When I slapped my husband’s mistress, he broke my 3 ribs. He locked me in the basement, telling me to reflect. I called my dad, who was a gangster boss, and said, ‘Dad, don’t let a single one of the family survive.

When I slapped my husband’s mistress, he broke my 3 ribs. He locked me in the basement, telling me to reflect. I called my dad, who was a gangster boss, and said, ‘Dad, don’t let a single one of the family survive.

I wasn’t proud of the slap. I walked into La Mesa Grill expecting to surprise my husband, Evan, with lunch after his “client meeting.” Instead, I found him in a booth with a woman in a red blazer, her hand resting on his wrist like it belonged there. When I said his name, he didn’t even flinch—just looked up, annoyed, like I’d interrupted something important.

I asked Evan to step outside. He didn’t. The woman said, “You must be Claire. Evan’s mentioned you,” like I was a fun fact. My palm moved before my brain caught up. The sound cracked through the restaurant, and for a heartbeat, everything froze.

Evan’s face changed. Not shock—something colder. He grabbed my arm, hard, and hissed, “Get in the car.”

I thought the fight would be words. It wasn’t.

The moment our front door shut, Evan shoved me into the hallway wall. Pain flashed white-hot along my side. He hit me again when I tried to push past him. I remember the sickening pop, the way air wouldn’t fill my lungs. Three ribs, the ER doctor would later say—if I’d ever gotten to an ER.
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Evan didn’t call an ambulance. He dragged me down the basement steps by my wrist, ignoring my shallow breaths. The basement smelled like damp concrete and old paint. He threw my phone onto the floor, then kicked it under a shelf.