Author: Momo Chan

My cousin framed me for faking cancer. The day I finally saved $100,000 after working hard for seven years, I was diagnosed with late-stage liver cancer. To cure it, I needed at least $300,000. To save my life, my parents sold their car, mortgaged our house, and emptied their entire life savings. They begged every relative they knew to scrape together $200,000. On my way to the hospital for surgery, I bought a random scratch-off lottery ticket at a gas station. I won $300,000. Right then, Helen called me, sobbing. She said David had a sudden stroke, and his emergency surgery would also cost $300,000. Without a second thought, I wired my entire $100,000 savings to them. I felt so incredibly lucky. With this lottery win, both my dad and I could survive. But when I went to the lottery office to redeem the ticket, the clerk looked at me with pity. He told me it was just a prank card bought off Amazon. It was completely worthless. Crushed and hopeless, I dragged myself back home. Just as I reached the door, I heard my parents praising my cousin. “Chloe is so smart. With just one fake scratch-off card, she got Avery to hand over that $100,000.” “That ungrateful brat actually forged a terminal cancer diagnosis just to scam money from us! Thank God Chloe has sharp eyes and saw right through her!” But I had never lied. And tonight was my last chance to see the specialist. Without that surgery, even if I got the money later, it would be too late.

“That wretched girl must be out of her mind!” “Faking a terminal illness just to scam us for money to put into her bad investments! How could she?!” Through the thin door, I heard my parents’ furious shouts. My cousin, Chloe, sighed and chimed in. “I never expected Avery to do something so foolish either.” “That was a whole $100,000! If she threw it all into that sketchy startup, your family would have been ruined…” My parents looked at Chloe with immense gratitude, still shaking from the scare. “We owe you everything this time, Chloe. If it weren’t for you, our family would really be over…” My heart squeezed painfully. Since we were kids, my parents always believed Chloe over me. Chloe’s mother passed away early, so my parents showered her with extra love to make up for it. Over the years, their attention was always on her. They thought she was sweet, sensible, and incapable of lying. Even when Chloe blamed her own messes on me without any proof, they believed her unconditionally. Usually, I could swallow the unfairness. But this time, it was about my life. Why couldn’t they just ask me first? I couldn’t take it anymore. I reached for the doorknob, wanting to confront them. But then, I heard Chloe speak again. “So, what are you going to do with Avery’s $100,000?” David fell silent. After a long pause, he sighed heavily. “We’ll put it in a savings account for her, of course.” “It’s a lot of money. She worked so hard to save it.” “We only tricked her into giving it to us to teach her a lesson…” “Once she realizes her mistake and stops being foolish, we’ll give it back to her.” My hand slowly fell from the doorknob. Memory flashed back to the day I told them about my diagnosis. My parents’ eyes had turned red. They stared at the medical report for a long time. Then, Helen held me tight, crying. “Don’t be scared, sweetie. Mom and Dad will figure this out.” “We can find the money. Don’t worry.” After that, they secretly mortgaged their house and sold the car. To borrow enough money, they spent nights swallowing their pride, begging distant relatives and even applying for high-interest loans. “Avery is so young. We can’t just watch her die!” “Please, help us…” That was the most desperate, humbled version of my parents I had ever seen. They lowered themselves to the dirt for me. Even though they were biased toward Chloe, they did love me. Besides, I had already missed my scheduled surgery. I was doomed to die anyway. Maybe letting them believe this lie was for the best.

I gave up on telling them the truth. I didn’t go inside. Instead, I took a high-risk gig as an extreme stunt double. The jobs were dangerous—jumping off buildings, falling off cliffs, car crashes. But the perk was a massive life insurance policy. If I died on set, the payout would be over a million dollars. Irony of ironies, I proved to be incredibly hard to kill. I ended up with countless bruises and fractures, but nothing fatal. A month later, I received my first $10,000 paycheck. I immediately wired all of it to my parents’ account. I thought I could make a few more transfers before my time ran out. But that night, lying in my cheap, moldy rental room, I suddenly started coughing up blood. My body went ice-cold. After a long, agonizing struggle in the dark, I lost consciousness. When I opened my eyes again, my body felt weightless. The excruciating pain of cancer was gone. I floated in the air, looking down at my own body. I was slumped next to a dirty toilet. My clothes and the floor were stained dark red. I wasn’t sad. I actually felt a wave of relief. At least I managed to send that money to my parents first. Just then, my phone buzzed on the floor. A message from my parents popped up. “Don’t think sending us some money will make us forgive you for lying!” “Until you learn your lesson, we are keeping this $100,000!” I wanted to reply so badly. *It’s okay.* *Keep the money for your retirement.* *I don’t need it anymore.* But I couldn’t touch the phone. My hand passed right through it. My parents waited for two days. Seeing no reply, they got angry. “Ignoring us now? Still trying to play games?” “Or do you just not want your savings back at all?!” I still couldn’t reply. A few more days passed, and they tried to provoke me. “Fine! Since you don’t care about this money, we’ll spend it!” “Your cousin wants to start a business, and she’s $50,000 short.” They wired $50,000 to Chloe and sent a screenshot to my phone. When I still didn’t reply, they found other ways to spend it. They booked a $10,000 luxury cruise for themselves and Chloe. They took Chloe to expensive dinners and bought her designer jewelry. They took screenshots of every transaction and sent them to me. I grew anxious. My soul drifted onto the cruise ship, trying to warn them. “That money is for your retirement! You can’t waste it like this!” “And definitely don’t give it to Chloe!” “She is using you! She won’t take care of you!” But no matter how loud I screamed, they couldn’t hear me. By the time the cruise ended a week later, and there was still no word from me, Helen finally started to worry. “It’s been almost two months. She hasn’t come home. Could something have happened to her…?” David frowned, dismissing her. “She’s an adult. What could happen?” “She’s doing this on purpose to make us worry.” “She wants us to feel guilty so she can scam us again!” “Since she wants to play dead, I’ll force her hand!” David went home and made a viral TikTok video. He accused me of faking a terminal illness, stealing my family’s savings, and running away. He even posted my full name and workplace online. Overnight, I became the most hated person on the internet.

[How can anyone steal from their own parents? She’s a monster!] [She took their house and car! Left her elderly parents in debt… She deserves to rot in hell!] [Why isn’t she in jail? Someone find her!] [She should be locked up for life!] My company quickly posted a public statement online, saying I had resigned a month ago and that my actions had nothing to do with them. Dozens of strangers found my number and flooded my phone with abusive texts and calls. Some people even Photoshopped my face onto funeral portraits and spammed them in the comments. I couldn’t stop it. I could only watch the endless stream of hate notifications light up my dead screen. I smiled bitterly. *Well, at least they already made the funeral photos. They’ll need them soon.* Back home, my parents weren’t idle either. They threw out all my belongings and let Chloe move into my room. “Since you refuse to come back, your room is Chloe’s now.” “We’re throwing your stuff out if you don’t come get it by tomorrow!” I didn’t have much. Most of it was sentimental—birthday gifts my parents gave me, family photos, and school trophies. Things they used to display proudly in the living room were now shoved into a trash bag, sitting next to the garbage bin outside. When Chloe brought her bags in, she “accidentally” knocked over the trash bag. My things spilled out, mixing with the garbage. Chloe stepped right on them. The music box my dad had carved for me shattered. Our family photo was ruined by her dirty boot print. “Stop! Don’t touch that!” “Those are my memories! You have no right!” I tried desperately to block her. But my transparent hands just passed through her body over and over. Chloe deliberately ground her heel into my photos a few more times. When my parents opened the door, she quickly feigned panic. “David, Helen, I’m so sorry…” “I didn’t see the bag on the floor.” My parents looked uncomfortable for a second, but then they quickly brushed it off. “It’s fine. It’s just trash anyway.” “As long as you didn’t hurt yourself.” They welcomed Chloe in, helped her unpack, and cooked her favorite dinner. They looked so happy. Like they were the real family. The next day, when I still didn’t show up, my dad sent one last text. “You really hate us that much, huh?” “Fine. From this day on, we don’t have a daughter!” And they kept their word. They blocked my number and focused entirely on Chloe, pouring their remaining money into her business. They treated her like their only daughter. Until a month later, when the police finally discovered my body. The officer called my parents. “Is this the family of Avery Jiang?” “We found her body in a rental apartment. We need you to come identify her.”

Silence stretched over the phone line. After a long pause, Helen finally spoke. “You… must have the wrong person.” “My daughter is perfectly fine. She can’t be dead!” “Exactly!” David agreed loudly. “There are plenty of people with that name. You got the wrong number!” But despite their harsh words, panic flashed in their eyes. They hung up quickly. Chloe, who had listened to the whole call, had a flash of joy in her eyes before masking it with worry. “Do you think Avery is mad because I took her room? Maybe she hired actors to fake her death to scare you guys?” “I mean, she faked a whole cancer report before.” “Faking her death doesn’t seem out of character for her…” My parents looked at each other. Their faces hardened. “You’re right! That girl is a pathological liar!” “She’s ungrateful! We should have never had her!” Just then, the phone rang again. It was the police. “Sir, we ran a DNA match. There is no mistake.” “The deceased is your daughter, Avery Jiang.” “Cut the crap!” David spat into the phone. “We only have one daughter, and she is sitting right next to us!” “Whether Avery is dead or alive is none of our business!” “If she really died out there, just cremate her and throw her ashes in the trash!” “Don’t call us again!” David hung up and immediately blocked the number. Even though I knew they said this out of anger and misunderstanding, my soul still ached. I wanted to tell them. *Mom, Dad, I didn’t lie.* *I’m really dead…* *Please stop listening to Chloe…* *Why can’t you believe me just once?* Chloe brought them two glasses of warm water. “Helen, David, don’t be angry.” “Avery is just confused… Don’t worry, even if she doesn’t come back, I will take care of you guys forever.” “Good girl, thank God we have you.” Helen’s eyes softened as she held Chloe’s hand. “From now on, you are our real daughter.” “That ungrateful brat doesn’t deserve our thoughts.” Determined to cut me out of their lives, my parents deleted all my contact info. They even started discussing putting Chloe’s name on the deed of our house. Until two police officers showed up at their front door, holding my ID and photos. “We are the officers who called you earlier.” “Please look at these photos. Are you absolutely sure the deceased, Avery Jiang, has nothing to do with you?” “Her body has been in the morgue for too long. If you don’t claim her, we will have to handle it as an unclaimed body.”

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At my engagement party, in front of all our family and friends, my fiancé, Ethan Carter, suddenly projected a massive, detailed Excel spreadsheet onto the giant screen. “Chloe, since we’re getting married, we need to settle our accounts for the past three years.” “During our relationship, you drank 152 Starbucks lattes. I don’t drink sweet stuff, so you owe me for all of them.” “We stayed in hotels 58 times. You were the one who wanted to use condoms to avoid getting pregnant, meaning you were the sole beneficiary. So, you need to cover the full cost of those.” “And about that ultra-thin condom we used last night? It cost five dollars. You still haven’t Venmoed me your $2.50 share.” The ballroom fell into dead silence. I stared at his smug, self-righteous face. Suddenly, my phone buzzed. It was a Venmo request from him. At the same time, a notification popped up on Instagram. Ethan had just posted a new story. It was a screenshot of his unpaid Venmo request to me. His caption read: *“Marry a wife, not an ancestor. Even brothers keep clear accounts! Avoid women who try to leech off you for $2.50!”* The comment section was already flooded with his friends calling me a “gold digger” and a “freeloader.” I stared at the Excel sheet on the screen and laughed. “Fine. Since you want to settle accounts…” “Let’s talk about how much rent you owe me for living in my apartment for the past three years.”

“Condoms.” The moment that word left his mouth, my mom almost fainted. But Ethan didn’t show a hint of shame. He stood there, microphone in hand, oozing confidence. “Over the last three years, we used exactly seven boxes.” “Chloe, let’s be logical. They were used to keep *you* from getting pregnant.” “Biologically speaking, you are the primary beneficiary of this product.” “Without them, you would have faced the risk of an unwanted pregnancy and medical procedures that would harm your body.” “So, logically, you should pay for them.” He paused, seeing that I remained silent, and clicked on the very last row of the spreadsheet to show the details. “The ultra-thin one we used last night was five dollars.” “You still owe me $2.50.” “According to our 50/50 rule, even if it was our last night before marriage, we have to keep the accounts clean.” The guests gasped in disbelief. Then, my phone buzzed again with social media notifications. Ethan had just posted a screenshot of the unpaid Venmo request on Snapchat and Instagram. His caption: *“Marry a wife, not an ancestor. Even brothers keep clear accounts! Avoid women who try to leech off you for $2.50!”* His toxic bros were already hyping him up in the comments. *“Bro, you’re a legend! Setting boundaries!”* *“Modern women are so entitled. Trying to get a free ride over a few bucks.”* *“Don’t let her leech off you, man!”* Looking at those comments, I suddenly burst out laughing. Ethan thought he had intimidated me. “Chloe, don’t play dumb,” he said, adjusting his collar. “The total is twenty-three thousand, four hundred and eighty-two dollars and fifty cents.” “Send it over, and we can go ahead with the wedding.” “But under one condition: after we marry, my mother will manage our finances.” “We will establish strict household rules. Everything will be 50/50.” “However, since you’re the woman, the chores are naturally your responsibility. That part won’t be 50/50.” The sheer audacity was mind-blowing. He wanted to split the bills 50/50, but wanted me to do 100% of the labor. I pulled out my phone and tapped the screen. Ethan’s eyes lit up as his phone buzzed. But the moment he saw the notification, his smile froze. It was a payment of $2.50. My note on Venmo read: *“Breakup fee. Keep the change.”*

“Chloe, what is the meaning of this?” Ethan snapped, his face turning red. “Are you treating me like a beggar?” I calmly walked up to the stage and took the microphone from his hand. “Ethan, didn’t you want to settle the accounts?” “That $2.50 is my share for the condom last night.” “As for the rest…” I swept my gaze over the whispering crowd, my voice echoing clearly through the speakers. “I drank those lattes, yes. But the designer sneakers I bought you cost two thousand dollars.” “You were the one who booked the hotels, but the gaming gear and top-ups I bought you cost at least five thousand.” “And the custom-tailored suit you are wearing right now? I paid eighty-eight hundred dollars for it.” “What’s wrong, Ethan? Is your Excel broken? Does it only calculate what you spend, but conveniently glides over what I spend?” Ethan gasped, momentarily speechless. But quickly, his embarrassment turned into pure rage. He yelled: “Those were gifts! You gave them to me voluntarily! You can’t ask for gifts back!” “But the money I spent was on things *you* consumed! It’s entirely different!” “Besides, you only bought me those things to suck up to me because you wanted to marry into my family!” “Now you want to use them to write off your debt? No way!” The double standards were truly spectacular. I sneered. “Marry into your family?” “With that cramped, run-down studio apartment of yours in the sketchy part of town?” “Or with your pathetic brain that makes you beg for $2.50 in public?” I hit him right where it hurt. Ethan’s biggest insecurity was his family background, and his biggest pride was his self-proclaimed identity as a “finance elite.” “Chloe Miller! Don’t you dare push your luck!” “Let me tell you, a materialistic woman like you will never find anyone else if you leave me!” “You’re already twenty-six! In a couple of years, you’ll be expired goods!” “I’m doing charity work by marrying you!” “Transfer the twenty-three grand right now, get down on your knees, and beg my mother for forgiveness. Then I might overlook this.” “Otherwise—” Before he could finish his sentence, I threw my glass of champagne right into his face. Ethan stared at me as if I were a lunatic. “Chloe! Did you just throw a drink at me?!” “You deserved it.” “Ethan, let me make this official.” “The wedding is off.” “Take your mother, take your Excel spreadsheet, and get the hell out of my sight.” I turned to my parents. “Mom, Dad, let’s go. This party is over.” My dad, who had been holding back his temper the entire time, finally lost it and flipped the main table. Ethan’s mother, who had been smugly watching the drama, immediately threw herself onto the floor, screaming and crying. “Assault! They are attacking us!” “They are abusing a poor widow and her son!” “Fine, the wedding is off! But you must pay us for emotional damages! Pay us!” The ballroom erupted into chaos. Ethan wiped the champagne from his face, pulled out his phone, and snapped a picture of me. “Fine, Chloe. You think you’re tough.” “Just wait. I will make you crawl back and beg for my forgiveness.” “When that time comes, the prenup will be even harsher, and your parents will have to apologize to me on their knees!” I didn’t even give him a second glance as I walked out of the venue.

The next morning, a loud, violent pounding woke me up. I didn’t even need to look at the security camera to know who it was. I lived in a luxury penthouse in the city center, over 3,500 square feet, with a private elevator entrance. I owned this entire place, but I had never told Ethan. To protect his fragile ego, I had lied and told him I was renting it, claiming I had begged the landlord for a massive discount. Ethan always complained that I was terrible with money and that renting a luxury penthouse was just pure vanity. Yet, when he moved in, he enjoyed it more than anyone. I opened the door. Ethan stood at the front. Behind him was his mother and his freeloader younger brother, Tyler. “Chloe, what took you so long?” Ethan pushed past me impatiently, acting as if nothing had happened last night. To him, my anger was probably just a temporary tantrum. “What do you think you’re doing?” I blocked the entryway, staring cold-bloodedly at them. Ethan assumed his “lord of the house” posture. “Since you decided to ruin the wedding, we need to talk about our post-breakup arrangements.” “Even though you rent this place, I lived here for three years.” “Now that I’m moving out, I need to take what’s mine.” He waved his hand at Tyler behind him. “Tyler, go inside and grab anything valuable.” Tyler grinned. “You got it, bro! Man, this place is huge! My sister-in-law really lived like a queen!” Ethan’s mother pushed her way in, her greedy eyes darting around the living room. “Oh my, this leather sofa looks expensive.” “And look at this TV! It must be worth thousands!” “Chloe, you’re just a single girl now. Keeping such a huge place is a waste.” She walked toward the living room as if she owned the place. I was stunned by their shamelessness. “Stop right there!” I barked. “This is my apartment. Who gave you permission to enter?” “This is trespassing. I will call the police.” Ethan turned around, looking at me as if I were stupid. “Chloe, you’re renting this place. It’s not even yours.” “Besides, we haven’t officially broken up yet.” “Even if we do, I’ve wasted three years of my youth on you. You paid the rent, but I paid with my time.” He walked over to the Italian leather sofa and plop down. “It works out perfectly. Tyler is getting married next month, and his fiancée wants a nice place.” “Since you’ve already paid the rent, it’ll be a waste to leave it empty.” “Tyler can use this as his wedding house for the next six months.” “You have plenty of money anyway. Consider this your compensation to the Carter family.” I laughed out of sheer anger. What kind of parasites were they? Not only did they refuse to leave, but they also wanted to steal my home for his brother’s wedding? Looking at Ethan’s smug face, I decided not to kick them out immediately. If they wanted to play dirty, I was going to ruin them. I quietly reached into my pocket and turned on the voice recorder on my phone. “Ethan, let me get this straight. You want to live here?” “And you want your brother to use my apartment for his wedding?” Ethan nodded. “Exactly. Be generous, Chloe.” “You embarrassed me in front of everyone last night. I haven’t even settled that score with you yet.” “Letting my brother use this place for six months will make us even.” “Oh, and you’ll need to prepay the rent for the next six months.” “If you don’t, I’ll go to your company and make a scene. I’ll tell everyone how you led me on and ruined my life.” I suppressed my rage, baiting him to say more. “And what if I say no?” Ethan’s mother rushed over, pointing her finger at my nose. “Say no? Who do you think you are to say no?” “My Ethan spent three years of his life with you! We’re being nice by not suing you for wasting his youth!” “If you don’t agree, I’ll move in today and never leave!” Ethan smiled triumphantly. “See that, Chloe? We have nothing to lose.” “You’re a professional woman. You wouldn’t want to make a public scene, would you?” “Be smart. Pack your things and get out.” “Oh, and leave your car keys behind. Tyler needs a nice car for his wedding convoy. Your BMW will do nicely.” I looked at the three of them. My heart grew colder and colder. Since you want to be criminals, don’t blame me for sending you to prison. I turned off the recording and pulled a can of pepper spray out of my bag. “You want my apartment? You want my car?” “Sure.” “Let’s see if you have the lives to enjoy them.”

Ethan laughed when he saw the pepper spray. “Chloe, who are you trying to scare with that toy?” “I dare you to spray me.” “I’ll sue you for assault and take every single penny you have!” His mother chimed in, “Exactly! You little bitch, you want to fight?” “Tyler, teach her a lesson!” Tyler had been waiting for this. He stepped forward. “Chloe, don’t make this hard on yourself. Give me the car keys, or I’ll make you.” I gripped the pepper spray, calculating the distance. But before Tyler could grab me, Ethan stepped in and held him back. “Tyler, don’t use violence. We are civilized people.” He turned his phone screen toward me and smirked. “Chloe, do you remember these?” I looked at the screen. It was a photo of me right after a shower, wrapped in a towel, wearing a face mask. Although it wasn’t explicit, the angle he took it from was extremely suggestive and malicious. I feigned panic. “Where did you get that? What do you want?” Ethan was extremely satisfied with my reaction. “Nothing much. But if you don’t agree to our terms…” “I will send these photos to your company’s Slack channels.” “And your building’s WhatsApp group. And your college alumni network.” “The headline will be: *’High-flying corporate female executive leads a double life, trying to seduce her boyfriend’s younger brother.’*” “Do you think you’ll still have a job after that? Will you even be able to show your face in public?” I sneered inwardly. He called *that* an intimate photo? Seducing his brother? His logic was truly pathetic. But on the outside, I kept up the act of a terrified victim. “Ethan, you are despicable! This is illegal!” Ethan laughed out loud. “Illegal? We were dating. It’s just a little couple’s fun. How is that illegal?” “But I don’t want to ruin you completely, Chloe.” “So, in addition to the apartment and the car…” “You will sign a promissory note.” “Five hundred thousand dollars. As compensation for the emotional distress you caused me over the past three years.” “Sign it, and I’ll delete the photos.” Ethan’s mother’s eyes turned green at the mention of half a million dollars. “Yes! Five hundred thousand! Not a penny less!” “With that money, Tyler can pay his wedding deposit!” Tyler smirked. “Just sign it, Chloe. Buy your peace.” “Otherwise, if the whole internet sees your body, how will you ever find another man?” I hesitated for a moment. “Fine. I’ll sign. But you have to promise to delete everything.” Ethan immediately pulled a pen and paper from his bag. He had come prepared. The note was written exactly to his specifications: *“I, Chloe Miller, due to personal relationship disputes, voluntarily agree to pay Ethan Carter $500,000 as compensation for emotional distress.”* I signed my name. Ethan’s grin was so wide it almost reached his ears. “See? If you had cooperated earlier, we wouldn’t have had to do this.” “Now, go pack your bags.” Looking at his triumphant back, a cold smile crept onto my face. Extortion. Blackmail. The amount involved was half a million dollars. In this country, that’s a grand larceny extortion charge. That’s ten years in federal prison, minimum. Just then, there was a knock at the door. Ethan frowned. “Who is it?” “Movers,” a loud voice called out. Ethan blinked and looked at me. “You called movers? Well, at least you’re quick.” He opened the door. Four burly men in matching professional moving uniforms stood outside. The leader looked at his clipboard. “Are you Ms. Miller?” Ethan pointed at me. “She is. But I’m in charge of this place now.” “You guys are here to move stuff, right? Move everything from the master bedroom down to the basement storage.” The mover ignored Ethan and looked directly at me. “Ms. Miller, as per your request, we are clearing out the entire apartment, correct?” I nodded. “Yes.” “Pack up everything. Except for the people and the trash. Take it all away.” Ethan froze. “What do you mean clear out the apartment? Chloe, what are you doing?” I walked to the entryway. “It means I’m moving out.” “And as for you guys…” “Since you love this place so much, you can enjoy living in an empty shell.” Ethan panicked. “No! Stop! You can’t take the furniture! If you clear the place, how is my brother going to get married?” He tried to block the movers. The lead mover, a six-foot-three giant, easily shoved Ethan aside with one arm. “Sir, do not interfere with our work.” Ethan’s mother immediately threw herself onto the floor, preparing to scream and cry. But a mover placed a massive wooden crate right next to her, almost pinning her foot down. “Watch out, lady. We’re moving a heavy cabinet here.” Ethan was crimson with rage. He pointed his finger at me. “Chloe Miller! Don’t tempt me! I will leak the photos right now!” I pulled out my phone and waved it. “Go ahead. And while you do that, I have some files to send to your company.” “For example, the audio recording of your extortion just now.” “And a photo of this signed promissory note.” Ethan’s face went pale. He clutched the note in his pocket, his eyes turning vicious. “You set me up? Tyler! Lock the door!” “Nobody leaves this apartment today!” “If you want to play dirty, let’s go down together!” The movers stopped, startled by the sudden escalation. I was slightly surprised. I didn’t expect them to be stupid enough to attempt false imprisonment. “Chloe, I wanted to leave you a way out,” Ethan snarled. “But you chose death.” “If you don’t wire the half-million dollars right now, you aren’t leaving this room!” The atmosphere turned incredibly tense. Suddenly, a loud, heavy banging rattled the front door.

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While I was bleeding out on the delivery table, Julian was screwing another woman. He thought I was stupid. He thought he had me completely under his control. Maybe he was just too confident in his Oscar-winning acting skills. He let his mother, Eleanor, walk all over me while pretending to be the doting husband, showering me with fake affection. He only regretted it when he lost everything. But I’ve finally woken up. I don’t want to be the sweet, stupid wife anymore. I’m going to be his worst nightmare. Right before I was wheeled into the OR, I finally got through to Julian. Over the line, I heard a woman’s breathless, needy moan. “Julian… slow down… you touched your phone…” “Forget the phone, babe. Let’s keep going…” Then came the sound of wet, messy kisses and the tearing of clothes. Neither of them cared who was calling, or why. My husband, the famous Hollywood star who told me he was stuck on set overnight, was currently in another woman’s bed. I recognized the voice. It was Serena, his co-star in his new blockbuster movie. They threw morals out the window, completely lost in each other. I could feel the blood slowly draining from my body. I was drenched in sweat, my tears mixing with the cold perspiration on my face. The noises from the phone kept playing. But the white-hot pain, like my bones were being crushed, made it impossible to think. I only heard the doctor scream, “Hurry! She’s hemorrhaging!” I was rushed into the OR. No one was by my side. No parents, no husband. I felt completely abandoned by the world. As the doctors frantically worked on me, the darkness finally swallowed me whole. Right before I lost consciousness, a single thought crystallized in my mind: I had to leave Julian. When I finally woke up from the anesthesia, a lone nurse was changing my IV drip. Seeing me open my eyes, she looked at me with deep pity. “Don’t worry, the baby is healthy. A very loud, cute little boy.” “But your husband’s mother took the baby home. She insisted she could take better care of him.” Panic and fury instantly flooded my brain. I screamed at the nurse, demanding to know how they could let her take my baby without my consent. Ignoring the agonizing pain from my C-section incision, I struggled to get out of bed. My baby—whom I had just risked my life to bring into this world—had been taken by a woman who hated my guts. I couldn’t tolerate this for even a second! The nurse was terrified. She slammed the emergency call button and summoned the doctors. It took four of them to pin me down and inject a sedative to finally make me stop thrashing. But the struggle had already torn my stitches, and blood was seeping through the bandages. Over the next few days, despite my constant screaming and fighting, the hospital finally let me sign the AMA forms on the seventh day. As they discharged me, they kept warning me that they wouldn’t be liable if anything happened to my torn stitches. I hated them, but to get my baby back, I didn’t waste any time arguing.

During those seven days, Julian had sneaked into my room once, wearing a black mask and sunglasses. Seeing me acting like a hysterical woman demanding to be discharged, his face filled with disgust. “Chloe, when did you become so trashy? When you were writing screenplays, didn’t you hate characters like this?” “My mom only took the baby because you’re in no condition to care for him. Can you stop making a scene?” He didn’t ask if I was in pain. He didn’t comfort me for having my baby snatched away. He just stood firmly on his mother’s side, coldly accusing me of being unreasonable. He didn’t even bother to explain why he wasn’t there when I was giving birth. I didn’t say a word to this man who had been sleeping with another woman while I was dying. I just kept demanding the doctor sign my discharge papers. Seeing me ignore him, he adjusted his mask and left in a hurry. I stared at his retreating back and let out a cold laugh. My heart was completely dead. He claimed he was busy with the movie, but he was probably just rushing back to pamper Serena. The first time I met Serena was during the lowest point of my life. That day, Eleanor had told me Julian was coming home for dinner and ordered me to cook a massive feast. At that point, I hadn’t seen Julian in six months. He had been cast by Director Miller in a massive romantic franchise. Aside from occasional brief phone calls, he barely even replied to my Snapchats. I knew he was busy, so I tried to be understanding and didn’t bother him. I handled everything at home by myself. Even when Eleanor treated me like garbage, I never complained. Because I knew how much Julian cared about his career. I had seen him on set. He was so dedicated, practically glowing under the spotlights. As his biggest fan and his wife, I felt it was my duty to be his perfect supporter. So, I spent the entire day preparing a gourmet dinner. Everything was Julian’s favorite. Eleanor actually praised me for once, but the moment she saw what I was wearing, her face fell. “Look at you. You look like a maid. Your hair is so greasy you could fry an egg on it, and you smell like a kitchen.” “Julian used to talk about how talented you were, what a great writer you were. Now you look no different from a homeless person on the street.” She took a step back, her disgust obvious. I looked down at myself. I was soaked in sweat, and my clothes smelled like grease and oil. I opened my mouth, but I couldn’t find the words to argue back. I remembered the girl who used to stand confidently in front of cameras, talking about her screenplays. She felt like a completely different person now. I could only nervously rub my apron. Just then, the doorbell rang. It was Julian, and next to him was a flawlessly dressed, stunning girl. Her features were striking and elegant, her outfit simple yet expensive. I stood there, frozen in embarrassment. Compared to her, I really did look like a paid maid. And that was exactly how Eleanor introduced me. Eleanor smiled, pulling Serena into the living room, showering her with warmth and compliments she had never shown me. Serena obviously understood the underlying meaning. Though she acted coy, she handled Eleanor perfectly. The two of them sat together. Serena looked far more like the daughter-in-law of this house than I did.

As for Julian, from the moment he walked in, he didn’t look at me once. He agreed with everything his mother said, playing the perfect host, pouring water and peeling fruit for Serena. They left me standing there like a clown. Until finally, the tears in my eyes could no longer be held back. I swallowed my humiliation and hid in the kitchen. Listening to their laughter from the living room, I wiped my tears and started packing up the leftovers. That night in our bedroom, I asked Julian why he hadn’t introduced me as his wife. “You worked so hard in the kitchen all day, you deserved a break. Let Mom and me handle hosting the guests.” Julian’s answer was warm and gentle. He didn’t mind my greasy hair. He ran his fingers through it and smiled softly. In that single moment, all my resentment vanished. As long as Julian loved me, it didn’t matter how much Eleanor hated me. After all, I was Julian’s legal wife. But Eleanor’s attitude still stung. Later that night, I finished the vile holistic fertility shake Eleanor had prepared for me. The bitter aftertaste clung to my throat. It was a special recipe Eleanor had gotten from some sketchy holistic guru. She claimed it guaranteed a baby boy. She blamed me for not getting pregnant sooner. But we had only been married for a year, and Julian had been away on set for eight months of it. I couldn’t explain my innocence, so I just drank the bitter shakes every day. The drink was incredibly vile. I didn’t know what was in it, but the first time I drank it, I threw up my stomach lining. But to please Eleanor, and to have a baby soon, I forced it down every single day despite the nausea. I just could never get used to that lingering bitterness. So that night, I went to the kitchen to grab one of the grapes left over from Serena’s visit to wash out the taste. Just to get a little sweetness back in my mouth. As I passed Eleanor’s bedroom, I heard her complaining to Julian. She said my family had no money, that I was plain-looking, and had zero class. She said only a true high-society heiress like Serena was worthy of him. She said if I didn’t get pregnant soon, Julian should just divorce me so I wouldn’t waste his prime years. I couldn’t hear Julian’s response. But when he returned to our room that night, he acted completely normal. He even held me tight, saying we should try harder to have a baby. I didn’t make a scene. I didn’t confront him. Because I believed Julian understood my struggles. Back when he asked me to give up my screenwriting career to become a housewife, he had promised me: No matter what I looked like, he would love me, just as I loved him. But now, recalling Julian’s disgusted, biased accusations in the hospital… And thinking of the breathless moans and wet kisses on the phone right before my surgery… I could no longer lie to myself. No man who loves his wife would be in another woman’s bed while she was giving birth. And he certainly wouldn’t let his mother steal my baby. … When I reached the front door of our house, the warm sound of baby talk and laughter drifted through the cracks. I didn’t open the door. I just stood there, listening quietly. “Say mommy, sweetie~ Look, this is your mommy now, okay?” Hearing Eleanor’s voice made my blood run cold. I wanted to burst in and rip my son out of her arms. I had to dig my nails into my palms to keep myself from screaming. I quietly pulled out my phone, turned on the voice recorder, and held the mic close to the door. “Serena, dear, now that we have the baby, Julian can divorce Chloe very soon.” “If Julian hadn’t been worried about your body, not wanting you to go through the pain of pregnancy, he would never have touched a stupid woman like Chloe.” “She actually believed Julian loved her. She even went through all the pain of egg retrieval and IVF just to give Julian a child.” Eleanor didn’t even try to hide her malice. She was using my open wounds to please Serena. Serena seemed highly satisfied with both Julian’s and Eleanor’s attitude. She kept teasing my baby, whispering, “Call me mommy.” Every single “mommy” felt like a knife twisting in my heart. I could accept my mother-in-law hating me. I could accept Julian’s betrayal and divorce. But my baby—the one I had risked my life to carry—I would never, ever let them have him. I remembered the excruciating pain of the egg retrieval process, and the sheer joy when the embryo transfer succeeded. And now, the throbbing pain of my C-section scar flared up. I closed my eyes and forced back my tears. When I opened them again, they were cold, burning with a desire for vengeance. I stopped the recording and saved the audio. I backed it up to the cloud. I would make them realize that a “stupid woman” like me was more than capable of dragging them straight to hell.

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At 2:00 AM, I scrolled past a viral post. The headline read: **[My husband’s first six wives are all dead. I’m number seven.]** It was posted three years ago. The account had already been deactivated. But screenshots of the post had been reshared over thirty thousand times. I stared at the image on my screen, a cold shiver running down my spine. It wasn’t because of the text. It was because— The face of the woman in that screenshot looked exactly like mine. My name is Hazel. I’m twenty-eight. Three months ago, I married Julian Vance. He is fifteen years older than me. He is a prominent tech mogul in Seattle—elegant, generous, and incredibly charming. He spent two whole years chasing me before I finally said yes. Everyone told me how lucky I was. “Hazel really hit the jackpot. How did she land a guy like him?” “He’s handsome, filthy rich, and completely devoted. He’s a catch of a lifetime.” “I heard his late wife passed away years ago. He stayed single for so long, and now he’s finally moving on.” Hearing those words always made my heart flutter. Julian really was perfect. He remembered every little thing I liked. He would drive thirty minutes in the middle of the night just to get me my favorite dessert. He would bring warm takeout to my office when I worked late. He would hold me and soothe me until midnight whenever I was upset. From the day we met to the day we married, he had never once raised his voice at me. On our wedding day, he looked at me, his eyes rimmed with red. “Hazel,” he whispered, “I’ve finally found you.” I thought this was what perfect love looked like. Until today. It was the weekend. Julian had gone to the office for a meeting, leaving me home alone to clean up the study. Usually, he didn’t let me in here, claiming it held highly confidential business documents. But today, he had smiled and told me I could tidy it up if I wanted to. I began taking the books out one by one to dust them. When I reached the third shelf, I noticed a hollow panel behind a row of encyclopedias. Inside the hidden compartment was a thick, heavy manila folder. I hesitated for a second, but curiosity won. I opened it. Inside were six sets of files. On the first page of each file was a small passport photo. Six different women. Different faces, different ages, but all strikingly beautiful. Attached to the back of each file was a series of documents. A copy of a marriage certificate. A death certificate. A deed to a cemetery plot. The very last page was a handwritten spreadsheet. Name, age, date of marriage, date of death, cause of death. First wife: Audrey, 26. Married: 03.12.2015. Died: 01.08.2016. Cause of death: Car accident. Second wife: Chloe, 25. Married: 06.21.2016. Died: 02.14.2017. Cause of death: Drowning. Third wife: Brooke, 27. Married: 09.03.2017. Died: 05.19.2018. Cause of death: Fall from a balcony. Fourth wife: Diana, 26. Married: 11.11.2018. Died: 07.23.2019. Cause of death: House fire. Fifth wife: Elena, 28. Married: 01.05.2020. Died: 10.30.2020. Cause of death: Carbon monoxide poisoning. Sixth wife: Fiona, 27. Married: 04.17.2021. Died: 02.08.2022. Cause of death: Accidental fall. My hands began to shake violently. Julian had told me he only had one late wife, who died of an illness. But there were six. Six women. Six wives. Six death certificates. The longest marriage lasted a year and two months. The shortest was only nine months. Was he marrying them? Or was he murdering them? I flipped to the very last page. The seventh wife. The page was mostly blank, except for one completed row: Name: Hazel. Date of Marriage: 03.12.2024. Date of Death: — Cause of Death: — I stared at the blank spaces, and my blood ran absolutely cold. Right then, the sound of the front door unlocking echoed through the house. Julian was back.

I frantically shoved the folder back into the hidden compartment, threw the books back into place, and stood up just as the study door swung open. Julian stood in the doorway, watching me. He was wearing a dark gray dress shirt, his sleeves rolled up to his forearms, a warm, gentle smile on his face. “Hazel, what are you doing in here?” “I… I was just cleaning up the study,” I said, my voice tight and strained. “You said I could, right?” “I did.” He walked into the room, cast a brief glance at the bookshelf, and then looked back at me. “Are you tired?” “No.” “Why is your face so pale?” “Maybe… maybe a slight dizzy spell. My blood sugar might be low.” He immediately stepped forward, gently gripping my shoulders. “Then stop cleaning. Go sit on the couch. I’ll get you some orange juice.” His hands on my shoulders were warm and firm. Just like they always were. But right now, his hands felt like the claws of a predator, ready to tighten at any second and snap my neck. “Okay,” I whispered. He guided me out of the study, pressed me gently into the living room sofa, and walked into the kitchen to grab the drink. I sat there, my entire body stiff. My mind was screaming with the details of those six files. Six women. Six accidents. Seven years. An average of one death per year. Every single one of them died in a way that left his hands completely clean. What was he? How did he do it? Why did no one ever notice? How was he still walking free? Julian walked back into the living room, sat down beside me, and handed me the glass. “Drink it slowly.” I took the glass and took a small sip. The juice was sweet. But I couldn’t taste a thing. “Hazel,” he said suddenly, his voice quiet. “Did you find something?” My hand jerked. The juice almost spilled onto my lap. “W-what?” He looked at me. His eyes were incredibly gentle, like he was looking at a piece of fragile porcelain. “I saw the study door open,” he said. “Did you open the hidden compartment?” I raised my head to meet his eyes. His eyes were a deep, warm hazel, catching the light like polished amber. There was no malice in them. Only a calm, quiet curiosity. As if he were simply asking what I wanted for dinner. “I…” The words caught in my throat. He let out a soft sigh. He reached out, gently took the glass from my hands, and set it on the coffee table. “Hazel,” he said, “I was planning on telling you eventually.” Telling me what? That you killed six people? Or that I’m supposed to be number seven? He took my hand in his. His hand was large and warm, completely wrapping around mine. “Those women,” he said. “You saw them?” I nodded slowly. “Do you think I killed them?” I couldn’t speak. He let out a dry, bitter laugh. “Hazel, if I told you I didn’t kill them, would you believe me?” I stared at him, my mind blank. He sighed again. Then he pulled out his phone, scrolled through it for a moment, and turned the screen toward me. On the screen was a post. The headline was: **[My husband’s first six wives are all dead. I’m number seven.]** It was the exact same post I had seen at 2:00 AM. The username of the poster: Hazel. Date of post: Three years ago. I froze.

“Three years ago,” Julian said, “I stumbled across this post online.” He swiped down on the screen. “The poster used your name, and the photo attached was your face. But back then, I didn’t even know you existed.” I stared at the photo on the screen. The face was undoubtedly mine. But the eyes were different. The woman in the photo had cold eyes. Cold as a frozen lake in the dead of winter. “I was shocked,” Julian said. “Because every single detail in this post was absolutely true.” He scrolled down to the comments section. *[Is the husband the tech mogul from Seattle? I think I saw his late wife’s obituary in the news.]* *[Six wives are dead? That’s too much of a coincidence.]* *[OP, you need to run! Are you waiting to become number seven?]* *[I looked it up. There are indeed five public obituaries. The sixth one hasn’t been made public yet.]* *[Is OP okay? Can someone update us?]* The very last comment was from the original poster herself: *[I managed to escape. But he is hunting me. If anything happens to me, please send this thread to the police.]* The reply was timestamped three years ago, on a cold winter night. After that, the account never logged in again. Julian slid his phone back into his pocket and looked at me. “Do you understand now?” I didn’t. I didn’t understand at all. “The woman who wrote that post,” he said, “looked exactly like you. She went by the name Hazel. She was my sixth wife.” The sixth one. Fiona. But the name on the spreadsheet was Fiona. “Wasn’t her name Fiona?” I whispered. “That was the alias she used after she ran away,” Julian explained. “She was terrified I would find her.” My brain was spinning out of control. “Then where is she now…?” “She’s dead,” Julian said quietly. “Three years ago, she died in a car accident in your hometown.” A car accident. But the cause of death listed for the sixth wife was an accidental fall. Not a car accident. “I know what you’re thinking,” he said. “You’re wondering if I’m lying. You’re wondering if someone else killed her.” I remained silent. He stared at me, his gaze incredibly complex. “Hazel, have you ever wondered why you look exactly like her?” I froze. “Have you ever wondered why your parents died when you were just a toddler?” “What are you trying to say?” He was quiet for a long moment. When he finally spoke, his words made my entire body go numb. “Hazel isn’t your real name. You aren’t who you think you are. You are someone else entirely.” *** *(Paywall Cliffhanger)*

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I was four years old when my eight-year-old sister, Autumn, drowned. Starting from the year I turned five, on the anniversary of her death, my mother would drag me to the water and hold my head under the freezing surface. “Don’t struggle,” she would whisper, her voice trembling. “This is exactly how your sister felt when she sank.” Only when I was on the verge of death would she cry, pull me out of the water, and hold my shivering body, screaming my sister’s name. “I saved you. I actually saved you this time.” Every year on that day, my mother re-enacted this twisted ritual of redemption. And I was her only toy. When I was six, she got annoyed because my struggling “ruined the realism.” So, she tied my hands and feet with nylon ropes. When I was nine, she decided the bathwater wasn’t cold enough. She filled the tub with ice bags, holding my head under for over a minute. When I was twelve, to make it even more realistic, she mixed thick, smelly river mud into the water. I choked on it and coughed up blood for two weeks. My father never stopped her. He just stood by, watching with cold, indifferent eyes. Today is my eighteenth birthday. The day I legally become an adult. This time, my mother brought me to the very riverbank where Autumn died. “After today, your sister would have been this age,” she murmured. Then, with her own hands, she pushed me into the rushing, turbulent river. As the icy water flooded my lungs, for the first time in my life, I felt a strange sense of peace. Autumn only died once. But I, from the age of five to seventeen, had died thirteen times. My only birthday wish this year was simple: Let this be my final death. 1 “Get your ass up here! Maya, do you think you’re being funny?!” Victoria’s sharp, screeching voice pierced through the muddy surface of the river. I looked down at myself. My body felt weightless, like a patch of mist hovering a few feet above the water. Beneath the surface, the fierce current was dragging a lifeless body, slamming it hard against the sharp rocks at the bottom of the river. That body was mine. The sound of bones snapping was drowned out by the roaring water, but I felt an unprecedented sense of relief. For eighteen years, I was finally, truly warm. On the riverbank, Victoria was pacing impatiently, her high heels sinking into the muddy shore. She was wearing a long black trench coat today. That was her signature outfit, reserved exclusively for the anniversary of Autumn’s death. “I’m counting to three! If you don’t pop your head out of that water, don’t expect a single penny for your allowance this month!” Victoria glared at the swirling water, her eyes flashing with pure rage at my disobedience. No one answered her. Only the cold waves kept crashing against the rocky shore. A few steps behind her, Richard was looking down, trying to light a cigarette. The lighter flickered several times in the damp wind before finally catching. He took a deep drag, exhaling the cheap tobacco smoke into the humid air. “Alright, stop yelling. After all these years, she can hold her breath like a fish. She’s probably just trying to scare you.” Richard pointed his cigarette at the river, his tone as casual as if he were talking about the weather. Victoria let out a cold, mocking laugh. “Scare me? She wouldn’t dare!” “Your sister was in this exact river, in water just this deep,” she screamed at the empty river. “When Autumn went down, she didn’t even have the strength to struggle!” “But you? I threw you in just a few minutes ago, and now you’re playing hide-and-seek with me?” Hovering in the air, I watched her twisted, hysterical face. Autumn was my older sister. Victoria always got like this. The moment Autumn’s name was mentioned, she would spiral into a state of psychotic obsession. “Victoria, the current is actually pretty strong today. Maybe I should grab a branch and poke around?” Richard suggested, exhaling another cloud of smoke. It was a rare moment of concern from him. Victoria snapped her head around, glaring at him with pure hatred. “Poke around for what? You always spoil her!” “This is her baptism into adulthood! Without this, how is she supposed to live on behalf of Autumn?!” Hearing those words, my dead heart seemed to flinch out of pure instinct. Live on behalf of Autumn. That was the sole purpose of my existence. It was the only reason I had endured thirteen years of torture. When I was fifteen, I caught a severe flu and ran a fever of 104 degrees. I didn’t even have the strength to stand. I could only curl up on the cold floor of my bedroom. But that day happened to be the anniversary of Autumn’s death. Victoria kicked my door open, carrying a bucket of fresh snow she had shoveled from the yard, mixed with sharp ice chunks. “Stop playing dead. Get up. Time for the tub.” She grabbed me by my hair and dragged me out of the room. “I’m so cold… I have a fever…” I sobbed, desperately clawing at the doorframe, my tears mixing with cold sweat. “Please, not today. I’m really going to die…” Victoria paused for a second. But in the next second, she slammed her high heel right onto the back of my hand. “A fever? Autumn was trapped under the ice for a whole day and night! Have you ever thought about how cold she was?!” “Your little fever is nothing! Get in the tub, now!” That day, she dumped the bucket of ice and snow into the freezing bathwater and shoved my head under. The ice chunks scraped against my face like razor blades. I struggled wildly under the water, the air in my lungs slowly being squeezed out. And she just stood by the tub, holding a stopwatch. “Don’t move! Autumn drowned because she ran out of strength. You must perfectly recreate her pain!” Only when my eyes rolled back and I lost consciousness did she finally drag me out. She held my soaking wet, limp body and wailed at the ceiling. “Autumn! I finally saved you! I wasn’t too late this time!” That fever turned into severe pneumonia. I was hospitalized for two weeks. The day I was discharged, Victoria didn’t show up. She only had Richard bring me a message: “Your mom says you’re too weak. You don’t even have half of Autumn’s strength. She wants you to wash your face with ice water every morning from now on.” And now, at eighteen, I had finally completed her perfect recreation. I didn’t struggle. I went straight down, and I never came back up. On the bank, Victoria checked her watch, her brows furrowing deeper. “Maya! It’s been five minutes! Are you still playing dead down there?!” She bent down, picked up a heavy rock, and threw it into the middle of the river. The rock splashed into the water, sinking instantly. “Fine! If you want to stay down there, then don’t ever come up!” Victoria brushed the dirt off her hands and turned to Richard. “Richard, go grab my telescopic fishing rod from the trunk. She must be hiding under some weeds just to spite me!” 2 Richard threw his half-smoked cigarette onto the ground and crushed it under his boot. “I told you we shouldn’t have come to a real river. The bathtub at home was fine,” he muttered, turning around and walking sluggishly toward their car to search the trunk. Victoria crossed her arms. “The bathtub? Does the bathtub have this kind of strong current?” she yelled after him. “Autumn died in a real river. If Maya doesn’t choke on some real river water, how is she ever going to understand the despair Autumn felt?!” I hovered above Victoria, watching her self-righteous face. Even though I was already dead, hearing her words still sent a familiar, icy shiver through my soul. A cold gust of wind blew by, rustling the dead leaves on the shore. It had been ten minutes since I was thrown into the water. The rushing river showed no signs of life. Not even a single bubble popped up. A few locals walking along the levee stopped, whispering and looking down at the riverbank. “Excuse me, did you just throw something into the river?” a middle-aged woman asked, stepping closer with a worried look. “I swear I saw a girl go in.” Victoria turned around, looking at the woman as if she were a disgusting bug. “None of your business. I’m parenting my own daughter. Do I need your permission?” The woman gasped, her eyes widening in shock. “Are you insane?! The current is incredibly fast today! She’s going to drown!” “You threw your own daughter in? That’s murder!” The man standing next to the woman panicked and pulled out his phone. “This is crazy. Call 911! This is a crime!” The moment Victoria heard “911,” her face darkened. She lunged forward and grabbed the man’s hand, forcing his phone down. “Don’t you dare call the police! I told you, she’s my daughter! She’s just throwing a tantrum!” “She’s been training in the water since she was a kid. She can hold her breath for seven or eight minutes. She’s definitely hiding under some river weeds right now just to scare me!” The man took a step back, frightened by the psychotic look in her eyes, but he kept a tight grip on his phone. “Are you out of your mind?! Nobody can hold their breath for eight minutes in a rapid current like this! You need mental help!” “Richard! Where the hell are you?! Get over here and get these freaks away from me!” Victoria screamed toward the car. Richard finally ambled back, dragging a long, extendable fishing rod. Seeing the conflict, his brow furrowed. “What’s the shouting about? Move along, people. It’s just a family matter,” he said, waving his hand dismissively, as if shooing away stray dogs. “A family matter?! Throwing a kid into a raging river is a family matter?!” the woman yelled, pointing right at Richard’s nose. “Are you even her father?! Why aren’t you jumping in to save her?!” Richard’s face turned red from the yelling, but he just stubbornly argued back. “Save her from what? Her mother knows what she’s doing. She won’t die.” “Besides, she’s the one refusing to come up. Even if I go in, it won’t do any good.” Watching Richard’s indifferent face, I suddenly remembered a small incident from when I was sixteen. Back then, because of the constant exposure to ice water and mud, I had developed severe chronic arthritis. Whenever it rained, my knees felt like they were being pierced by thousands of hot needles. One day, because my test score was two points lower than what Autumn used to get, Victoria locked me in the basement right next to the deep freezer. She forced me to stand pressed against the icy metal wall. “Autumn didn’t even get the chance to go to school, and you dare to score lower than her?!” The pain was unbearable. While Victoria was upstairs taking a phone call, I used a cheap burner phone I had hidden in my shoe to dial 91

The moment the call connected, I felt like I had grabbed a lifeline. “911, please help me… my mom is freezing me to death…” Before I could finish, a rough hand reached from behind and snatched the phone away. It was Richard. He looked at the “911” on the screen and hung up without a second thought. I looked at him, completely heartbroken. “Dad… please. My bones hurt so bad. I’m going to be crippled…” Richard slipped the phone into his pocket and looked down at me, his eyes completely devoid of warmth. “Maya, your mother is sick. She’s suffered a lot. Can’t you just cooperate with her?” “Do you really want the police to show up and ruin this family before you’re satisfied?” He sighed, acting like a tired, noble peacekeeper. “Just endure it. She’ll let you out once she calms down.” With that, he walked out and locked the basement door, leaving me alone in the freezing, pitch-black darkness. Since that day, I knew. In this house, Victoria was the one holding the knife, and Richard was the one who handed it to her and buried the bodies. Neither of them was innocent. Suddenly, a cluster of bubbles popped up on the river surface. Right after, a white canvas sneaker floated up, spinning slowly in the whirlpool. It was the new pair of shoes I had put on just this morning. “Oh my god! Something happened! That’s a shoe!” The woman screamed, shoving Victoria aside, and snatched her husband’s phone to dial 911. “Yes! Emergency! A crazy woman just threw her daughter into the river and drowned her! Get here right now!” Seeing the shoe, Victoria’s face finally flickered with a trace of unease. But it was only for a split second. In the next moment, she laughed even louder. “Maya, you’re getting really good at acting.” She screamed at the river, her voice filled with a sick, manic excitement. “Officer, she’s really just playing a prank!” she yelled at the woman’s phone. “She’s an amazing swimmer! She’s just holding her breath to scare me!” “Just wait until the police get here, she’ll crawl right back up!” I looked down at the lonely canvas shoe floating away. Mom, I was actually a terrible swimmer. I just got used to not struggling in the water.3 Screaming sirens shattered the heavy silence over the canal. Two police cruisers and a water rescue truck roared onto the levee, slamming their brakes. Several officers and rescue team members in full gear quickly hopped out and rushed to the bank. “What’s the situation? Who called?” The lead officer, a young man named Detective Carter, asked with a deep frown as he walked over. “Me! Officer! This crazy woman threw her own daughter into this overflow canal! It’s been almost twenty minutes!” the local woman pointed at Victoria, jumping in panic. Detective Carter took one look at the raging current, and his face turned pale. “Rescue team! Get in the water now! Prepare the sonar and the nets!” Several rescue divers immediately began putting on their life vests and securing safety ropes around their waists. But Victoria stepped forward, blocking the divers. “Do not go into that water!” She tilted her chin up, her eyes blazing with arrogant fury. “This is a private family matter! Who gave you permission to interfere?!” “My daughter is playing hide-and-seek with me! If you jump in, you’re going to scare her!” Detective Carter stood frozen for a few seconds, utterly dumbfounded by her insane logic. “Ma’am, do you have any idea how fast this current is? Holding her breath for twenty minutes? Do you think she has gills?” He shoved her aside. “Obstructing justice. I can arrest you right now.” Victoria stumbled back, nearly falling into the mud. Richard quickly caught her and stepped forward with a fake, placating smile. “Officer, please, don’t be mad. My wife… she’s had some trauma, her head isn’t quite right…” He pointed to his temple and lowered his voice. “But really, our girl is just throwing a fit. She’s been doing this ‘diving’ thing since she was little. It’s weird, but she’s totally fine.” Hovering above them, I looked at Richard’s disgusting, cowardly face. He knew people couldn’t survive twenty minutes underwater. He was just so used to protecting Victoria, so used to painting my pain and my life as a “minor family drama” to keep the peace. “Get out of the way!” Detective Carter snapped, pushing Richard back and barking into his radio. “Team One, search downstream along the banks! Team Two, get underwater now! Hurry!” The divers, equipped with waterproof searchlights and sonar devices, plunged into the cold, murky water one after another. Victoria stood on the bank, calmly brushing her windblown hair behind her ears. Watching the busy rescue team, she let out a mocking sneer. “What a dramatic show. Ridiculous.” She turned to Richard. “Richard, do you think Maya did this on purpose? To make a scene so the whole world thinks I abuse her?” “How can a child be so malicious? Autumn was so sweet and obedient. Why did Maya have to turn out so rebellious?” Richard stared at the water in silence. He didn’t agree, but he didn’t defend me either. Malicious? Hearing her accusation, I wanted to laugh. When I was seventeen, I studied myself to the bone and won a local youth competition. It came with a $1,000 cash prize. I ran home that day, clutching the envelope, my heart bursting with joy. I wanted to buy Victoria a designer silk scarf she had been staring at in a department store window for months but couldn’t afford. I wanted to tell her that I could be good too. I wanted to make her proud. But when I presented the certificate and the cash to her with both hands, she didn’t smile. She stared at the certificate, her eyes turning colder and more maniacal by the second. “You won a prize?” Her voice shook. Suddenly, she raised her hand and slapped me across the face so hard my ears rang. “Who do you think you are, winning prizes?!” “Autumn died when she was eight! She will never get to win anything!” “What are you trying to do? Brag? Bragging that you lived longer than her? That you’re better than her?!” That day, she dragged me to a filthy, stagnant swamp on the outskirts of town. She tore the $1,000 cash into shreds and threw them into the mud. Then, she shoved my face into the rotten leaves and black sludge. “Eat it! Eat everything you owe your sister!” I choked on the mud and coughed up blood for two weeks. My lungs still had a shadow on the X-rays. That was the day I realized that no matter what I did, in her eyes, I was just a criminal who had stolen her precious daughter’s life. “Detective Carter! The sonar got a hit!” In the middle of the river, a diver popped his head out and yelled. The shout snapped me out of my memories. Everyone froze, locking their eyes on that patch of water. “About twelve feet deep, wedged in the gap between the bridge pillars! There’s a clear human outline!” The detective rushed to the edge. “Is she breathing?! Any signs of life?!” The diver took a deep breath and plunged back down. Ten seconds later, he surfaced, his face pale. “No signs of struggle… the current is too strong, her clothes are tangled in the weeds…” He paused, his voice trembling. “She’s… she’s gone.” A suffocating silence fell over the bank. The onlookers gasped, some covering their mouths in horror. Detective Carter clenched his fists, turning around to glare at Victoria. “Is this what you call a tantrum?!” But Victoria didn’t even blink. She pulled a pack of wet wipes from her trench coat pocket and slowly wiped the mud off her hands. “Alright, cut the act,” she shouted at the divers in the water. “How much did she pay you guys to act in her little drama? Pretty convincing, I’ll give you that.” “Maya! I’m counting to three! If you don’t get your ass out of there right now, don’t you ever think about stepping foot in my house again!” “One!” “Two!” “We got her! Pull her up!” With a loud splash, three divers worked together to drag a body, covered in mud and river weeds, out of the water. 4 The heavy, wet sound of a body being dragged onto the muddy grass echoed along the shore. She was laid there like a broken ragdoll. Her clothes had been shredded by the rocks and current, exposing pale, bruised skin. Her face was completely buried under thick river weeds and foul-smelling mud, making her unrecognizable. Water kept dripping from her soaked hair. There was no movement. No breath. “Start CPR! Now!” Detective Carter yelled, dropping to his knees in the mud. He placed his hands on her chest and began pumping hard. One, two, three… But only muddy water mixed with dark red blood seeped from her mouth and nose. “It’s no use, Detective.” The medical examiner, who had just arrived with his kit, knelt down. He checked her pupils and felt her carotid artery. “Submersion time exceeds twenty minutes. Cardiac arrest. Pupils are dilated and fixed. I’m calling it. She’s dead.” Those words fell like a sledgehammer, crushing the hearts of everyone standing there. The local woman burst into tears, pointing at Victoria and screaming, “You monster! You actually killed your own daughter!” Victoria stood frozen, her feet seemingly glued to the mud. She stared at the lifeless body on the grass. Her eye twitched slightly. But the deep-seated pride and psychosis in her bones still kept her spine straight. “Dead? How could she be dead?!” She let out a sharp laugh, stepping forward in her high heels. “Maya, your little guilt trip is getting more and more elaborate. You even fooled the police.” She looked down at the corpse. “Putting mud on your face to make it look real? Do you think that’s going to make me feel sorry for you?” “Get up! Stand up right now!” She suddenly bent down, raising her hand to slap the cold face of the corpse. “What do you think you’re doing?!” Detective Carter grabbed her wrist and threw her back with force. “Do you have a single drop of humanity left?! She’s dead, and you still want to abuse her corpse?!” Victoria stumbled back, and Richard rushed to hold her. But Richard’s face was already ghost-white. He stared at the familiar shape of the body, his voice shaking violently. “Victoria… maybe… maybe we should look at her face… What if… what if it’s really Maya…” “Shut up!” Victoria shrieked like a cat that had its tail stepped on. “She’s a great swimmer, she can’t be dead! This must be some other unlucky brat who fell into the river, and Maya is using her body to play a trick on me!” She pointed at the corpse, her voice absolutely certain. “This is definitely not Maya! Maya is a coward who’s terrified of pain! She wants to live more than anyone!” Hovering in the air, I looked down at her with a cold smile. Yes, Mom. I used to want to live more than anyone. I wanted to live so I could go to college, escape that house, and see a world that wasn’t filled with ice water and mud. But you were the one who personally strangled every single hope I had. “Since the family refuses to believe it, doctor, clean the victim’s face. Let her see clearly!” Detective Carter barked, holding back the urge to draw his gun. The medical examiner nodded. He took a bottle of clean water and some sterile gauze, gently washing away the thick layers of black mud from the girl’s face. As the features slowly became clear, the smirk on Victoria’s face completely froze. It was a young, pale, bloodless face. Eyes closed, lips tightly shut. Even the tiny dark mole on her left eyebrow was clearly visible. But the medical examiner wasn’t done. He gently pulled back the wet collar of her shirt, exposing her collarbone and neck. “Detective Carter, look at this.” The doctor pointed at a thick, dark brown scar wrapping around her neck. “This didn’t happen today. It’s an old scar. It looks like permanent tissue damage caused by repeated binding with something like a nylon rope.” Detective Carter gasped, turning to look at Victoria with absolute disgust and horror. “Did you do this?” Victoria didn’t answer. Her eyes were glued to that scar. Her pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks. How could she not recognize that scar? When I was six, she hated how “ugly” I looked when I struggled in the bathtub. So, she tied my hands, feet, and neck with a nylon rope, dragging me into the water like a dog. That scar had been with me for twelve years. It was her trophy, her proof that she had “perfect control” over me. “No… this isn’t…” Victoria’s throat made a horrific, rattling sound, like a broken bellows. She shoved Richard away and fell to her knees beside the corpse. Her hand trembled violently as she reached out to touch the clean face. But the moment her fingers brushed the cold, stiff skin, she flinched back as if she had been burned by hot iron. “Maya…?” she whispered, her arrogant, mocking voice completely gone. “My Maya…?” She stared at the face, desperately searching for any sign of a prank, any sign of life. But there was none. The face was peacefully, terrifyingly still. It would never look at her with fear ever again. “You’re not Autumn… weren’t you supposed to die in her place…” Suddenly, Victoria’s tears spilled over without warning. She finally realized that the girl lying in the mud wasn’t the glorified ghost of her eight-year-old sister. It was her actual, living daughter. The girl she had tortured for thirteen years, who had just turned eighteen today. She finally realized that I was dead.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “456521”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster

Ethan’s female colleague was pregnant, and she was about to pop. When she showed up at my doorstep, flaunting her massive baby bump and demanding a baby shower gift, I was in the middle of decorating our wedding house. I screamed at him, demanding answers. But he just stood there, looking completely innocent. “I only did a private sperm donation to help her out, Elena. My heart still belongs to you.” After saying that, he actually took her to the mall to pick out a gift. I didn’t hesitate. I immediately texted our family group chat on Snapchat and canceled the wedding. But everyone thought I was just throwing a tantrum. Ethan’s mom said with a heavy sigh, “Ethan is handsome, highly educated, and a pilot. Perfect genes like his should be passed on. He’s doing a service to society.” Ethan’s dad sneered, “He didn’t cheat on you. Why are you making such a big deal out of nothing?” My dad was so angry his chest hurt. “You stubborn girl! How dare you call off such a perfect marriage?” My mom sobbed hysterically, “If you call off this wedding, you’ll end up alone for the rest of your life!” With red eyes, I texted back: “Then I’ll gladly stay single forever!” But then, another message popped up on my phone: “Elena, you’ve finally dumped him. When is it my turn to be your man?”

That evening, Ethan carefully guided Chloe into the apartment, holding her arm as if she were made of glass. They had bought a massive box of toys for the unborn baby. Chloe gently caressed her baby bump. The two of them smiled at each other, their faces glowing with the shared joy of expectant parents. Seeing me, Chloe smiled and handed over a small, beautifully wrapped gift box. “Elena, I personally picked this out for you. I only realized today how much this whole situation bothered you. Please accept this… as my apology.” I didn’t even look at it. I grabbed the box and threw it straight into the trash can. Chloe’s smile froze instantly. Tears began to stream down her face like a broken string of pearls. “Elena… I’m… I’m so sorry.” Sobbingly, she shrank behind Ethan’s back. Ethan immediately shielded her, looking at me with a tired, disappointed expression. “Elena, don’t be like this.” “I was just responding to our company’s initiative to help single women who want children. Chloe is a dedicated single mother by choice, and she needed a quality donor.” “We are just ordinary colleagues. There is really nothing going on between us.” “Ordinary colleagues?” My voice shook. “Do ordinary colleagues text each other ‘good morning’ and ‘good night’ every single day? Do ordinary colleagues share a Spotify playlist? Do you cover for her at drinks, and take the long way home just to drive her back after overtime because you’re ‘just colleagues’?” He pinched the bridge of his nose, looking utterly exhausted. “Here we go again. Haven’t I explained all of this to you? You’re just paranoid. You’re overthinking everything.” I let out a cold laugh. His explanations were laughably pathetic. “Normal workplace communication.” “A mentor looking out for a rookie.” The lies were full of holes, yet I had chosen to believe them time and time edition over the last five years. But five years of love—I couldn’t just let it go without a fight. Clenching my teeth, I pointed at Chloe’s belly, testing him one last time. “Fine. Let’s say I’m the crazy one. Let’s say I misunderstood you both!” I stared straight into Ethan’s eyes. “Make her get rid of the baby. Do that, and I’ll pretend none of this ever happened. The wedding goes on.” “No way!” Ethan’s voice spiked, though he tried to suppress his anger. “The baby belongs to Chloe. I have no right to make that decision.” Chloe’s face turned deathly pale. Suddenly, she fell to her knees right in front of me. She wrapped her arms protectively around her stomach, sobbing. “Elena, Ethan and I really have nothing between us. The baby is eight months old. She just kicked me. I can’t… I can’t kill her…” She wept so pitifully, her entire body trembling. Ethan’s face hardened. He struggled internally for a few seconds before his heart ultimately softened for her. He helped her up, offering me a weak, cold smile. “Elena, asking her to abort the baby now is no different from ripping her heart out.” I stared at him, a mocking smirk playing on my lips. “What? Does your heart ache for her?” Ethan froze, a flash of pain crossing his face. “I never knew you could be so heartless, Elena. If this is your condition for marriage, then we are clearly not the same kind of people… Let’s break up.” “Elena, Ethan is innocent! Don’t take your anger out on him!” Chloe suddenly wailed. “If you want to blame someone, blame me! I can’t give up my baby… but I’ll prove our innocence with my life!” Before the words even fully left her mouth, she lunged toward the balcony, making a dramatic move to climb over the railing. My heart leaped into my throat. Instinctively, I moved to stop her. But Ethan had already panicked. He sprinted past me and grabbed her. Before we even got close to the edge, Chloe collapsed onto the floor, crying so hard she could barely breathe. Ethan pulled her tightly into his arms, his entire body shaking with fear. After a long moment, he looked up. His eyes, cold as ice, locked onto me. “Elena! Your baseless accusations almost killed Chloe!” His gaze was freezing, like he was looking at a complete stranger. “She’s just a young girl carrying a child. You can stand by and watch her die, but I can’t.” His voice trembled with rage. With that, he scooped Chloe up in his arms. He walked past me and barked, “Get out of my way!” I froze, my mouth hanging open. “I didn’t mean to—” “Ethan… the baby… I think she’s coming,” Chloe whimpered weakly before losing consciousness. “Chloe!” Ethan’s face went pale. He violently shoved me out of the way, holding Chloe as he dashed out the door.

I collapsed onto the floor, biting my lip so hard it bled, trying to suppress the overwhelming coldness spreading through my chest. I stayed awake all night. When the sun finally rose, my phone buzzed. It was a text from Ethan. “I was too stressed last night. My words were too harsh.” “Elena, I’m sorry.” A wave of soreness hit my nose, and tears finally spilled over. In all our years together, he was always the first to bow his head after an argument, and I would always find an excuse to forgive him. But this time was different. This was a barrier I could never cross. Before I could type a reply, he sent another photo. It was a selfie of him and the newborn. He was cradling the tiny infant with utmost care, looking down at her with a tenderness I had never seen before. “Chloe went into early labor, but both mother and daughter are safe.” “The baby looks just like me.” “She has no family here, so I have to stay at the hospital to look after her for three days.” “Let’s postpone the wedding by a week. I really can’t handle everything right now.” Every single word of his seemingly ordinary message stabbed right into my heart. Numbly, I stood up. I tore down the wedding decorations on the wall one by one. I took a pair of shears and shredded my wedding dress into pieces. My hands shook uncontrollably as I packed my bags. Just as I zipped my suitcase, Ethan’s mom pushed the door open, a bright, uncontainable smile on her face. “Ethan asked me to bring him some clean clothes. And as a grandmother, I can’t wait to see my little granddaughter.” Seeing my silence, she walked over and warmly wrapped her arm around mine. “Oh, Elena, Ethan was wrong this time. He shouldn’t have hidden the donation from you. It hurt your pride. But at the end of the day, it’s not some unforgivable sin, right?” “I know how much you love him. You can’t just throw away your relationship over something this trivial. Let’s just forget the angry words you said in the group chat yesterday.” “Come on, let’s go to the hospital together to see the baby. Give Ethan a way out, and we can put this whole thing behind us.” I let her drag me along like a lifeless corpse. By the time I snapped out of it, I was already standing outside the hospital room. Chloe lay weakly on the bed, her pale face stained with tears. She had clearly had a rough labor. And there was Ethan, gently cradling the baby, humming a soft lullaby. Ethan’s dad actually smiled—a rare sight. “Ethan is a pilot. We should name the baby Maverick. Let her reach the skies!” “What nonsense!” Ethan’s mom teased. “That’s a boy’s name!” She eagerly reached out to hold the baby. But Ethan turned his body, shielding the infant. “Mom, you don’t know how to hold a newborn. Don’t hurt her.” Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted me. His eyes lit up. “Elena, come look at her. Look at her tiny hands and feet. Isn’t she adorable?” He leaned down to kiss the baby but stopped himself, looking flustered like a guilty child. “No, no, Daddy can’t pass his germs to you.” I had never seen this childish, gentle side of him. He was bursting with the urge to show off his joy to the entire world. But I should never have been part of that audience. My lips curled into a stiff, mocking smile. I turned to leave. But Ethan quickly chased after me, carefully presenting the baby to my face. “Elena, look. Her nose and mouth… don’t they look exactly like mine?” I looked down. The baby’s face was indeed a carbon copy of his. The resemblance stung my eyes, and a sharp lump formed in my throat. I coldly pushed the baby blanket away. Staring into Ethan’s expectant eyes, I decided to shatter his fantasy. “Get her away from me. She looks hideous. She disgusts me.” The baby suddenly burst into a loud wail. Ethan’s face instantly darkened. He gently patted the crying baby, his heart aching for her. Ethan’s mom glared at me as if she wanted to slice me in half. “You are the one who is hideous and disgusting!” Ethan’s dad pointed directly at the door. “You are not welcome here. Get the hell out!” On the bed, Chloe slowly opened her eyes. “Elena…” She looked pleadingly at the Miller family. “I want to talk to Elena alone for a minute.” Once the door closed, a look of faux apology washed over Chloe’s face. “Elena, I don’t want to break you and Ethan up. He really loves you. Actually… that night, Ethan got drunk, and we…” My brain went completely numb. “It wasn’t a sperm donation?” She looked away, feigning guilt. “Ethan told me to keep it a secret. He was afraid it would break your heart.” “By the time I realized I was pregnant, it was already three months. He was furious. He said he’d give me a lump sum of hush money once the baby was born, as long as I never mentioned it again.” “Then why are you telling me this now?” I stared at her coldly. “Why did you show up at my door flaunting your belly? Why didn’t you keep it a secret forever?” She clearly didn’t expect me to call her out so bluntly. Her expression shifted rapidly before she ultimately bit her lip and stayed silent. I let out a sarcastic laugh. “Well, he and I are broken up now, and your baby is born. Your perfect little family of three can live happily ever after. What else are you worried about?” Suddenly, she glared at me, a creepy, twisted smile appearing on her face. The next second, right before my eyes, she rolled straight off the hospital bed, crashing heavily onto the floor. She screamed in absolute terror: “Elena, I know I was wrong! Please don’t hit me! Please don’t hurt my baby!”

I stood there, completely dumbfounded. Before I could even process what was happening, a powerful force violently shoved me aside. Slap! My cheek burned with sharp pain, and the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. Ethan’s dad stood there, his face livid with rage, pointing a shaking finger at me. “You disgraceful brat! How dare you act like a savage in a hospital?” He raised his hand to strike me again, but Ethan quickly caught his wrist. “Dad, stop. She’s my fiancée. I’ll handle this.” He dragged me out to the hallway, retrieved an ice pack, and gently pressed it against my swollen cheek. I kept my head down, whispering, “I didn’t push her…” “Okay,” he replied softly. He didn’t yell, nor did he ask for details. I knew him too well. This silence was his ultimate denial. If he believed me, he would have fought for me. If he didn’t, he would react exactly like this—with cold silence. But if he didn’t believe me, why was he still being so gentle? Tears finally spilled over, dripping hot onto the back of his hand. As if he had been burned, he flinched and pulled his hand back, standing up. “If being here around Chloe and the baby makes you this miserable, you should go home first.” In a panic, I grabbed the hem of his shirt, my voice cracking. “Just believe me once. Please?” He let out a deep, heavy sigh. One by one, he pried my fingers off his shirt, his face filled with utter disappointment. “Elena, I can overlook everything you’ve done. I love you, so I can forgive you. But at the very least, you have to be honest with me.” Suddenly, his phone started ringing. It was Chloe’s custom ringtone. How much further do I have to go to reach your heart… I had once asked him, “Is it appropriate to have a custom ringtone for a female colleague?” He had looked at me with confusion. “She just likes the song, so I set it. Don’t overthink it.” I watched him answer the call and walk away without a single backward glance. I sat frozen on the bench, one side of my face swollen and red. I found myself laughing and crying at the same time, like a patient diagnosed with a terminal illness. He demanded honesty from me. But had he ever been honest with me? I went back to the apartment and grabbed my bags. I was planning to go back to my parents’ house when a FaceTime call popped up. It was my parents. My dad was clutching his chest, pointing a trembling finger at the camera as he roared: “The Millers said you went crazy at the hospital and attacked a girl who just gave birth! What is wrong with you? The hospital director is a close friend of mine. He texted me asking what happened! You have humiliated our entire family!” My dad started gasping heavily for air. My mom frantically handed him his medicine, then turned to glare at me through the screen. “Ethan explained everything. They are just colleagues. You just had to make a scene and force them into a corner, didn’t you?” Noticing the bruise on my face, she let out a cold snort. “You deserved it!” “What did I do wrong that makes everyone turn on me?” I took a deep breath, my voice raspy. “Why would you rather believe outsiders than your own daughter?” “Believe what? Go on, tell us!” my parents demanded in unison. Staring at their cold, unsympathetic faces, all the fight drained out of me. “Never mind.” I hung up the call. I couldn’t let them see me cry anymore. Otherwise, I’d just hear the same old line: “What else can you do besides cry?” At this moment, I realized I had absolutely nowhere to go. My phone vibrated. It was a Snapchat message from Marcus. “Elena, when are you going to let me take his place?” “Right now,” I replied instantly, without a second thought. This guy, who used to be the worst student in our grade back in high school, suddenly turned his life around during senior year just to follow me to the same university. After that came years of relentless pursuit. He had confessed to me a hundred times, and I had rejected him a hundred times. Back then, I was attracted to smart, academically successful men. Even though he was incredibly handsome and had a smile that could make my heart skip a beat, I still turned him down. After graduation, I ended up with Ethan. Marcus went to Switzerland for his master’s degree, but he never stopped texting me. From daily check-ins to sharing mundane details of his life, to asking every few days, “When is it my turn?” I had never replied. Yet, like a tireless robot, he never gave up. Thinking of this, I sent him another text: “We’re getting married in three days. You’ll be the groom. Are you in?” Bam! The front door was suddenly kicked open with brute force. Ethan stood at the doorway, his face dark with rage, his eyes locked onto me like a predator. “Elena! What the hell did you do to my clothes?!”

“What…?” “Shut up!” He stormed over, grabbing my wrists and slamming me hard against the wall. I had never seen him like this. His eyes were bloodshot, and his breath hitched with tremors. “I wore that shirt you packed for me to hold the baby. Within ten minutes, she broke out in hives and had respiratory failure! She’s in the ICU right now!” “She’s just a newborn, Elena! Give me a goddamn explanation!” “I didn’t do anything!” My wrists hurt terribly under his grip, and I struggled to free myself. “Let go of me first…” Before I could finish, his fist flew toward my face. Instinctively, I squeezed my eyes shut and flinched. A loud crack echoed right next to my ear. His fist had smashed into the wall beside my head. When I opened my eyes, I saw blood dripping from his split knuckles. My voice shook uncontrollably. “Ethan… were you really going to hit me just now?” As if suddenly waking up from a trance, he quickly released me and pulled me into a tight embrace. “Elena… I’m sorry. I just panicked.” “I told you, I don’t care what you’ve done. But you crossed the line this time. Chloe is crying, saying she wants to die with the baby. Just come to the hospital and beg for her forgiveness, okay?” A hot tear dropped onto my neck. “Do it for me, please. I promise you, as long as you apologize, we can still get married.” This man, who hadn’t shed a single tear even when he broke his ribs during flight training, was actually crying now. When a man cries, it means he has a weakness. And Chloe and her baby were clearly his. Looking at his trembling shoulders, I suddenly smiled. “Sure. I’ll apologize.” He let out a massive sigh of relief, as if a mountain had been lifted off his chest. “Let’s go to the hospital right now.” He reached out to hold my hand. I coldly slapped his hand away. “I can walk by myself.” “Okay,” he nodded, then urged anxiously, “Hurry. I’m afraid Chloe is going to have a breakdown…” The moment we arrived outside the emergency room, Chloe threw herself onto the floor and wrapped her arms tightly around my legs. “Elena, I beg of you. You can take my life, just please let my baby live!” She sobbed hysterically, her body convulsing. I let out a cold laugh. I reached down to pull her off me. “Stop acting. I’m the one who’s here to apologize. Please, Chloe, show some mercy and let me go. You can have Ethan. I don’t want him anymore. He’s yours.” She snapped her head up, a flash of smugness crossing her eyes before she quickly replaced it with a look of sheer terror. “No, that’s not true! Ethan will always belong to you! How could I ever dream of taking him? I just want to raise my baby in peace.” “Get up!” I completely lost my patience. She suddenly grabbed my hands. Disgusted, I shook her off. Using the momentum, she threw herself backward. Her head hit the tiled floor with a loud thud, and she let out a piercing scream. “Enough!” Ethan rushed forward to shield her, looking at me as if I were some kind of monster. “Elena! If you didn’t want to apologize, you shouldn’t have come! Chloe just gave birth, and the baby is still in the ICU! How could you be so cruel?” I kept my head down, realizing there was nothing left to say. He wouldn’t believe me anyway, would he? After a long silence, Ethan let out a self-deprecating laugh. “Forget it. What did I even expect from you? I saw you hurt Chloe and the baby with my own eyes. Just go home. You’re only making things worse here.” “Parents of the baby, come here!” the doctor called out. Without looking back, Ethan quickly ran toward the doctor with Chloe. The doctor frowned, glancing at me. “If you’re not family, please don’t loiter here and cause a scene.” Right. They were the parents. I was just an intrusive outsider. Twice in one day, I had humiliated myself at this hospital. In everyone’s eyes, I was probably just a psychotic, malicious woman. Suddenly, all the energy drained from my body. I stumbled backward, expecting to hit the cold floor, but instead fell into a warm, solid chest. Marcus caught me securely, his voice buzzing with excitement. “Elena, were you serious about letting me take his place?”

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My hair used to be incredibly long, thick, and beautiful. But when my boyfriend’s childhood best friend lost her hair to chemotherapy, he ordered me to shave my head so they could use it to make her a custom wig. “Chloe is allergic to synthetic wigs,” Ethan said. “You’ve been growing yours for seven years. It’s perfect.” I refused. But his friends pinned me down, tying my hands and feet. They dragged a buzzer across my scalp, shaving me to the roots. My beautiful blonde hair fell to the floor, leaving me completely bald. Chloe sat in her wheelchair, laughing and pointing at me. “Look at her, Ethan! She looks like a bald toad!” Ethan smirked, nodding along. He even chimed in: “Is it really worth throwing a tantrum over some hair, Maya?” But years ago, I had been brutally bullied for six years because of a jagged, uneven haircut. Back then, he was the one who threw his arms wide to shield me. Now, he was the monster holding the clippers. One by one, his toxic friends chimed in, telling me not to argue with a cancer patient. Ethan turned and snapped impatiently, “Stop begging her. Let her get lost. She’s acting like her life is over just because of some hair. It’ll grow back.” So, I turned around and walked out. I never looked back. Later, I heard Ethan spent years searching for me. He gave up everything, begging for a single word of forgiveness. But the girl who used to wait for him was already gone forever. 1 Once my head was completely shaved, they finally untied me. “Ethan, look at her! She looks so hilarious, like a bald little toad,” Chloe giggled from her wheelchair, pointing at my bald head. His friends laughed and jeered in agreement. Ethan glanced at me, his voice dismissive. “Chloe is allergic to cheap synthetic wigs. Your hair is long and healthy. It’s perfect for her.” I blocked out their voices. Clutching the few remaining strands of buzzed hair on my scalp, my heart ached with an agonizing, silent scream. Two hours ago. Ethan had texted me to come to Chloe’s birthday party. Chloe and I had never gotten along. But because Ethan begged me. And because Chloe was a cancer patient. I swallowed my pride and brought a gift. I never expected that this so-called birthday party was a trap. They held me down and forcibly shaved my head. Looking at Ethan’s cold, indifferent face. I remembered how unusually sweet he had been to me two days ago. He had brought home an incredibly expensive set of salon-grade shampoo and conditioner. “The weather’s been dry lately. Make sure you take care of your hair.” I had been confused but touched. I used it that very night. Now, the sickening realization hit me. He didn’t want to pamper me. He was just fattening the lamb for the slaughter—making sure his precious Chloe got the softest wig possible! Ethan suddenly walked toward me. For a fleeting second, I thought he had regained his humanity and wanted to apologize. Instead, he reached out with a look of disgust, grabbed the last stray lock of hair on my shoulder, and ruthlessly snipped it off with scissors. He turned to his friends and barked: “Can’t you guys do a clean job? Why did you leave this patch here? I bought you all dinner, and you can’t even handle a simple task.” The group immediately burst into loud, mocking laughter. “Yeah, yeah, our bad. But look at Maya—is she actually going to cry?” “Poor Chloe is so sick and takes so many meds every day, and she never plays the victim like this.” Their cruel, sarcastic remarks kept coming, but Ethan’s expression didn’t change at all. Ethan’s friends had always hated me. They thought my background made me unfit for their high-society circle. I was never invited to their private parties. Once, I asked Ethan if I could join them. He only said impatiently, “Don’t force your way into a circle where you don’t belong.” Seeing that I didn’t react, Ethan’s eyes finally focused on me. He raised an eyebrow and let out a soft laugh. “Maya, you’re not actually mad, are you?” “Cheer up. Just think of it as doing a good deed.” My eyes filled with deep, hollow sorrow. “I only have one question. Was shaving my head your idea, or Chloe’s?” Before Ethan could answer, Chloe rolled her wheelchair between us. Two perfect tears rolled down her cheeks. “It was my idea. If you’re mad, blame me. Don’t make things hard for Ethan.” Ethan’s face darkened instantly as he glared at me. “Chloe is sick, Maya. Can you stop stressing her out?” “She’s practically family. We grew up together. You’re going to marry me anyway. What’s wrong with doing a little favor for your future sister-in-law?” Seeing how utterly heartless Ethan was, my eyes burned. How could someone change so quickly? Years ago, my parents tried to force me to shave my head to sell my hair for money to buy my brother toys. When I had to go to school with a jagged, uneven buzzcut and faced brutal bullying. Ethan was the one who stood in front of me, baring his teeth at the bullies: “From now on, her hair is under my protection!” All the fight drained out of me. I stood up slowly. “Ethan, we’re done. It’s over.” “Venmo me the money for my hair later. I had no obligation to donate anything to her.” 2 Ethan froze, then pressed his hand against my forehead, letting out a mocking laugh. “Maya, are you saying you’re breaking up with me?” “You don’t have a fever. Why are you talking crazy?” “You’ve been with me for eight years. Do you honestly think anyone else would want you if we broke up?” “Who would even take you? Stop being so damn dramatic.” Hearing those words, the tears I had forced back almost spilled over. So he did remember. He knew we had been together for eight years. People always say that if you date for too long, your lover becomes like family. But Ethan hadn’t become my family, and he was quickly ceasing to be my lover. I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood, forcing myself to look him dead in the eye. “There are billions of men in this world, Ethan. You are not my only option.” Ethan’s face turned incredibly ugly. His friends immediately chimed in, their voices dripping with hostility. “Alright, that’s enough. Ethan already humored you. Don’t push your luck, Maya.” “It’s just some hair. Ethan can buy you wigs. He can buy you seven—one for every day of the week, haha!” Once his friends finished mocking me, Chloe chimed in with a sweet, victimized sigh. “This is all my fault. Maya, I’ll pay you for the hair. Please don’t be mad at Ethan.” Her eyes welled with tears. Her fragile, pitiful act made Ethan’s heart ache with protective rage. He glared at me like I was his worst enemy. “Maya, if you have a problem, take it out on me!” “Chloe is sick. She’s dying! Why do you have to be so cruel to a cancer patient? You’ve changed. You used to be so kind!” I opened my mouth, but before I could speak, Chloe suddenly clutched her stomach, crying out in pain. “Ethan, it hurts so much… help me…” Ethan shoved me aside with brute force. Caught off guard, I stumbled and fell hard over a metal chair. “Ugh—” Ethan didn’t show a shred of concern. Instead, he screamed at me at the top of his lungs: “Stop being so damn useless! We took a little bit of your hair, and you’re throwing a fit! You knew Chloe was in fragile condition, yet you still chose to stress her out! If anything happens to her, I swear I will make you pay!” With that, he scooped Chloe up in his arms and rushed out, his entourage trailing closely behind. The last guy in the group, who was holding the bag of my sheared hair. He casually tossed the golden locks into the trash can before leaving. I stared blankly for a moment, then dragged myself over to the trash can, picking up my hair piece by piece. My tears fell silently onto the golden strands. At that exact moment, I made my decision. I was leaving Ethan. … I went to a professional salon to get my head properly shaved and cleaned up. Then, I booked a cheap hotel room online. When I went back to the apartment to pack my things, Ethan walked in, looking utterly exhausted. The moment he saw my suitcases, his face warped with anger. He strode over and violently kicked my suitcase away. “How long are you going to keep up this tantrum!” “The doctor said Chloe’s condition worsened because of the stress you caused her! I haven’t even punished you for that, and here you are, acting like the victim!” I let out a cold, sharp laugh. “Chloe’s cancer is my fault now?” “Ethan, do you even hear the stupid garbage coming out of your mouth?” Maybe because he had never heard me speak to him in such a biting tone. Ethan froze in shock. I ignored him, picked up the kicked-over suitcase, and continued folding my clothes. I didn’t have many belongings. Even after living here for eight years, everything I owned fit into just two 26-inch suitcases. I looked at Ethan, who was standing there in silence, and said flatly: “The moment you Venmo me the money for my hair is the moment I pay my half of this month’s rent.” 3 “Do you honestly think I care about your petty cash?” Ethan grabbed my wrist with a iron grip, his face turning menacingly dark. “Maya, have you lost your mind? Do you really think you can survive on your own?” “Sometimes I swear you don’t have a brain!” “I buy you expensive skincare, and you don’t use it. I buy you jewelry, and you don’t wear it. I tell you to dress nicer, and you make up a million excuses!” Every time Ethan and I fought, he loved to drag up the same old grievances. He complained that I didn’t use his skincare, but he ignored that those brands gave me severe allergic rashes. He complained that I didn’t wear his jewelry, but he didn’t care when his friends mocked me, calling the pieces cheap fakes. He complained that I dressed too simply, but did he expect me to wear cocktail dresses to my office job? Seeing my silence, Ethan’s words became even more venomous. “What, silent now? Or are you planning to crawl back to your abusive family’s house and let them sell you off to some old man?” My eyes widened in sheer disbelief. After the SATs, my parents had locked me up, planning to force me into an arranged marriage for quick cash. It was Ethan who had broken the door down and saved me. He had promised me that as long as he was there, I would never be in danger again. But he had completely forgotten his promise. He had become no different from the monsters I ran away from. Yes, I came from a toxic family. Yes, I was naturally frugal. But what did I do wrong? My eyes welled with tears, and my chest felt like it was being crushed by a physical weight. I didn’t say a word. I finally realized that Ethan was beyond saving. He would rather die than admit he did anything wrong. I grabbed my suitcase, determined to walk out. Furious, Ethan snatched my suitcases and violently threw them onto the hardwood floor. The plastic shells cracked in half, and my neatly packed clothes spilled everywhere. “Ethan! We broke up! You have no right to touch my things!” Ethan grabbed my arm, violently wrenching me backward. He used so much force that I lost my balance. My head slammed hard against the sharp corner of the wooden table. Instantly, a warm, thick liquid rushed down my forehead and into my eyes. I blinked frantically, but my vision was blocked by a dark red haze. Ethan panicked, immediately dropping to his knees beside me. “Maya! Oh my god, Maya, don’t worry. I’ll take you to the ER right now.” But before he could lift me, his phone rang loudly. Chloe’s weak, trembling voice echoed through the speaker. “Ethan… I’m outside your apartment building… I’m throwing up blood. It hurts so much, please help me…” Ethan’s face went pale. He immediately let go of my hands. “Maya, wait for me here! Chloe is having an emergency. I have to drive her to the hospital first!” Blood was streaming into my eyes, and I could only see a blurry, dark silhouette. Terrified of being left alone, I grabbed Ethan’s leg, begging him. “Ethan, please… I can’t see. Please call 911 for me first…” Without a second thought, he kicked me away. “I told you to fucking wait! Do you not understand English?” “You can’t even wait ten minutes? Are you that desperate to die?” The force of his kick left me breathless and unable to get up. By the time I gasped for air, Ethan was already gone. The front door slammed shut with a deafening bang!

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My husband’s cute little secretary was crying and threatening to jump off the roof again. All because I spent fifteen dollars on groceries without asking for her approval first. She claimed I didn’t respect her position. That very night, she handed in her resignation. To comfort her, my husband didn’t hesitate to throw me out of the house. He handed me a divorce agreement, demanding I leave with absolutely nothing. “Don’t worry, Hazel. It’s just a temporary divorce. You’ve worked so hard for this family all these years, and you even gave me a son. Once Chloe calms down, we’ll get remarried.” I looked at him calmly. “Are you sure? This is already the tenth time you’ve divorced me.” Our seven-year-old son, Leo, rushed over and began kicking and punching me. “You old witch! What are you throwing a tantrum for now? You made a mistake, so you deserve to be punished!” Just as they wished, I signed the divorce papers once again. That night, Chloe posted on her Snapchat: [Glad someone finally knows her place and knows who the real boss of this house is. I guess I’ll reward them with a family photoshoot session~] My husband let out a sigh of relief. He immediately and excitedly dialed my number. “Babe, Chloe forgave you! We can get remarried now!” But the voice that answered him was a deep, magnetic male voice. “Sorry, mate. Your wife is in my bed, and she’s a bit exhausted…” 0

The moment Marcus heard the unfamiliar male voice, his breath hitched. “Who is this? What did you do to my wife?” His voice was thick with suppressed rage, like a wild beast ready to pounce. There was no reply. Just a low chuckle before the call was cut off. Marcus went completely insane. He mobilized every single resource he had. In just fifteen minutes, he appeared right in front of me. “I’m so sorry, Hazel. It was my fault.” He hugged me tightly, as if trying to merge me into his own body. “I know you were jealous. You hired someone to put on a show and scare me, right?” “I promise you, I really know I was wrong this time! Don’t ever scare me like that again, okay?” “I wasn’t trying to scare you.” I pushed him away, looking into his eyes with absolute calmness. “We are already divorced.” Marcus froze for a second, then forced a doting smile. “Alright, alright… I know what you want. A proper apology, right? I’m already prepared…” With that, he pulled a ring box from his pocket and dropped to one knee. “I really know I messed up. You’ve forgiven me nine times before, but I kept taking you for granted. I was an absolute jerk!” “But I promise you, this is the last time! For the sake of our son, can you give me one more chance?” Our son, Leo, walked over, holding a bouquet of my favorite red roses. “Mommy, don’t go! Don’t leave me! I know I was bad. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. Daddy already scolded me.” “Please give Daddy and me one more chance.” My usually rebellious son looked so pitiful right now. For a moment, my heart softened. To make things more overwhelming, our friends and family suddenly poured into the room. Each of them was holding a luxury gift box. They lined them up in front of me. Inside were the designer bags and jewelry I used to dream of. “Say yes! Say yes! Remarry him!” “Marcus really treats Hazel like a princess. They say these ten gift boxes are incredibly valuable. The cheapest one is worth at least a million dollars!” Marcus hadn’t forgotten. The promises he made to me when we were young. At this moment, he was fulfilling them one by one. Seeing my hesitation, Marcus grew anxious. “Hazel, I know you’ve always wanted a grand wedding in Provence. I’ve already booked the flights. Just nod your head, and we can leave right now.” “Mommy, please! Hurry up and say yes to Daddy~” Both of them looked at me with the same puppy-dog eyes. Just as I was about to speak, a sharp, whiny female voice came from the doorway. 0

“Marcus! You are so cruel! How could you spend so much money without telling me? I’ve never received so many gifts from you! How could you just buy all of this for her?” “Ugh! I knew you were lying when you said I could manage the household finances… I’m never speaking to you again!” Hearing this, Marcus instantly panicked. He spotted Chloe in the crowd, let go of my hand without a second thought, and ran after her. “Chloe, don’t be mad. Let me explain.” Suddenly, someone called out to him. “Hey, Marcus, are you still proposing or what?” Marcus replied crossly, “Propose? Can’t you see what’s more important right now?” Without giving me a single glance, he walked away. The crowd slowly packed up the luxury boxes, looking at me with mocking smiles. “Well, it looks like Chloe is still his number one priority!” “With the way Marcus was acting just now, I almost thought he was serious this time!” Leo also dropped his sweet act instantly. He looked at me with a smug grin. “I only did that because Daddy promised to buy me a new gaming console.” “I thought we’d have to play nice for a few days, but in the end, Auntie Chloe is still the important one. You lost again, you old witch!” “It’s all your fault that Auntie Chloe is always angry. You should give all these gifts to her as an apology.” Within two hours, a wealthy influencer’s vlog went viral on TikTok and Instagram. In the video, the luxury gift boxes took up half of the living room. Marcus, who usually only appeared on serious business channels with a cold face, was holding flowers and smiling apologetically behind Chloe. As for Chloe, she just gave a haughty glance. Finally, under Leo’s sweet coaxing of calling her “Mommy,” she flashed a beautiful smile. The comments section was flooded. [Oh my god! There are 101 gifts in total! Does that mean she’s his ‘one in a million’? I’m crying, this is so sweet!] [Can you believe those jewelry boxes thrown carelessly on the floor are worth millions? Heavens! I don’t even throw my tissues around like that!] If this were the past, I would have fallen into a deep, endless spiral of panic. Does Marcus still love me? Has my son been completely brainwashed by someone else? In the end, it would only lead to endless arguments and self-doubt. But looking at this now, my heart was surprisingly peaceful. I gave Chloe’s post a thumbs-up on Snapchat, and then I deleted everyone’s contact information. From this moment on, I wanted nothing to do with them. 0

Just then, Ethan, who had gone out to buy some things for me, finally returned. “What happened? Did your blood sugar drop again?” Seeing me shake my head, he let out a sigh of relief. He handed me the takeout from a fancy French bistro and casually mentioned: “By the way, while you were asleep, someone called you. He sounded pretty aggressive, so I just hung up. I hope it didn’t mess up anything for you?” I knew exactly who he was talking about. “Just a spam caller. I’ve already blocked him.” I didn’t notice the slight curl of Ethan’s lips. After eating, I started packing. After being kicked out of the house, I didn’t bring much with me. Ten years of marriage, and all that was left fit into a few bags of clothes and personal items. I calmly booked a one-way ticket out of the country for three days later. Once I left, I probably wouldn’t ever come back. But before I left, I had one last thing to settle. The next day, I went directly to a high-end auction house. Years ago, I helped Marcus build his empire from scratch. When we were desperate for cash, I had to pawn the necklace my late mother left me. By the time we had the money to buy it back, the pawnshop had gone out of business, and the necklace was lost. Only recently did I find out it was being auctioned off. As soon as I walked into the venue, someone called my name. “Hazel? What are you doing here?” It was Chloe. Standing behind her were several of my former friends. “Do you even need to ask? She must have stalked Marcus’s schedule. Look at her… she just can’t let go!” “Yesterday she was acting so high and mighty, refusing to remarry him. Quite an actress, huh?” “Come on, Hazel. Just go over and apologize to Chloe, and we can put this whole thing behind us.” Someone reached out to grab my hand, but I slapped it away. “Apologize to a homewrecker?” I sneered. “I spent fifteen dollars of my own money on groceries. What exactly did I do wrong?” Back then, I gave up my successful acting career to become a full-time housewife for Marcus. I thought I would finally enjoy life once his business succeeded. But instead, I lived a life worse than Chloe’s dog. Not only was my spending strictly limited, but I also had to report every single purchase to a secretary. I used to endure all of this for the sake of my child. But now, since my son doesn’t even recognize me as his mother. I don’t want either of them anymore! I ignored them and walked toward the seating area. The auction was about to begin. I quickly found my seat. But Chloe’s eyes turned red. She looked pitifully at Marcus, who had just finished socializing and walked over. “Marcus! Why are you just getting here? You promised you would protect me! Why do you keep letting this woman bully me?” Chloe looked incredibly aggrieved, and Marcus’s heart melted with pity. “I don’t care! I want that emerald necklace! If you don’t buy it for me, I’ll never speak to you again!” I looked up at the stage. The item up for bid was indeed the necklace my mother left me. I immediately raised my paddle. “One million dollars.” This was already two hundred thousand dollars higher than the previous bid. No one would want to pay that much for an outdated necklace. Seeing Marcus raise his paddle without hesitation, I turned around and spoke directly to him. “Marcus, even a gentle soul has its limits. I already left with nothing. How much further do you want to push me?” “You promised me and my mother that you would buy this necklace back! Look closely at it. This is not some cheap toy to please your mistress!” Marcus froze. A look of shock flashed through his eyes. He wasn’t used to me speaking to him in such a cold, detached tone. Slowly, he lowered his hand. The auctioneer on stage called out: “Going once at one million dollars.” “Going twice at one million dollars.” But Chloe panicked. “Marcus! You promised me! Who are you choosing? Her or me?” Tears welled up in Chloe’s eyes. It looked as if she would burst into tears if Marcus dared to say no. Marcus looked at me, then at Chloe. His gaze turned firm. I smiled bitterly to myself. How could an ex-wife like me ever compete with his precious mistress? Just as I was about to walk away, I heard Marcus speak. “Chloe, let her have it. We don’t need it.” 0

Chloe’s eyes widened in disbelief. With the strike of the auctioneer’s gavel: “Sold for one million dollars! Congratulations to the lady in the front.” The spotlight fell on me. Chloe couldn’t take it anymore and stormed out. “Fine, Marcus! Since you care so much about her, don’t you ever talk to me again!” I didn’t expect Marcus to take my side this time. But that was all it was. There was no warmth in my heart, no gratitude. He owed me this. In all our years of marriage, I had never gotten anything from him. I had even poured my own money and my mother’s inheritance into his business. But now, I had left with nothing. Even the one million dollars to buy back the necklace was borrowed from a friend. Since he was so heartless. He shouldn’t blame me for what was to come. The auction reached its final item. At some point, Chloe and Marcus returned to their seats. Chloe shot me a provocative look. I had a bad feeling. The auctioneer on stage announced excitedly: “Next up is our grand finale!” “We have 99 private, intimate photos of the former A-list actress and ex-wife of the CEO of Marcus Enterprises, Hazel!” The crowd gasped. They began whispering and commenting on the revealing photos displayed on the screen. “Oh my god, is this allowed?” “They call it private photos, but isn’t she just loose to take these kinds of pictures?” “Look, there’s even an intimate nursing photo… Wow, she’s gorgeous. No wonder Marcus kept wanting her back after the divorce…” “Look at that look on her face. I bet there’s a wild story behind their constant divorces!” Although the sensitive parts were blurred, the censorship only made people’s imaginations run wild. The disgusting murmurs of the crowd filled my ears. My fists clenched so tightly my nails dug into my palms. My face turned pale. 0

Back then, Marcus had sweet-talked me into taking those private photos. I thought they were a private record of our love. I never thought they would be used as a weapon to destroy me! Marcus looked at Chloe with a gentle smile. “Chloe, do you like your apology gift?” Chloe’s lips curled up. “You’re terrible! I thought you didn’t love me anymore. It turns out you were planning this grand surprise.” “I guess I can forgive you this time!” Marcus pulled her into his arms, cooing, “Thank you, babe. You have the best heart.” Chloe crossed her arms, turning away with a pout. “One thing at a time. She still hasn’t apologized to me!” Marcus understood immediately. He ordered his security guards to drag me over to Chloe. “Hazel, apologize!” I bit my lip hard, telling myself that these people weren’t worth my tears. Yet, my eyes still burned. “What if I say no?” Chloe suddenly grabbed a handful of my hair. A sharp pain shot through my scalp. “If you don’t apologize, I’ll make sure everyone here gets a printed copy of your beautiful body!” She patted my cheek condescendingly with a stack of printed photos. I let out a cold laugh. With a sudden burst of energy, I stood up, grabbed her hair with one hand, and delivered a fierce slap with the other. SLAP! The crisp sound echoed through the entire hall. “A cheap homewrecker like you doesn’t deserve my apology!” Marcus was furious. He kicked me hard in the stomach. “That’s enough, Hazel! My patience is wearing thin! Since you threw away the chance I gave you, don’t blame me for being ruthless!” With a wave of his hand, he threw the photos into the air. They fluttered down like snow, landing all over the auction hall. At the same time, the scandal of the retired actress went viral on social media. The internet erupted. The people at the venue were quick to join in. “Wow, look at this one. This is so dirty!” “She must have been unfaithful. Otherwise, why would Marcus humiliate her like this?” “Do you think she cheated on him? Didn’t she give him a son? Maybe the kid isn’t even his!” “So cheap. Who knows how many men she’s slept with.” Their words were like poisoned arrows, trying to pierce through my armor. Marcus held Chloe, looking down at me. “Are you going to apologize now?” I smiled. Instead of apologizing, I stood up straight. A flash of confusion crossed his eyes. He didn’t seem to understand why I was being so stubborn this time. In the past, whenever he gave me a look—whether it was my fault or not—I would always bow my head and apologize. Why was I making such a big scene today? “Is this the only trick you have left?” I asked. “Who is the dirty one here? I don’t care about anything anymore. I don’t care about you, and I certainly don’t care about what these people think of me.” “Do you have any other pathetic tricks? If not, I’m leaving.” The crowd went quiet. Unlike the mocking before, many now looked at me with a trace of respect. But Marcus panicked. He could feel that I was serious this time. If he didn’t say something now, I might really walk out of his life forever. He took a step forward to speak, but a group of men suddenly rushed in and shielded me. “I’m sorry, Hazel. I’m late.”

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My mother had been missing for ten years. For ten years, my Alpha father, Richard, hated me. He blamed me for her disappearance. He hated looking at my face because I didn’t look enough like her. So, he adopted Sophia, a girl who looked eighty percent like my mother, and spoiled her rotten. Richard took her on trips, brought her to pack gatherings, and announced to everyone that Sophia was the sole heir of the Sunward Pack. Meanwhile, I wore oversized hand-me-downs and lived in the drafty servants’ quarters of the packhouse. He let Sophia bully me, frame me, and even push me into the lake when he knew I couldn’t swim. “It’s what you deserve,” he would say. And for a long time, I believed him. I thought it was my fault. Until my sixteenth birthday, when the true Luna of the Sunward Pack finally returned. My sixteenth birthday was only three days away. Every year on this day, Richard threw a massive birthday bash for Sophia. This year was even more special. Sophia was turning sixteen. Richard was anxiously waiting for her to shift and manifest her wolf, hoping she would be as powerful as my mother was at sixteen. Every single student in my high school class had received an invitation to Sophia’s celebration. Except me. “Ella, please don’t be upset,” Sophia said, standing by my desk with a look of pure pity on her face. “I’m sure Gamma Marcus just miscounted the invitations and missed you by mistake.” I kept my head down, staring blankly at my textbook. I didn’t even give her a glance. I had been dealing with Sophia’s petty, fake-innocent tricks for ten years. I was used to it. “Sophia, why are you even explaining things to her?” one of our classmates snapped, standing up to defend Sophia. “You are way too nice. That’s why she keeps taking advantage of you.” “Exactly! She’s just a demoted Omega,” another chimed in. “Alpha Richard was kind enough not to throw her out of the pack territory. He let her stay and work for food, and this is how she acts? She even stole your things! If I were you, I would have asked the Alpha to banish her a long long time ago!” “She’s an ungrateful leech! Always causing trouble.” “Sophia, she’s just jealous. She’s jealous that Alpha Richard loves you, and jealous that you’re going to inherit the Sunward Pack.” “Honestly, she shouldn’t even be allowed near the ceremony. Who knows what drama she’ll stir up? We can’t let her ruin the Heir Recognition Ceremony.” “Well, she lives in the Blackwood packhouse anyway. Why would she need an invite? During the Alpha’s celebration, a low-ranking Omega like her should just stay locked in the servants’ quarters. It would be embarrassing if she showed her face.” “Agreed!” Sophia waited until they finished their rants before she spoke up in her sweet, mock-gentle voice. “Oh, guys, don’t say that about Ella. Even if it’s my big day, it’s also Ella’s birthday.” She turned to me, her eyes dripping with fake sympathy. “Ella, I’m really sorry. I wanted to invite you to cut the cake with me, but Dad strictly forbade it. You know what you did back then… Dad is already being extremely generous by letting you stay in the pack.” I threw my pen right at her face. “Get lost!” Ten years ago, on my sixth birthday, my mother went missing while trying to retrieve a special birthday gift she had ordered for me. Her fate remained unknown. Richard went completely insane searching for her, but he found nothing. Back then, I cried every day, begging for my mom. My mother had spoiled me. Whenever I cried, I got whatever I wanted. One day, the nanny couldn’t stop my crying and brought me to Richard. Richard glared at me with absolute hatred and kicked me away. “Get out!” “How dare you cry?!” “If you hadn’t thrown a tantrum for that stupid birthday, Lillian would never have gone missing!” “Never let me see your face again. Get out!” From that day on, I fell from being the pack’s pampered princess to an unwanted burden. Whether I got to eat or not depended entirely on the maids’ mood. Later, Richard found an orphaned girl on one of his trips who looked remarkably like my mother. Her parents were dead, so he adopted her. He gave her my bedroom. He gave her my dresses. He gave her my birthday. He even gave her my identity. When he brought six-year-old Sophia to pack gatherings, I was locked at home, abused by the maids and eating rotten leftovers. The day he announced to the entire Sunward Pack that Sophia was his only daughter, I realized I had completely lost my father.

I walked home after school, covered in bruises. Sophia was extremely popular in class. The second I threw my pen at her, a boy had jumped up and shoved me hard. My forehead slammed against the sharp corner of a desk. Everyone watched, their eyes filled with cold indifference and amusement. From elementary school to high school, I hadn’t made a single friend. Sophia made sure to lead the entire school in isolating me. I wasn’t afraid of being alone. I was afraid because the teacher demanded my parents come to school on Monday. The boy’s parents had come to the school that very afternoon, fiercely defending their son. “My son was just doing the right thing! Everyone saw it. Ella attacked Sophia first. Sophia is the Alpha’s daughter! What right does a demoted Omega have to put her hands on Sophia?” “Oh, my sweet boy, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?” “Someone as unstable as Ella shouldn’t even be allowed in this school. Who knows what she’ll do next?” With blood trickling down my face, I couldn’t help but think: *If my mother were here, she would have defended me like that too.* She wouldn’t turn a blind eye to my injuries, the way my father did. When I got home, Richard was carefully checking Sophia’s face for any scratches. The moment he saw me walk in, his face darkened instantly. “You knew Sophia had her Heir Recognition Ceremony tomorrow, yet you tried to ruin her face.” “Ella Blackwood, your mother was the kindest soul. How did she give birth to such a malicious child like you? Sometimes, I seriously doubt you’re even hers!” “Was ruining your mother’s life not enough for you? Now you have to ruin Sophia’s too?” I stared at his face. I had been looking at that expression of pure disgust for ten years. Ten years ago, he wasn’t like this. When my mother was still here, he adored me. Although he sometimes expressed regret that I didn’t look like her, he still gave me his absolute best. He named me Ella, telling me I was the most precious treasure of the Sunward Pack. He bought me gorgeous dresses and expensive jewelry. For my fifth birthday, he gifted me an entire estate. Once, when a kid pushed me at preschool, he was so heartbroken that he not only made the kid’s entire family apologize, but he also ordered the pack’s elite warriors to train me in self-defense. He told me, “If anyone bullies you, Ella, you fight back. I don’t care who they are.” He also told me, “No matter what happens, Mommy and Daddy will always have your back.” The man who once promised to always have my back was now standing before me, demanding to know why I had hurt his precious Sophia. “Go back to your room and rot. Don’t come out until I give you permission!” From beginning to end, Richard didn’t spare a single glance at the bleeding wound on my forehead. And from beginning to end, I couldn’t summon the courage to tell him what the teacher said. He wouldn’t go to school for me anyway. For the past ten years, the only parent-teacher conferences he ever attended were Sophia’s.

After being locked up all night, my wound became badly infected. As a wolf who hadn’t shifted, I had no healing abilities. I was no different from a regular human. I tried to go out to find the first-aid kit. When I pushed the door open, I saw that the main hall was crowded with Sunward Pack members. Several elders were gathered around Richard and Sophia. The warmth and affection on Richard’s face were things I hadn’t seen in a decade. “As the Alpha of the Sunward Pack, you must be incredibly busy,” one elder praised. “But you’ve raised Sophia so well. She is truly a credit to your bloodline.” Richard smiled warmly. “Sophia is a good girl. She’s my only daughter. No matter how busy I am, I will always make time for her.” Sophia clung to Richard’s arm, acting cute. “Daddy is the best dad in the whole wide world! I just wish we had more playtime together. Daddy, we haven’t visited any other packs this year!” Richard let out a helpless, indulgent laugh. “Alright, alright. After your birthday ceremony, I’ll take you wherever you want to go.” I blinked, feeling completely numb. I had seen this scene play out too many times to feel pain anymore. Yet, inevitably, my mind drifted back to ten years ago. When my mother was still here, I used to cling to her arm just like that, making all sorts of silly, spoiled demands. My mother never said no to me. She had an emerald necklace that she wore for years. Once, I told her I liked it, and she immediately took it off and put it around my neck. “Ella, you must cherish this necklace,” she had said, stroking my head. “It was left to me by your grandmother. I’ve worn it for so many years.” At that time, her eyes held a deep sadness and nostalgia that my six-year-old self couldn’t comprehend. On the other side of the hall, an elder suddenly brought up my mother. “Sophia, do you ever miss Luna Lillian? She was an extraordinary Luna. I heard you want to be just like her. Is it because of her influence?” The atmosphere in the room froze for a second. My mother’s name was a strict taboo to Richard. Usually, if anyone dared to bring her up, Richard would fly into a rage. But today was Sophia’s Heir Recognition Ceremony. Richard was busy paving the path for her future. Sophia’s face fell into a sad expression. “I miss Mommy every single day. I wish I could see her. I want to become as remarkable as she was, or become an outstanding Luna just like her.” She pulled out a necklace. “This necklace is a keepsake Mommy left for me. Whenever I’m sad, I look at it, and I feel like Mommy is still right by my side.” Seeing that necklace, my mind snapped. An uncontrollable rage surged inside me. That was the emerald necklace my mother gave to me! Over the past ten years, Sophia had taken everything from me. This necklace was the only thing I had left. I charged forward and snatched the necklace out of her hands. “Ella Blackwood! Who allowed you out of your room?!” Richard’s voice boomed, his face turning pale with anger. “Ella? What are you doing?” Sophia stood up, looking perfectly helpless and confused. “Sophia, when did you steal my necklace?!” I demanded. I checked the box where I kept the necklace every single night before bed. It was safe in its box last night. During those dark years when nobody cared about me, touching this necklace was the only thing that kept me going. It was proof that someone had once loved me. It was proof that my mother actually existed. “What? Steal?” Sophia gasped, looking completely innocent. “Ella Blackwood! Have you not had enough of your tantrums?! This is a public ceremony!” Richard roared. “I don’t care about your stupid ceremony! This is my mother’s necklace! Why does she get to have it? Hasn’t she stolen enough from me?!” “And my mother is not dead! Sophia, shut your mouth! This is not some relic!” “Alpha Richard, who is this…?” the elder asked hesitantly, looking at me. Sophia panicked slightly and looked to Richard for help. Richard’s eyes turned icy. “She’s just a demoted Omega. She was punished before for stealing pack property, and now she’s trying to steal Sophia’s things.” I clutched the necklace tightly, my entire body going cold. Even though Richard had announced to the world that Sophia was his only daughter, and even though Sophia called me a demoted Omega at school, this was the first time he had openly denied me as his daughter in front of the entire pack. The panic on Sophia’s face vanished instantly, replaced by a smug smirk. Taking advantage of my shocked state, she snatched the necklace back. “Ella, you must have mistaken it. This necklace isn’t yours.” “If it were anything else, I would gladly give it to you, no matter how expensive. But this was left to me by my mother. I can’t give it to you.” The pack members in the room whispered, looking at me with disdain. “She’s a demoted Omega and she still can’t behave. She knew today was an important ceremony, yet she came here to cause a scene just to get the Alpha’s attention.” I didn’t care what they said. I just wanted my necklace back. “Give it back to me! That is the last thing my mother left me! Give it back!” I lunged and grabbed Sophia’s arm. She intentionally let her hand go loose. The necklace slipped from her fingers and crashed onto the marble floor. The emerald pendant shattered into several pieces. My mind went completely blank. The last piece of my mother was gone. “Are you satisfied now?! Get out!” Richard yelled, his eyes looking as if he wanted to tear me apart. Sophia began to cry. “Ella! You’ve gone too far!” The pack members whispered their condemnations. But I couldn’t hear any of it. I dropped to my knees, desperately trying to gather the shattered pieces of the emerald. The sharp shards sliced into my fingers. My tears dripped onto the wounds, warm and stinging.

I was completely ostracized by the Sunward Pack. What happened at the ceremony spread like wildfire. Everyone felt sorry for Sophia and Richard, while I became the target of endless insults and mocking. A few classmates spread rumors within the pack, claiming the Alpha was incredibly merciful for letting me stay, and that Sophia always tolerated my abuse at school, yet I kept bullying her. “What an ungrateful wretch!” “The Alpha was so kind to let a demoted Omega stay in the pack, and she repays him by stealing and ruining a sacred ceremony.” “That was real emerald, right? Anything from the Blackwood house must be incredibly expensive. Where would a low-ranking Omega get an emerald necklace? She definitely stole it.” “I feel so bad for Sophia. Her mother’s keepsake was shattered just like that. She should make Ella pay for it!” “Sophia looks so much like Luna Lillian. I used to admire Lillian so much. Seeing Sophia cry breaks my heart. If Lillian were still alive, she would be devastated.” “Lillian adored her daughter. If she knew her daughter was being bullied like this… sigh.” *Lillian was my mother.* Hearing their gossip felt like a blunt knife twisting in my chest. If my mother were still alive, would she feel sorry for me? If she were here… would she even recognize me? Would she, like Richard, take Sophia’s side? After all, it was my fault she went missing. And after all, I didn’t look like her at all. For Sophia’s Heir Recognition celebration, the entire class showed up. They banged on my door, shouting insults and throwing trash outside my window, demanding justice for Sophia. I was locked in my room. Richard’s orders. He didn’t even want to step foot into my room. He stood outside the locked door, shouting his lecture. “Ella Blackwood, how can you face your mother after what you did?! That necklace was her most prized possession! It was your grandmother’s heirloom!” “Do you hate your mother that much? Do you hate Sophia that much? Do you have any idea how long Sophia prepared for this ceremony?!” “If your mother saw what a monster you’ve become, she would regret ever giving birth to you!” After Richard left, Sophia unlocked the door and walked in. “Ella Blackwood, how did it feel to hear Dad call you a demoted Omega in front of the entire pack?” “You really are thick-skinned, still leeching off the Sunward Pack. You killed your mother, and Dad hates you to death. He wishes you were dead, he just hasn’t said it out loud yet.” I ignored her, staring out the window. Outside, the party was lively. The lawn by the lake was decorated beautifully. Flowers, banners, balloons, and a champagne tower. Gift boxes of all colors piled up on the grass, and the birthday cake was ten tiers high. That was the scene of my memories. The birthday of my dreams. Ten years. Every single year, I had to watch someone else live out my birthday as the main character. Someone outside called for Sophia to cut the cake. Sophia’s face twisted in anger at my silence. “Ella Blackwood! I am talking to you!” “Why didn’t you just die with your mother?!” She snatched the broken emerald shards from my hand and threw them out the window, straight into the deep lake. I bolted upright. Without thinking, I climbed onto the windowsill and threw myself into the lake. Screams and gasps echoed around the lawn as ice-cold water rushed into my nose and ears. Before I lost consciousness, I thought I heard my mother’s voice. I heard her calling my name. “Ella! Mommy is here!”

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I was Alpha Caleb’s fated mate. But his mother, Clara, the Elder Luna, always despised me. She looked down on me because I was wolfless, believing I was unworthy of her son. I thought if I just endured enough and worked hard enough, she would eventually see my worth. Until the Full Moon ceremony, when Alpha Caleb rejected me in front of the entire pack and banished me. Just as despair was about to swallow me whole, the powerful Alpha of the Southern Pack saved me. “My child, I am your biological father. You were poisoned as a pup, which sealed your wolf. Come home with me. Our pack’s healer can cure you.” I looked at him, and a cold smile touched my lips. I couldn’t wait to see the look on Caleb’s face when he realized that the “useless, wolfless girl” he threw away was actually the daughter of the most powerful Alpha on the continent. Moonlight filtered through the branches, casting long shadows across the borders of the North Wind Pack. I dragged my exhausted body back home. After two weeks of grueling diplomatic negotiations with neighboring packs, every muscle in my body screamed in pain. But the moment I thought of Caleb—my fated mate, my Alpha—a wave of warmth washed over me. Honestly, Caleb wasn’t a strong Alpha. Instead of managing pack affairs, he cared far more about his own comfort and entertainment. But I told myself it didn’t matter. As long as he could stand up and protect the pack when it mattered, that was enough. I would handle the rest. For the past three years, I had run the North Wind Pack. I managed the ledgers, handled external negotiations, and kept the Packhouse running. All he had to do was show up at the Full Moon ceremonies and play the part of a proud Alpha. The alliance treaty I had secured on this trip would guarantee our pack’s resources for an entire year. On my way back, I stopped by the luxury watch boutique in the city to pick up the limited-edition mechanical watch I had reserved for him months ago. Picturing his excited face when he saw the gift, all my exhaustion melted away. I quickened my pace, wanting to surprise him with a hug. The Packhouse door was slightly ajar, and a strange scent drifted out. I froze. What was going on? I took a few steps closer, and the unfamiliar scent grew stronger. A faint sense of dread crept up my spine like vines. I stopped in my tracks. This scent definitely didn’t belong to anyone in the North Wind Pack. Then, Clara’s sharp voice drifted from inside the Packhouse. “You must reject her tonight at the Full Moon ceremony.” I leaned against the cold wall, my nails digging into the plaster. I stood there in the shadows, waiting for the night to fully fall. Dusk turned into night, and the full moon rose. The pack members escorted me to the center of the ceremonial hall. I stood on the platform, waiting for the moment we would officially announce our union. But Caleb didn’t walk toward me. He walked toward another female werewolf, Sera. The bright chandelier on the ceiling cast a blinding, cold light. The pack members’ stares felt like physical needles piercing my skin. Caleb stood on the stage. He didn’t even bother to look at me, his voice dripping with impatience. “Elena, you are wolfless. I cannot link my life to a useless weakling. Therefore, I, Alpha Caleb of the North Wind Pack, officially reject you as my fated mate.” I looked up at him, begging with my eyes, hoping he would take it back. But he didn’t show even a flicker of guilt. Instead, he frowned, looking embarrassed that I was even standing there. I was rejected. The harsh truth hit me like a bucket of ice-cold water. I collapsed onto the freezing floor, my body shaking uncontrollably. Just then, an elder werewolf walked up to me and sighed. “Leave, child. There is no place for you in North Wind anymore.” “Caleb will hold his mating ceremony with Sera. You are no longer welcome here.” Wolfless. Rejected. Banishment. Each word felt like a silver dagger plunge deep into my chest. I finally understood. This wasn’t a misunderstanding. This was a carefully planned betrayal. I had given everything to this pack. To prove my worth, I had worked myself to the bone, never taking a single day off during the Full Moon for three whole years. To please Caleb’s demanding mother, Clara, I endured endless humiliation. I took on the most dangerous diplomatic missions, traveling between hostile packs, just to show I was valuable. I thought my loyalty would be met with love. But in their eyes, I was just trash they could throw away whenever they pleased. My number was blocked. They blocked me on Snapchat and Instagram. Every single way to contact them was cut off. It was as if I had vanished into thin air. They erased every single trace of my existence. The darkness slowly crept in. The cold night swallowed the entire hall, and it swallowed me. “Time to go.” A voice called out. I looked up numbly. Two young pack warriors in uniform were standing at the exit. “Alpha’s orders. We are here to escort you past the pack borders.” One of them looked down at me. “But this is my home,” I whispered, my voice cracked and raw. “Your home? Alpha Caleb has decreed that you are banned from ever setting foot in the North Wind Pack again. Move.” The older guard sneered, his eyes filled with impatience. They grabbed me by my arms, dragging me toward the boundary line, and shoved me out. My heels scraped loudly against the asphalt. I stood outside the border, watching the warm, golden lights of the Packhouse in the distance. For the first time in my life, I felt completely humiliated. I had become a joke. A homeless, rejected joke.

The cold night wind stung my skin. I dragged my bruised and battered body along the dark highway, stumbling with every step. My energy was completely spent. I didn’t know where to go. I had always believed North Wind was my home, and Caleb was my future. I slipped into an abandoned gas station and curled up in a corner. The air inside smelled of stale oil and dust, so damp it was suffocating. Lying on the cold concrete, I watched the moonlight shine through the broken glass window. Every beam felt like a mockery. I had been abandoned by my pack. Tears fell silently, splashing onto the dusty floor. I bit my lip hard, forcing myself not to make a sound. Suddenly, a tall silhouette appeared at the doorway. It was a strange werewolf. I took a deep breath, forcing down the sob in my throat, and got into a defensive stance. “My child…” the stranger’s voice shook with emotion. “I finally found you.” I listened numbly. What stranger could possibly hurt me more than the nightmare I had just survived? “I am your biological father,” he continued, taking a step forward. “You were poisoned when you were a pup, and your wolf was sealed. You wandered off and were adopted by the North Wind Pack.” He paused, his voice turning cold and dangerous. “But I never expected them to treat you like this. That boy, Caleb—I’ve checked. He has embezzled at least a third of the pack’s public funds over the years, spending it all on himself. You ran his pack for three years, and this is how he repays you?” My mind went completely blank, as if I had been struck by lightning. “What… what did you say?” “I am your father. The Southern Pack is your real home.” The man’s voice trembled with excitement. “Yes. I am the Alpha of the Southern Pack. Come home with me. Our healer can break the seal on your wolf. No one will ever hurt you again.” *No one will ever hurt you again.* Those words were like a spark that reignited the dead ashes of my soul. I looked up. Behind him stood dozens of elite werewolf warriors in sleek black uniforms. On their chests gleamed the silver crest of the Southern Pack. Caleb, Clara. You rejected me because I couldn’t shift. You thought you were throwing me into the abyss. But you actually just handed me back my throne. I woke up in the medical center of the Southern Pack. Sunlight streamed through the blinds, filling the room with warmth and light. The pack members brought me healing potions and nutrients. Everything here felt like home. After drinking the medicine, I walked over to the bathroom mirror. I stared at the pale, exhausted girl looking back at me. Her face was written with years of submission and insecurity. It was time to say goodbye to the weak, helpless Elena. I spent the next few weeks undergoing intense treatment. The healer ran a full checkup and confirmed the presence of the ancient poison. As the treatment took effect, the sealed wolf inside me began to wake up. When the elders felt the powerful aura radiating from my body, the doubt in their eyes instantly turned into sheer awe. For the first time, I felt the true power of my bloodline. After the treatment, I went through the Southern Pack’s archives. I saw the truth of my kidnapping—it was a conspiracy targeted at the Southern heir when I was just a pup. Then, my wolf finally emerged. She was a stunning silver-grey wolf with fierce amber eyes. When I stepped out of the medical center, I got into the sleek black SUV the pack had prepared for me. “I’m going back to North Wind,” I told my father. “But this time, on my own terms.” The car drove through the beautifully maintained streets of the Southern territory. I followed my father to the heart of the pack. This was where I belonged. We held a pack meeting, officially instating me as the heir of the Southern Pack. Outside, the moon was high, and the territory echoed with the powerful hum of howling wolves. A new era for Elena was about to begin.

To settle some outstanding business, I returned to the North Wind Pack as an official envoy of the Southern Pack. I pulled up near the security gate at the pack entrance. The familiar scent of Clara drifted through the air. She was standing by the iron gates, bragging to an envoy from the Blood Moon Pack. Even from a distance, I could see the smug, arrogant expression on her face. “Oh, you have no idea how well my Caleb is doing now!” her shrill voice cut through the air. “After rejecting that useless human girl, he mated with the daughter of the Blood Moon Pack’s Alpha!” “The Blood Moon Pack is now our ally. Our power has doubled!” The envoy took a sip from her travel mug, her eyes filled with quiet disdain. “Is that so? Well, congratulations.” Her tone was incredibly dismissive. Watching Clara’s flushed, bragging face, a cold smirk touched my lips. I pushed the car door open, wearing my custom Southern Pack trench coat. The silver-grey fabric gleamed under the moonlight. My appearance immediately drew every eye at the gate. I could feel the gaze of everyone present locking onto me. Including Clara. I stepped forward, walking straight toward the center of the entrance. Clara’s gaze pinned onto me like poisoned nails. Her eyes were filled with horror and disbelief. She couldn’t believe it was me. In her mind, the useless Elena was supposed to be dead in a ditch, never to recover. I reached the gate and spoke in a clear, authoritative voice. “Inform your Alpha that the Southern envoy has arrived.” As I spoke, I casually adjusted the collar of my coat. The silver Southern Pack crest on my chest glinted sharply in the light. I heard a collective gasp from the crowd behind me. I turned around to wait. My gaze swept over Clara’s face, completely detached. At that moment, her pupils dilated with terror. The smugness on her face froze instantly, replaced by absolute shock. She recognized me. Her jaw dropped, and her hand shook so violently that she spilled her hot coffee all over her jacket. The people around her stared at her like she was crazy. The Blood Moon envoy frowned and took a step away from her. I only gave her a passing glance. As if she were a complete stranger. There was no hatred in my eyes, no anger, not even a single ripple of emotion. There was only pure, cold indifference. Under her shocked, humiliated stare, I turned around, got back into my SUV, and drove straight into the heart of the North Wind Pack. I knew that starting today, her precious “perfect life” was officially over. The show was about to begin.

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