Prologue: History/The Plan

Grace's mind had been made up the moment she'd found out. Her husband hadn't always been abusive, no that came after they were married. Once it had happened, she had told herself that she could deal with it, he never touched her in front of their two children and as long as he didn't she would play the part of the proper high society wife. However, once his ugly secret had come to life, there was no way she could keep Jack and Alice in that environment. So she devised a plan.

It hadn't always been a living nightmare for Grace. At first, Patrick had been the perfect Southern gentleman. He had written her long and eloquent love letters, spoiled her, taken her out on Sunday drives and never took things further than stolen kisses and holding hands as they walked among his parent's plantation. It was something you ought to have read in a scene from 'Gone with the Wind', and romantic little Gracie Parker had lavished the attention. Her family hadn't been rich like the Butlers. Her father had been a mechanic and her mother had been a school teacher, they hadn't had money, but they were happy. Grace grew up a stubborn, determined woman vowing to work hard and make a name for herself. She'd worked hard all throughout high school and graduated valedictorian, even with her parent's death right before her finals. She'd been accepted to Georgia Institute of Technology to study Biochemistry and it was there that she met Patrick Butler.

After working hard her whole life, Grace had never experienced the advances of the opposite sex. While she was hardworking and determined, she was still a romantic at heart and the idea that this dark haired, tall, handsome man was interested in her was a complete shock. Of course, she knew she was attractive, with her long wavy brown hair and big green eyes framed by long, doe-like eyelashes, but she'd always been so studious that boys had never bothered with her for long when, oblivious to their advances, she chose studying over socializing. So when the attractive teacher's assistant asked her out, Grace had said yes right away.

Somewhere amongst the late night walks around campus and the weekend study sessions, Grace's plans and dreams had changed. While she had always wanted to become a wife and a mother, Grace had figured it would come after she was working in the medical field. So when 20 year old Grace made the decision to drop out during her second year and marry 27 year old Patrick, her teachers and classmates had been shocked. Grace, however, was in love and nothing anyone said was going to change that. She followed him back to Thomasville, Georgia and the two were married under the willows at his childhood home. The two moved to their new home and everything seemed perfect; until Patrick's true nature became known.

They'd been married for about six months when Patrick had come home late and reeking of alcohol, as he often did. Grace never really batted an eye to the fact that Patrick Butler liked his liquor and he liked socializing with his friends, however that night it was different. While he had been at work, Grace had just discovered that she was pregnant and had been waiting up for him to share the happy news when he returned home. When her husband had stumbled into their bedroom and muttered something about her for waiting up for him like a dog waiting for her master to return home, Grace was shocked that the words had fallen from the lips of her devoted husband. When she told him that his words had hurt her, he backhanded her across the check before promptly apologizing. Grace believed that he would never do it again.

After the birth of Jack and Alice, things went back to normal for a while, until Jack almost drowned while left with his grandparents. The accident was the straw that broke the camel's proverbial back. When the two were alone, Patrick flew into a rage, blaming Grace for going out and leaving the then two year old twins with his parents. How dare she go out with her friends when she had to look after his children? Never one to back down from a fight, the feisty brunette fought back. A wife who talked back was not fit for Patrick Butler and Grace needed to be taught a lesson. Knocking his wife out cold, he tied her to the bed, beat her back with an extension cord and then raped her. From then on, things were never the same inside the walls of the Butler home. On the outside, the family was the picture of perfection, but inside, when the children weren't home, Patrick would become a monster. He was cold and cunning, making sure never to wound here where anyone would see. Grace was left to wear high necked dresses with sleeves, button up shirts with long skirts or pants.

However, Grace tolerated it. She endured the beatings, the rape and the mean words for her children. How could she take them away from their father? They were too young to grow up without one. Then one night, Patrick's past and current dealings all came out of the closet. Patrick had been doing and selling drugs, making deals with the mafia and other mobsters, having many affairs, but the worst of all was the children and the girls. Her husband, the man who had sworn to love and protect her til death they did part, had been participating in human trafficking. Not just participating, he was the leader of the operation. He had been selling children as young as their children and women for prostitution and worse. The very thought made Grace sick. If he could do it to nameless faces, what was to say he wouldn't do it to her or his own children when they rubbed him the wrong way. She needed to get out of there with their children and fast. Telling no one of her plans, Grace slowly began to remove her savings from her personal savings account, along with the little money her parents had left her, and hid it away in a safe spot. She packed away clothing for herself and the children, not taking so much that it would be noticed by the nannies or Patrick, and sent those away too. She sought out the best of the best to craft new documentation for herself and the children, with a new surname. She went about her life as per normal, attending society functions and high tea with her lady's club. It was all so over the top, like something out of a movie, but Grace honestly didn't see any other way out of the nightmare that had been her life for the past three years. Then one day, after picking the children up from school, Grace's plan began.

She faked her own death, along with the deaths of her children.

Hello all, sorry if you're following this story only to find that I've re-uploaded chapters. I was rereading what I'd writing after taking time off writing for exams so I could punch out a couple more chapters, and realized I had so many typos. Ugh, I really need a beta. Don't worry, I will be uploading a new chapter today (if not two – maaaybe three if you're lucky).