing to protect her from the cold. She was however given food and a village doctor in Lawrence’s pocket gave her the medication she needed. Lawrence would come down now and then to rape her. Day and Night, she prayed for her baby.

When she was getting close to her due date, Lawrence came down the cellars with two rough looking men. At his instructions, her wrists and legs were chained.

“What are you doing?” she cried. Lawrence had the look of deadly calm on his face. In his hand was a knife. “You and Bo Brady have made a fool of me, for the last time.”

“No… no… not my baby! Lawrence please… don’t kill my baby! Have mercy, don’t kill my baby!”

Tears rolled down Bo’s cheeks, his heart filled with pain and anguish. ‘He killed our baby?’

Carly’s eyes were red and teary. ‘I couldn’t tell you, especially after hearing about Zack… I couldn’t…’

Bo pressed his face against the side of her neck, weeping at Carly’s ordeal and the loss of the unborn child conceived on their last day together. While he had moved on with his life and had more children afterwards, Lawrence had abused Carly and taken the life of their long awaited child.

Carly went on, Bo wiping her tears now and then. When she regained consciousness she was in her own bedroom, drifting between life and death, having lost a lot of blood. The same doctor from the village attended to her, along with his nurse. Nicky was not allowed to see her and was told she lost the baby and was suffering from a nervous breakdown.

But the beatings and the rapes did not stop. Two months after he killed her baby, Lawrence resumed his abuse. During his worst episodes, he would drag her back into the cellars, lashing her with a whip, before forcing himself on her and then left her there, too weak to climb up the stairs. He called it deserved punishment for her betrayal.

Then one day, in the middle of his torture, she had managed to grab the same knife he’d used on her and drove it into his stomach. She remembered Nicky running down the cellar steps, his face a mask of horror. The next thing she remembered was opening her eyes to find herself in a sunlit private room of a nursing home in the South of France, Frankie holding her hand.

‘Nicky kept it from the media… to protect me; he didn’t want the world to call me a murderer.’

‘You are not a murderer.’ Bo choked. ‘You did what you had to do, for what he did to you, to us. I hope he’s burning in hell right now!’  

Carly sobbed, holding Bo’s arm as they softly wept together.