Author: Momo Chan

I was the only princess of Royal St. Ashford Academy — the girl with four fathers. After my mother died, her four childhood sweethearts found me still alive inside her belly. And so I ended up with four fathers. My first father, Ethan Sterling, was the head of a hundred-billion-dollar dynasty. He was also the sole trustee of Royal St. Ashford Academy, holding absolute authority over the institution. My second father, Marcus Sterling, was the commander of the world’s largest private military corporation — his army could annihilate a small country with ease. My third father, Julian Sterling, was a universally recognized medical genius — the next Nobel Prize candidate. My fourth father, Liam Sterling, was the most feared legend in the underground fighting circuit — before he even turned seventeen, he had defeated thirty-three elite enforcers from criminal syndicates around the globe. I grew up drowning in the love of four fathers. No matter where I went, I was the center of everyone’s envy. Until the year I turned eighteen, when the four fathers’ shared daughter, Bianca White, was found and brought back. From that day on, these four men became entirely different people. Bianca said I’d verbally abused her. My second father injected me with a hallucinogenic drug — I stripped naked on the school rooftop like a lunatic and danced, then fell and shattered both my legs, missing prom entirely. A video of my naked dance spread across the school’s network in minutes. When my first father saw it, he locked me — a girl with severe claustrophobia — in a pitch-black closet for three days and three nights. When I came out, I discovered that every honor I’d ever earned at school had been transferred to Bianca. She said I’d poisoned her. My third father, Julian, locked me inside his deadly fungal cultivation chamber. I became the perfect host for every pathogen inside — fungal hyphae burrowed through my pores and into my organs. Only when I was on the verge of death did they pull me out and blast me under cold water for an entire night, barely saving my life. But my right eye lost all its vision permanently. After Bianca cried yet again, claiming I’d tricked her into going to a bar where she was nearly attacked by dangerous men, my first father flew into a rage and threw me into an underground bar — where I became the lowest of the low: a stripper. For three years, I went from defiance to submission — because on my eighteenth birthday, my virginity was stolen by eighteen filthy strangers. From that day on, I was reduced to nothing more than the cheapest whore. Whenever my door opened, I instinctively spread my legs and lay back on the couch. That’s when I heard a voice say: “Iris, would you like to come back to your mother?” …… I jerked my head up. There was no one in the room. But the voice came again — I spotted a glowing screen on the floor. An unfamiliar yet somehow warm face appeared on the small display. She said her name was Helen, my mother’s closest friend. She said my mother, Lillian, hadn’t actually died that day. She’d been poisoned — a rare toxin that induced a death-like state — and then smuggled away by people who owed her their lives. And now she knew I was alive. She wanted to bring me home. The grief and pain I’d been suppressing broke free — I sobbed, crying out that I wanted to find my mother. But Helen’s tone was tense. She said the Sterling family’s reach was too vast. If they discovered Mother was still alive, they would track her down. The only safe way was to make everyone believe I was dead. “Only when you ‘die’ will they stop looking for you. Our people will extract you after your ‘death.’ Your mother is waiting on the other side.” “Iris, even a faked death will be extremely painful — are you willing to —” Helen hadn’t even finished her sentence before I was on my feet, grabbing a shard of glass from the broken mirror and pressing it to my throat without a moment’s hesitation. *Yes!* Mother was alive! All I had to do was “die,” and I could see her. Overwhelming joy drowned out every fear of death — this body had already endured too much. If “death” was the only way to reach Mother, I wouldn’t hesitate for a second. But just as I was about to drag the glass across my skin, a massive force knocked it from my hand. The pain made me let go. The shard fell to the floor, and a foot stepped on it. “Iris, trying to kill yourself?” That familiar voice made me look up. When I saw who it was, I called out instinctively. “Fourth Father.” The moment the word left my mouth, I regretted it. Sure enough, the man’s brow furrowed at the title. “Don’t call me that. I cut ties with you a long time ago.” The person standing before me was Liam Sterling. When I was little, I’d been kidnapped by a rival family. He alone stormed into their compound, took three knife wounds without flinching, and carried me out without a scratch on me. After he rescued me, I cried so hard looking at his wounds that I couldn’t breathe. But he just ruffled my hair and said those cuts didn’t hurt at all. What hurt, he said, was watching me cry. Of the four fathers, the fourth was the one who loved me most. But that love vanished four years ago, when my second father Marcus brought an injured Bianca back from a school field trip. I’d always known my four fathers shared a single obsession — a woman they all loved. I just didn’t know that woman wasn’t my mother. It was Bianca’s mother, Celine White. The truth was something I’d pieced together fragment by fragment: my mother, Lillian, grew up alongside the four Sterling brothers. Their father had been destroyed by a corporate conspiracy — framed, bankrupted, driven to an early grave. It was young Lillian who hid the four boys, placing each with a different guardian, a different mentor. They grew into their own. With Mother Lillian’s help, they completed their revenge — Ethan reclaimed the family empire and cleared the Sterling name. Lillian and Ethan were supposed to be together. Childhood sweethearts — two hearts long promised to each other. But on the eve of the wedding, Celine White appeared. The moment she walked in, all four fathers’ eyes shifted. After that, they called Lillian “jealous” and “unstable.” They said she kept trying to hurt Celine. They said she eventually killed herself out of spite. After Mother’s death, Celine disappeared too. It wasn’t until Bianca appeared that the fathers learned — or thought they learned — the truth: Celine had left because she felt guilty about Lillian’s death. Honestly? I never believed any of it. My gut told me Mother wasn’t the villain. Celine was. But the fathers didn’t trust my instincts. The brothers didn’t either. They even thought I was just like my mother — petty, jealous, always competing for attention. So every time Bianca and I clashed, all eight of them stood on her side. Before long, I went from the most pampered princess of Ashford Prep to the lowest creature in an underground bar. My fourth father picked up the glass shard from the floor, glanced at the cut on my neck. Then his hand flicked, and the shard flew straight at me. I stumbled back two steps on instinct. The glass grazed my throat, leaving another thin red line. My fourth father let out a cold laugh: “If you really want to die, why’d you dodge?” “Iris, you’re just like your mother — always hurting yourself to get attention.” “At least she was smarter about it. She always performed in front of us. You picked this dump. Pathetic.”

I was about to explain that I wasn’t acting. But then I remembered — every explanation I’d ever given, they had never once listened. So I lowered my head. “You’re absolutely right, Mr. Sterling. So what brings you all the way to a place like this — here just to watch my performance?” My fourth father paused. “Don’t flatter yourself. Today is Bianca’s birthday, and her heir designation ceremony. She recently said she’s willing to forgive you and start fresh. I’m here to bring you.” He added after a beat, “Ethan wants to see you too.” I’d heard three days ago that my first father, Ethan, was going to formally designate Bianca as the Sterling family heir — the ceremony timed to her birthday, complete with a grand gala. I was a year older than her. *Sterling heir* — that was a title my first father had promised me when I was ten. If this had been the old me, I would have torn the whole thing down before letting anyone take what was mine. But now I just looked at my fourth father, expressionless. “I don’t want to go.” My fourth father stared for a moment, then said: “This isn’t up to you.” He grabbed my arm and dragged me out the door, shoved me into his car. He drove me to his place first — made me shower, changed my clothes — then headed for the Sterling estate. In the car, my fourth father wouldn’t stop talking in my ear — telling me to be kind to Bianca, not to provoke her, not to think about bullying her. My heart ached with a dull, familiar pain. I watched the highway blur past outside the windows, faster and faster, and the desire to see Mother grew louder and louder in my head. Then I sat up, unbuckled my seatbelt, and at a hundred and forty kilometers per hour, I opened the car door. Before my feet left the car, I heard his scream. *At this speed,* I thought, *I’ll definitely die.* But the expected pain never came. Instead, I landed in a warm embrace. My fourth father had caught me. We tumbled across the gravel shoulder, rolling twice before stopping. His furious voice exploded above my head. “Iris, have you lost your mind?!” I looked at him. Blood from a gash on his forehead was streaming down his face. I instinctively reached out to wipe it away. But my fourth father recoiled in disgust, his expression turning vicious: “Can you stop playing these games? You just want to see if I still care, don’t you? Let me tell you — saving you means nothing. I’d save a stranger too. If I’d known this was your angle, I never would have jumped.” “Next time you want to die, go ahead. I won’t stop you.” My hand froze in midair. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the river beyond the highway guardrail. I let out a bitter laugh. “Fine, Mr. Sterling. Remember what you just said.” Before he could react, I was on my feet in an instant. Without looking back, I vaulted over the guardrail and threw myself into the water. My fourth father had nearly drowned in a swimming pool as a child. He was terrified of water. And after saying something that cruel, he definitely wouldn’t come after me. So when the freezing river water rushed into my nose, I felt happy. *Finally — once they think I’m dead, I’ll be free. I’ll get to see Mother!*

I don’t know how much time passed before the darkness lifted. Just as I was excitedly sitting up, thinking I’d find Mother, someone slapped me so hard I hit the floor. “You bitch! All we did was have you wash glasses and carry plates at the bar, and the second you see Liam, you pull this stunt! Do you know he almost drowned trying to save you?!” My third father Julian’s voice came from above me. His face was ashen. Behind him stood Julian, hands in his pockets, watching me like I was some incomprehensible stranger. Of the four fathers, I’d been closest with my third father. The others were always busy, so the daily task of raising and educating me had fallen to him. He taught me to read and write. Taught me chemistry. Taught me to identify plants and compounds. He was the gentlest of them all. No matter how badly I messed up, he was patient. Never once punished me. But my third father — who never even raised his voice around me — hit me the very first day Bianca arrived. That day, Bianca had touched Julian’s lab chemicals on her own. She insisted I’d put them on her. My third father took a belt and whipped me with it. “Iris, I failed you as a teacher. That’s why you turned out this reckless — toying with people’s lives.” Later, when Bianca was poisoned again, my third father force-fed me an allergenic compound, then threw me into his university lab’s hazardous materials room. Countless particles detonated inside my body. Even though Julian treated me afterward, I still lost all sensation in one leg. Seeing that I wasn’t speaking, my third father assumed I was conceding guilt. His anger deepened. He raised his hand to hit me again. But my fourth father caught his wrist just in time. “Julian, calm down. Today Bianca is being formally designated as Sterling heir — of course she can’t handle it. She’s already tried to kill herself three times in front of me.” *Tried to kill herself.* They thought I was suicidal. What they didn’t know was that every time they “saved” me, they were trapping me deeper. I glanced at my fourth father. He’d changed clothes. His wounds were bandaged. But his face was paper-white. I remembered what my third father had just said. So it really was him who’d saved me. But my fourth father couldn’t swim. I couldn’t imagine how much it had cost him to pull me out of that water. My third father scoffed. “Liam, she played you. You’ve been away the past four years — she’s pulled this act on us more times than I can count. It’s just to get attention.” My fourth father blinked, then exhaled a few seconds later as if relieved. “So that’s all it is.” Nolan pushed his glasses up and chimed in: “She’s always been like this. Last time she stood at the edge of the rooftop in the school’s main plaza, she had everyone fooled — students even filmed it and it went viral. Next day she was perfectly fine.” His tone was flat. As if he were describing the weather. My third father turned back to me. “Iris, today is Bianca’s birthday. You can throw your tantrum in front of the two of us, but don’t you dare make a scene in front of Ethan and Marcus. You know how those two are—” Before he could finish, I was already lunging for the medicine cabinet behind him. I’d lived at my third father’s place long enough to know exactly where he kept the dangerous drugs. I opened the cabinet, found the most toxic bottle inside. Took out the most lethal pill. Swallowed it without hesitation. My third father’s face went white.

The pill was bitter. But I was happy. My third father had once told me this compound had no antidote. Once I swallowed it, they would surely believe I was dead. And Helen’s people would come for me afterward. My third father froze for only a few seconds before rushing forward and shoving his fingers into my mouth. “Are you insane?! Do you even know what that was?!” He pried my jaw open, his fingers clawing at my throat. After I vomited it up, he immediately bound my wrists, pierced my artery, and let the black blood drain out. Only when the blood flowing from my body turned bright red did my third father finally breathe. “Iris, it’s just an heir title. Is it really worth dying over?” My fourth father looked even more shaken. He now truly believed I wanted to die — his voice was trembling. “Iris, stop doing this. Listen — yesterday the four of us talked to Bianca. She’s willing to forgive you. After today, you can come home. Ethan will make you co-heir. We’ll treat you like we used to, okay? Please stop trying to end it.” Hearing this, tears fell from my eyes. Both fathers thought I was moved. But the next second, I dropped to my knees before them. “Third Father, Fourth Father — I’m begging you. Stop interfering. Just let me go.” My third father exploded. “Iris, you don’t understand what we’re—” “I understand.” There was no point in hiding it anymore. “But I don’t want to go home. I want to find my mother.” I poured out everything — Helen’s call, the news that Mother was alive — all of it. Their expressions grew more complicated with every word. Finally, my third father helped me to my feet. “Iris, listen to me. Your mother is truly dead.” When Mother died, it was my first father who found her body by the lake. My third father used every ounce of his medical knowledge trying to save her. He failed. After the four of them delivered me from her body, they sat vigil over her for seven days and seven nights. They watched her body grow cold, stiff, and decompose with their own eyes. They watched her vanish from this world. My third father told me that phone call was most likely a scam, or a delusion born from trauma. It wasn’t. I was certain. It was real. But no matter what I said, they wouldn’t believe me. My third father sighed. “If you really don’t want to go home, then stay here with me. As long as you behave, I won’t let anyone hurt you again.” I was about to shake my head. Then urgent footsteps sounded outside the door. A moment later, my first and second fathers burst in, panic written across their faces. “Julian, Liam — have you seen Bianca? She’s missing!” Both fathers in the room went pale. “She was supposed to be at the estate preparing for the gala. What do you mean, missing?” My second father Marcus’s voice was strained. “It’s my fault. This morning she said she wanted to personally go to the bar to bring Iris back. She asked me for the bar’s address. I was busy with training, didn’t take her — she went on her own. It’s been two hours and she still hasn’t—” He stopped mid-sentence. All four of them seemed to remember something at once, and their eyes locked onto me in unison. Facing those familiar accusatory stares — the four fathers’ righteous certainty, the four brothers’ silent complicity — my heart sank. Before they could even voice their suspicion, I was already shaking my head. “No! It wasn’t me!” “How wasn’t it you?” My fourth father stepped forward and grabbed my throat. “No wonder you’ve been trying to die all morning — it was to cover your tracks. Where did you hide Bianca?” His grip was crushing. Between that and the cuts already on my neck, tears came almost instantly. But I kept shaking my head. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen Bianca.” When I wouldn’t confess, my fourth father’s fury surged again. “Still lying? Guess I’ll have to teach you a lesson before you’ll talk.” He grabbed my throat and dragged me into the bathroom. Shoved my head into the full bathtub. Up and down. Over and over. Water flooded my nose, choking out every breath. Just when I thought I’d drown, my fourth father stopped. He slammed me onto the tile floor and tilted my chin up with the tip of his shoe. “I’ll ask you one last time. Where is Bianca?” The truth was on the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed it. *Iris, when will you learn?* *They’ll never believe you.* *Since they’ll never believe you, you might as well push them over the edge.* *Make them kill you.* With that thought, a smile spread across my face. Casually, I said: “Bianca? Oh — I already killed her.” Sure enough, the moment those words left my mouth, all eight faces went white. The most unhinged was my first father, Ethan. His eyes turned red. “What did you just say? Iris, how could you—” “How couldn’t I?” I threw my head back and laughed. “Her mother killed my mother. She stole my place as heir. All my honors at school became hers. She became the campus Queen. Isn’t that enough reason to kill her? And I didn’t just kill her — I dumped her in the slums and let the dirtiest, most disgusting men have their way with her. You always thought she was so pure, so pristine? She’s dirtier than I ever was now!” “Are you angry? Then kill me!” My words pushed all eight of them past the breaking point. The fathers’ eyes blazed red. My first father called for restraints. My second father brought in his former black-market boxing sparring partner — a man who knew exactly where to hit for maximum pain with minimum lethality. My third father injected me with a drug to keep me conscious at all times, ensuring I’d feel everything, unable to pass out no matter how excruciating it became. They made sure I couldn’t escape into unconsciousness. With that done, my fourth father gave the signal. The pain began. I held on at first, but as the blows intensified, I couldn’t even scream anymore. The worse it hurt, the happier I felt. *Soon — if they just don’t save me this time, Helen’s people will come for me. I’ll get to see Mother.* The four fathers, desperate to find Bianca, ordered the men not to hold back. The four brothers followed them out — Cade was the last to leave, turning back once at the doorway, but he still left. They’d barely stepped outside when a housekeeper came running. “Mr. Sterling — Miss Bianca — she’s been found!” My first father tensed instantly. “Where?” “Alive.” The housekeeper caught her breath. “Miss Bianca got lost on the way to the bar, then stopped at a mall for a while. That’s why she never came back. She’s heading this way now.” My second father blurted: “She’s alive?” The housekeeper looked confused but nodded. “Yes, sir. Alive.” All four faces went white at the same time. They exchanged glances, about to speak. Then my agonized scream — raw and violent — tore through the door behind them. Everyone spun around and threw the door open. My scalding blood splattered across their faces. One of the men was holding a blade — buried squarely in my chest, right where my heart was. **[PAYWALL]**

The blade entering my chest hurt more than anything. I almost couldn’t stop the tears. But this way, they would surely think I was dead. Helen’s people would come for me. Through the haze, I watched everyone rushing toward me. My first father ripped off his jacket and pressed it to my chest to stop the bleeding. My second father kicked the man holding the knife clear across the room. My third father pulled emergency medication from his bag and forced it into my mouth. My fourth father just kept calling my name, over and over. “Iris — don’t close your eyes!” “Iris — Iris, look at me —” The desperate way they crowded around me reminded me of that time I’d had a fever as a child. It was Christmas. All four fathers had cleared their schedules to spend the holiday with me. I’d played in the snow too long and developed a raging fever. I refused to take medicine. The fathers sat around my bed for hours, coaxing me with every sweet word they had. Back then, they really were good to me. The best people in my world. Even after everything they’d done to me because of Bianca, I still remembered those days. I looked at each of their faces one more time — four faces, memorized one by one. Then I closed my eyes. A moment later, the pain dissolved. When I woke, I found myself back in my third father’s guest bed. My wounds were bandaged. All four fathers sat nearby, haggard, looking like they hadn’t slept in days. Bianca was perched at my bedside. When she saw my eyes open, she squealed, “She’s finally awake!” My third father came over to check my pulse. Once he confirmed it was stable, he told me flatly: “The blade didn’t actually reach your heart. It wasn’t as deep as it looked. Combined with the emergency medication keeping you alive, you were only unconscious for five days.” Five days. My third father had driven through the night to his mentor’s private clinic — and used the world’s only state-of-the-art nano-rescue system. All to save me. I laughed bitterly at the news. Such a priceless thing, wasted on me. After all, I was still planning to leave. The moment I got the chance, I would “die” for them again. My second father leaned in. “Iris, if you didn’t hurt Bianca, why didn’t you just tell us? Why go to such extremes and make everyone worry?” This triggered a chorus of agreement from the fathers. They took turns scolding me for being reckless. The only one who spoke up for me was Bianca. “Stop blaming her! It’s all my fault — I wanted to stop at the mall to buy her a gift and then got lost. If I’d gotten to her sooner, none of this would have happened.” Her eyes reddened as she spoke. My first father glared at me. “Iris, Bianca didn’t even celebrate her own birthday because she was worried about you, and this is how you repay her? Apologize. Now.” I almost laughed. “Apologize for what, exactly? What did I do to her? She got herself lost because she’s an idiot. She chose to skip her own party. How is any of that my problem?” The moment I finished speaking. My third father’s brow furrowed: “You’re still this stubborn? Forget the past few days — what about everything you’ve done to her over the years? Don’t you owe Bianca an apology for that?” The mention of “over the years” broke something in me. “No! I’ll say it one more time — I never hit her, never cursed her, never poisoned her, never sent anyone after her. She staged every single incident! She framed me! Why do you always believe her and let her take everything from me?!”

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I was back to the day I chose my son. This time, I walked past my own flesh and blood and picked the runt no one wanted. Everyone said I was the most pathetic omega in the pack. The day I gave birth, the Luna took my son and never gave him back. But I told myself it was fine. Catherine was the Luna, my boy would have a better life with her than he ever would with me. Then I took a blade for the Luna during a rogue attack. The Alpha said I’d earned a reward and let me choose one of the pups in the pack house to raise as my own. So I asked for my son back. I asked for Julian, and Catherine had to hand him over. I raised him until he was twenty, and that year the Alpha named him heir. That same night, Julian forced a cup of wolfsbane tea down my throat. He looked at me like I was filth. “If you hadn’t dragged me away from the Luna, I would’ve been named heir years ago. All you ever did was hold me back.” When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day I’d chosen him. Alpha Alaric sat at the head of the hall. “Evelyn has shown her loyalty to this pack. She may choose one pup to take into her care.” I followed his gaze. Five boys stood in a line. Julian was at the front, dressed sharp, the Luna’s golden child. He looked at me with something close to disgust. Last time around, I’d been so blinded by the joy of getting him back that I missed the contempt in those eyes. I closed mine and swallowed the nausea rising in my throat, then looked past him to the others. At the very back, below the dais, a scrawny kid stood with his head down. That was Silas. His mother Lillian had tried to seduce the Alpha and been executed as a traitor, and after that he became the runt nobody wanted. The other wolves said he was sullen and strange, that he lived worse than the omegas in the pack house. I looked at that boy standing there all alone and something in me just broke. I knew what it felt like to be thrown away. I took a deep breath and raised my hand, pointing at Silas. “Alpha, I want him.”

The room went quiet. Silas looked at me, his eyes blank with confusion and something like disbelief. He was thin, almost frail, but his back was perfectly straight. I met his gaze and didn’t know what to feel. I’d never been the type to fight for anything. Alaric and I had a thing back in school, but he found his Luna and moved on. Catherine never let me forget it. Five or six years in this pack and I was basically invisible. Last time around, I’d insisted on getting my real son back, and he’d poisoned me for it. This time, I wasn’t hoping for anything. I just wanted a kid nobody else wanted either, so the two of us could keep each other company and get through the days. Alaric paused for a moment, then gave a faint smile. “Alright.” He said, “Silas is a quiet one and you’re steady. Good match. Take care of him.” I could tell he didn’t think much of it. He just figured I’d picked the easiest option and that was that. I thanked him and walked over to Silas, reaching for his hand. When my fingers touched his, he flinched but didn’t pull away. And just like that, Silas became my son and came home with me. That night, I ran a warm bath for Silas. When his clothes came off and I saw his back, my hands went still and I couldn’t move. It was covered in wounds. Whip marks layered over each other, huge patches of bruising and burn scars where the skin had puckered and fused together. My voice shook when I asked, “Who did this to you?” Silas was quiet for a long time before he said, “I fell.” I bit my lip and didn’t push. I wrung out the cloth again and wiped his back as gently as I could, working around every wound. When I was done, I got him clean clothes and helped him into them. Then I put my hand on his head. “Silas, this is your home now, and I’m your mom.”

Silas wasn’t the sullen, difficult kid the rumors made him out to be. He was obedient, just quiet. So quiet that sometimes I forgot he was even there. But that was enough. I’d gotten a second life and I wasn’t going to waste it getting caught up in pack politics or trying to climb any ladders. I just wanted to lay low, raise Silas in peace, and keep my head down. Maybe when I was old, he’d come visit once in a while. That alone would make this life worth living. Silas went to school every day. One afternoon, I had nothing to do, so I baked some pastries and brought them over. I spotted Silas before I reached the school. He was sitting alone under a tree, reading. On the other side of the yard, Julian was tossing a ball around with three other boys crowding him like he was the center of the universe. Right. Julian lived with the Luna. Everything he had was the best of the best, and every kid in this pack treated him like royalty. Last time, I’d been stupid enough to pull him away from all that and make him live with me, a nobody omega with no power and no connections. Him hating me, resenting me for dragging him down, I guess I couldn’t entirely blame him. I let out a dry laugh and looked away. My son was Silas now. All that mattered was that we lived our lives in peace. I carried the box over and sat down next to Silas. He looked up at me with a flicker of surprise. “Hungry?” I set the box on the table. “I just made these. Try some.” I’d barely gotten the pastries out when an impatient voice cut in. “Why do you keep showing up?” I turned around. Julian had already walked up close, not bothering to hide the irritation on his face. He pointed at the pastries, his face twisted in disgust. “The servants at Catherine’s house eat a hundred times better than this. I wouldn’t touch this garbage. Stop bringing this crap around to bother me.” Before I could say a word, Silas stood up. He stepped between me and Julian. “She’s your mother, Julian. How can you talk to her like that?” Julian scoffed. “My mother is the Luna. She’s nothing.” He waved his hand. “Take your garbage and go. Don’t come back.”

If this had been the old me, those words would have left me burning with shame. But now, all I felt was disappointment. I smiled lightly. “Julian, you’ve got it wrong.” I pulled Silas close. “I’m Silas’s mom. These are for him.” I bent down and ruffled Silas’s hair, then handed him a pastry. “Here, sweetie, try it. Tell me if it’s any good.” Julian’s face froze for a second after I said that. He’d probably never imagined that the woman who used to fuss over him would cut him loose and give all that warmth to a kid he thought was beneath him. Silas took a bite and smiled. “Thanks, Mom. It’s really good. I love it.” I grinned. “Good. I’ll make more next time.” I turned around with the pastries and looked at Julian and the other two boys standing there, stunned. “You guys want some too?” Kids are kids. Six, seven years old, always hungry. They perked up when I offered, already tempted. The other two were slowly reaching out their hands. “Don’t you dare!” Julian slapped their hands away. “It’s just some sad little pastry. The kitchen scraps at our house are better than this. Only losers who’ve never had anything decent would want this. I wouldn’t be caught dead eating it.” Then he looked at me and raised his chin. “You better remember what you said today. Don’t ever come looking for me again.” I watched Julian, furious and trying so hard to act like he didn’t care, and almost wanted to laugh. I nodded. “Don’t worry, Julian. My only son is Silas. Anything good I have goes to him.” Julian’s face went pale. He stomped his foot and spun around, shouting at the three boys still standing there dumbfounded. “What are you looking at? Let’s go!” Then he took off without looking back. The three boys scrambled after him. That night, Silas came home from school and I put him to bed like always. Just when I thought he was asleep, he said in a very small voice, “Mom.” He rolled over to face me. “Tomorrow when school’s out, could you bring me pastries again?” My heart went soft. “Of course.” I kept my voice gentle. “I’ll make more tomorrow, and I’ll come pick you up too.” Silas’s mouth curved into a happy little smile and he closed his eyes, perfectly content.

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The door opened. I started undressing. Three years of this had taught me not to think. Not to fight. Just comply. But tonight, instead of heavy breathing and the stench of feral musk, I heard a voice. “Elara, would you like to return to your mother’s side?” I had four fathers once. Four SSS-level Alpha Kings who ruled the four kingdoms. The Dragon King. The Bear Emperor. The Nine-Tailed Fox. The Phoenix Lord. I grew up beloved by all of them. I inherited my mother’s S-level calming power. I was the most envied female in the realm. Until Giselle arrived. The daughter of their former fated female. She whispered lies, and my fathers believed every one. She said I cursed her. The Dragon King stitched my mouth shut. She said I poisoned her. The Nine-Tailed Fox threw me into the Shadow-Spider Cavern, where insects devoured my face and ate my left eye. She said I defiled her. The Bear Emperor threw me into the Feral Dens. I became a rut slave. Mounted, clawed, bitten bloody by berserk shifters. And through it all, I was forced to use my calming power to soothe their savage minds. Three years of that. And now, a voice in the dark was offering me a way out. …… I jerked my head up. The room was empty. The voice came again, echoing inside my skull. It said it was Mother’s guardian spirit. That Mother was a traveler from another realm who’d left in a hurry, not knowing I’d survived. Now she knew. And she wanted me back. All I had to do was die. “Elara,” it murmured, “your mother has been desperate since learning you exist. Are you willing—” I didn’t let it finish. I grabbed a rusted blade and pressed it to my throat. Yes! Mother was alive! I’d see her soon! Pure joy drowned my fear of death. Just as I pulled back to slash— —something massive slammed into my wrist. Pain shot through my hand. The blade clattered to the floor. A taloned foot stomped down on it. “Elara. You trying to kill yourself?” I looked up. My mouth opened instinctively. “Fourth Dad.” I regretted it immediately. His expression darkened. “Don’t call me that. I severed our bond years ago.” The man before me was Rowan, the Phoenix Lord. When I was small, a feral warlord kidnapped me. Rowan tracked my scent alone to the warlord’s lair. He knelt before his sworn enemy in full shift, bared his throat three times, and let the warlord tear six gashes through his wings. All just to get me back unharmed. After I was rescued, I cried over his wounds. He just nuzzled my hair and said those gashes didn’t hurt at all. But watching me cry hurt so much he wanted to die. Of the four fathers, Fourth Dad loved me most. Too bad that love vanished four years ago when Second Dad brought injured Giselle back from the borderlands. I’d always known the four fathers shared an obsession—a female they’d never gotten over. I just didn’t know it wasn’t my mother. It was Giselle’s mother. They say the four fathers were once outcasts, each exiled from their own kind. Young Mother found them and helped each one reclaim their territory and rise as Alpha. They say Mother was their fated female—all four of them. But just before the bonding ceremony, Giselle’s mother Genevieve appeared. The moment she appeared, all four fathers shifted to her. After that, Mother supposedly grew jealous and tormented Genevieve. Finally, consumed by despair, Mother drowned herself in the river. After Mother died, Genevieve vanished too. Only when Giselle returned did the fathers learn the truth. Genevieve left because she felt responsible for Mother’s death. I never believed it. My instincts screamed Mother was innocent and Genevieve was poison. But fathers didn’t trust me. They said I was jealous like Mother, competing for mates. So whenever Giselle and I clashed, they chose her. Before long, I went from the most treasured female in the realm to a Feral Den slave. Fourth Dad picked up the fallen blade and studied the cut on my throat. Then he flipped it and drove the edge toward me. I jerked back. The blade kissed my skin, opening a fresh wound. Fourth Dad smiled coldly. “If you want to die so badly, why dodge?” “You’re just like your mother, Elara. Pathetic. Both of you hurt yourselves for attention.” “She was smarter though—she did it in front of all four of us.” “You picked this shithole. Stupid.”

I started to explain I wasn’t acting. Then I remembered—they never listened anyway. So I lowered my head. “You’re right, my lord. May I ask—did you come all this way just to watch me perform?” Fourth Dad blinked. “Don’t flatter yourself. Today is Giselle’s birthday and her Naming Rite. She’s being declared Sacred Female. She says she’s willing to forgive you. I’m here to bring you to her.” Three days ago I’d heard: First Dad was naming Giselle the Sacred Female. A title the four fathers had promised me since I was ten. Before, if someone took what was mine, I’d tear the whole territory apart. Now I just said, “I don’t want to go.” Fourth Dad stared. “That’s not your choice.” He grabbed me and dragged me out. Then brought me back to his nest, had me washed and groomed. He summoned his sky carriage, a gilded chariot drawn by two winged serpents. On the way, Fourth Dad wouldn’t stop talking. Bare your throat when you see Giselle, don’t provoke her, submit. My chest ached. The higher we flew, the louder Mother’s voice called in my head. So I stood, pushed open the carriage door, and jumped. I heard Fourth Dad’s scream behind me. At this height, I’d surely die. But the impact never came. I landed in warm arms instead. Fourth Dad had caught me. His wings folded around us as we crashed and rolled twice on the ground. His furious roar shook the air. “Elara! Have you lost your mind!” I looked up. Blood from a gash on his forehead dripped onto my face. I reached up to wipe it away. His expression turned vicious. “Stop these games. You just want to see if I still care. I don’t. I’d catch any falling creature. If I’d known you’d pull this, I never would’ve dove after you.” “Next time you want to die, go ahead. I won’t bother.” My hand froze. I caught the shimmer of the river below us. I smiled bitterly. “Good. Remember that, Rowan.” Before he could react, I sprang up and dove straight into the river. Fourth Dad nearly drowned as a cub. Deep water terrified him more than anything. And after what he’d just said? He wouldn’t save me. So when the icy current flooded my lungs, I was happy. Finally. I was going home to Mother.

I don’t know how long the darkness lasted. When it lifted, I sat up—desperate to find Mother. Then someone’s hand cracked across my face. “Selfish bitch! We only had you doing chores at the dens, and the second you see Rowan you throw yourself in the river? You know he almost drowned saving you!” Third Dad’s voice rang overhead, his face twisted with fury. Of the four fathers, I’d been closest to him. The others were too busy ruling their clans, so raising me fell to Third Dad. He taught me to read scent trails, identify healing herbs, mix remedies. He was always gentle. No matter what I did wrong, he never punished me. He only guided me with soft words. But the day Giselle returned, this male who’d never even bared his fangs at me struck me for the first time. Giselle touched one of his venomous spirit beasts and got stung. She swore I was the one who put it on her. Third Dad’s tails lashed the air. He struck me across the back so hard my skin split open. “This is my fault, Elara. I didn’t raise you properly. That’s why you’ve become so rotten, treating lives like toys.” Later when Giselle was poisoned again, Third Dad fed me a pill that attracted shadow-spiders. Then he threw me into the Venom Pit. Thousands of creatures burrowed into my flesh, laid eggs under my skin, burst out in sprays of blood. Even after Third Dad healed me, I’d lost my left eye. Seeing my silence now, he took it as admission. His fury deepened. He raised his hand to strike again. Fourth Dad caught his wrist. “Brother, calm down. Today is Giselle’s Naming Rite. Elara probably can’t handle it. She tried killing herself three times in front of me.” I glanced at Fourth Dad. He’d shifted back to human form. His wounds were bandaged. But his face was deathly pale. Third Dad snorted. “You’ve been away from court too long. She’s pulled this stunt dozens of times over four years. Just another grab for attention.” Fourth Dad paused—then exhaled in relief. “So that’s what this is.” Third Dad turned back to me. “Elara, today is Giselle’s birthday. Throw your tantrum here if you must—but don’t you dare make a scene in front of First Dad and Second Dad. You know how they are…” Before he finished, I lunged for the medicine chest behind him. I’d lived with Third Dad long enough to know exactly where he kept his deadliest poisons. I grabbed the worst one and swallowed it. Third Dad’s face went white.

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In a world where people killed each other over half a can of food, I had four dads who spoiled me like a princess. After Mom died, her four closest comrades found me still alive inside her womb. So I ended up with four dads. First Dad, Ethan, was the Commander of Fortress Eden. Second Dad, Nathan, was the Warden — the most vicious criminals turned obedient in front of him. Third Dad, Callum, was a brilliant scientist, leading the hunt for a vaccine. Fourth Dad, Xander, was the strongest fighter the base had ever seen. I grew up wrapped in their love. Every woman in the safe zone envied me. Until the year I turned sixteen, when they found Jade, the daughter of the woman they had all once loved. From that day on, my four dads became strangers. Jade said I insulted her. Ethan Dad had my mouth wired shut and starved me for three days and nights. She said I poisoned her. Callum Dad strapped me down and injected me with a vaccine still in testing. The serum ravaged me from the inside out, destroying one of my eyes. When Jade claimed I’d hired men to assault her, Xander Dad grabbed me by the collar and threw me into the refugee slum outside the inner walls. Three years passed. I went from fury to submission. Until tonight, my tent flap opened again, I began undressing out of habit. Then I heard a voice say, “Lily, do you want to come back to your mother?” I snapped my head up. But the room was empty. At the same moment, a voice echoed through my mind. It said it was a faint trace of my mother’s consciousness. My mother was from future. After completing her mission, she’d left in a hurry, never expecting that she would have a daughter. Now she knew. She wanted to take me home. All I had to do was let this body die. It spoke again. “Lily, your mother has been desperate since she found out about you. Will you—” It hadn’t even finished when I was already on my feet. Without hesitation, I grabbed a blade and pressed it against my throat. This was wonderful. Mom was alive. And I was about to see her. A joy so massive it drowned out every fear of death. But just as I pressed the blade harder, a tremendous force struck my hand. Pain shot through my fingers. I let go. The blade hit the floor. A boot came down on top of it. “Lily. You want to die?” I knew that voice. My head lifted on instinct. When I saw who it was, I called out without thinking. “Xander Dad.” The moment it left my mouth, I already regretted it. Sure enough, the man’s brow furrowed. “Don’t call me that. I cut ties with you a long time ago.”

The man standing before me was Xander, the strongest fighter in the base. When I was small, a rival faction inside the base had kidnaped me. To make them let me go, Xander stood in front of their leader and took three bullets without flinching — just to bring me back without a scratch. After I was rescued, I cried looking at his wounds. He just stroked my head and told me those cuts felt like nothing to him. But watching me cry, he said, nearly killed him. Among my four dads, Xander Dad loved me the most. It was a shame that love vanished four years ago, the day Nathan Dad brought a wounded Jade back from a supply search. I had always known my four dads had all loved the same woman once. What I never knew was that she wasn’t my mother. She was Jade’s mother. They say my four dads were the son of a legendary warrior named Marcus. The former base commander, General Victor, had feared Marcus’s growing influence and purged his entire faction on fabricated charges. It was my young mother who hid them, smuggling each boy to a different base. When they grew strong enough, she helped them rise up and take back the base. Ethan Dad became the new Commander. Justice was finally done. They say my mother and Ethan Dad were deeply in love. But just before their wedding, a woman named Serena appeared. One look at her, and all four men forgot themselves. My mother kept trying to fight for what was hers. In the end, jealousy consumed her, and she took her own life. After she died, Serena disappeared too. Only when Jade came back did they learn the truth. Serena left because she felt guilty for my mother’s death. Honestly, I never believed any of that. My instincts told me my mother was not the villain. Serena was. But my dads didn’t trust my instincts. They decided I was just like her. Jealous. Petty. Causing trouble. So every time I clashed with Jade, they took her side. It wasn’t long before I went from their beloved little princess to a ghost in the base. Xander picked up the blade and glanced at the wound on my throat. Then his wrist turned. The blade came straight for me. I stumbled back two steps on reflex. The flash of steel passed. A new cut appeared on my neck. Xander gave a cold laugh. “If you want to die that badly, why did you dodge?” “Lily. You’re just like that mother of yours. Pathetic. Always hurting yourself to get someone’s attention.” “She was smarter than you, at least. She always did it in front of all four of us. You pick this kind of miserable place. You’ve really lost your mind.”

I was about to explain I wasn’t performing. Then I remembered. Every explanation I had ever given, they ignored. I lowered my head. “You’re right, Xander. And may I ask why you’ve come all the way here? Was it specifically to watch me perform?” Xander paused. “Don’t flatter yourself. Today is Jade’s birthday. She said recently that she’s willing to forgive you and be friends again. I came to bring you to her.” Three days ago, word had spread that the Commander intended to name Jade his successor. He had arranged a ceremony at the base on her birthday to make it official. I was one year older than her. That was a promise Ethan Dad had made to me when I was ten — that one day, I would lead after him. In the past, if anyone tried to take something of mine, I would have burned the whole place down before letting them have it. Now I simply looked at Xander without expression. “I don’t want to go.” Xander paused. Then he said, “That’s not your choice to make.” He grabbed me by the arm and hauled me out. He shoved me into the SUV and drove toward the command hall. Sitting in the SUV, Xander talked into my ear the entire time. I needed to kneel when I saw Jade. I needed to stop angering her. My chest ached quietly. I watched the road blur faster and faster outside. The thought of seeing my mother grew louder and louder in my mind. I stood up, shoved the door open, and jumped. Before I hit the ground, I heard a shout. I thought, at this speed, I would finally manage it. Instead of the impact I expected, I fell into something warm. Xander had caught me. We rolled across the ground twice together. His furious voice broke over my head. “Lily. Are you insane?” I looked at him. Blood from a cut on his forehead ran down his face. I reached up to wipe it away. His expression turned vicious. “Can you stop this? You just want to see if I still care about you. I’m telling you right now, rescuing you means nothing. I would have done the same for any stranger. If I’d known what you were thinking, I never would have jumped.” “From now on, if you want to die, go ahead. I’m not stopping you.” My hand froze in the air. From the corner of my eye, I spotted the lake just off the road. I smiled faintly. “Okay, Xander. Remember what you said.” Before he could react, I was on my feet. I turned and threw myself into the water. Xander had nearly drowned as a child. Water was his one fear. And he had just said those words. He was not coming in after me. So when the freezing water rushed into my lungs, I felt nothing but relief. Finally. I was going to see Mom.

After some time, the darkness cleared. I sat up eagerly, ready to find mom. Then someone slapped me hard onto the floor. “You worthless girl. All we did was send you to the slum to reflect. And you pull this stunt the moment you see Xander. Do you have any idea what you’ve done? He almost drowned trying to pull you out.” Callum Dad’s voice came from above me. His face was dark with fury. Of my four dads, I had been closest to Callum. The others were constantly occupied. So the task of raising me had fallen on him. He taught me to read. He taught me biology and medicine. He was always gentle. No matter how badly I misbehaved, he guided me with patience and never once punished me. But the Callum who never raised his voice at me struck me on Jade’s very first day back. That time, Jade had contaminated Callum’s pathogen samples herself. Then she told him I did it. Callum took a belt to me. “Lily, this is my failure. I raised you to be reckless and careless. Do you have any idea how many lives depend on those samples?” Later, when Jade claimed I’d injected her with an untested serum, Callum did the same to me — strapped me down, pumped his experimental serum into my body, and locked me in the ward as a test subject. The serum burned through me like acid — every nerve screaming, my skin splitting open, my body convulsing until I nearly stopped breathing. Though Callum treated me afterward, I still lost an eye. Now he stood over me, silent fury building. He raised his hand to strike again. At the last moment, Xander caught his wrist. “Eli, calm down. Today is Jade’s ceremony. She apparently can’t handle it. She’s already tried to kill herself three times in front of me.” I glanced at Xander. He had changed clothes. His wounds were bandaged. But his face was pale. I remembered what Callum had said. Xander couldn’t swim. Whatever it had cost him to pull me out of that lake, it wasn’t nothing. Callum scoffed. “Xander, you’ve been fooled. Four years ago you were away on a mission. She pulled these tricks constantly in front of all of us. She just wants our attention.” Xander relaxed slightly, as if something inside him unclenched. “So that’s what it was.” Callum looked back at me. “Lily, today is Jade’s birthday. If you need to act out, do it in front of us. Don’t take it to Ethan Dad or Nathan Dad. You know how those two are…” He didn’t finish. I was already lunging toward his medicine cabinet. I had lived with Callum long enough to know where he kept his most lethal drugs. I found the worst one and swallowed it before anyone could stop me. Callum went white.

The drug was bitter. But I felt light. Callum had once told me there was no antidote for this one. If I swallowed it, it was over. Callum only froze for a moment. Then he was in front of me, forcing his fingers into my mouth. “Do you know what you just took?” He wrenched my jaw open and shoved his fingers down my throat. His large hand patted my back forcefully. Black blood trickled out of my mouth. Only when the blood turned red did he breathe again. “Lily. It’s just a position. Was dying really worth it?” Xander was still shaking. He had finally accepted I was serious, and his voice trembled. “Lily, don’t do this again. Actually, yesterday all four of us spoke with Jade. She said she’s ready to forgive you. After today, you can come back to live with us. We’ll treat you the way we used to. Okay?” Hearing that, tears fell from my eyes. Both men assumed it was relief. The next second I dropped to my knees before them. “Callum Dad. Xander Dad. Please. Just let me go.” Callum’s face reddened. “Lily, do you understand what we just said…” “I understand.” I no longer wanted to hide it. “But I don’t want to go back. I want to find my mother.” I told them everything the voice in my head had said. Their expressions shifted and twisted as they listened. Finally, Callum helped me up. “Lily, listen to me. Your mother is truly gone.” She had drowned in the lake years ago. Ethan Dad pulled her out, but Callum had used everything he knew and still couldn’t save her. Afterward, all four of them removed me from her womb and kept vigil for seven days. They watched her body rotten until there was nothing left. Callum said the voice in my head was probably a trauma-induced hallucination. It wasn’t. I was certain. But no matter how I insisted, they refused to believe me. Callum sighed. “If you truly don’t want to come back, then stay here with me. As long as you behave, I won’t let anyone hurt you again.” I was about to shake my head. Heavy boots came pounding from outside. Moments later, Ethan Dad and Nathan Dad rushed in. “Callum, Xander, have you seen Jade? She’s missing.”

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My name is Haley Sterling. When I was seven years old, Julian Sterling brought me home from the orphanage. He saved me. He gave me a home. But when I fell hopelessly in love with him and kissed him, he coldly turned his head away. “Haley, you disgust me.” After waking up from a car crash, I lost my memories. Everyone let out a sigh of relief. But in the dead of night, Julian broke into my room. He bit my earlobe and whispered, “Haley, you’re just sick. That’s why you forgot about us.” I pushed him away. “Julian, I’m cured. Even my sickness of loving you is gone.” It hurt. My head throbbed so badly… Just before I opened my eyes and fully regained consciousness, I heard a polite, gentle voice. “Mr. Sterling, your daughter has minor head trauma. We can’t rule out the possibility of amnesia.” I froze. Amnesia? Images flashed through my mind. My parents’ disappointed eyes, a man’s cold indifference. And in the mirror, my own twisted, frantic face, filled with resentment and hatred. Then let it be amnesia. Forget everything, just like everyone wanted. I opened my eyes. A second later, several anxious figures rushed to my bedside. My mom held my hand, her eyes rimmed with red, her face full of worry. “Haley, how are you feeling? Does anything hurt?” I stared at her, my eyes blank and confused. “Who are you?” Shock flashed across her face. She frowned, panicked. “Haley, it’s me. I’m your mother.” I repeated the word softly. “Mother?” Then I shook my head, looking at her helplessly. “Mom, my head hurts so much. I’ve forgotten so many things. I can’t remember anything.” I leaned my cheek against her hand, rubbing against it like a stray kitten. “It’s okay, sweetheart. If you can’t remember, don’t force it. Mom is right here,” she soothed. I nodded obediently, then turned my gaze to scan the other people in the room. Looking at the man standing beside her, his powerful aura intact but his face softened with pity, I whispered, “Dad?” He wasn’t used to showing affection, but he still gave me a gentle nod. Suppressing the sting in my nose, I looked at the last man. His face was an icy mask, his brow slightly furrowed. His dark eyes were like a black hole, ready to swallow any emotion. “And you are?” The hospital room fell dead silent. You could hear a pin drop. Everyone’s expressions shifted, thick with tension. “It’s… it’s Julian, Haley,” my mom spoke up, breaking the suffocating silence. I let out a relaxed smile and called out obediently, “Julian.” My parents looked shocked. Tears of relief actually welled in my mother’s eyes. For some reason, I thought I saw a flash of emptiness on his cold face. My eyes, however, were completely calm. A peaceful surrender. Julian, in this life, I will be exactly what you want. I will be your sister. A sister who will never, ever cross the line.

My mom whispered a few more soothing words, but her eyes kept darting toward the door. Finally, she spoke softly. “Haley, Seraphina is outside. Do you want to see her?” I froze. My head started throbbing again, like someone was slicing it with a dull knife. In my mind, the screeching of tires and the violent crash echoed. All I could see was a blinding flash of red. But I still forced a sweet, obedient smile. “If you want me to see her, Mom, I will.” A relieved smile appeared on my mom’s face. Seraphina Vance walked in. She stopped at the foot of my bed, clutching her designer bag tightly, her face stained with tears. She started crying the moment she opened her mouth. “Haley, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hit you with my car, I swear! Please don’t hate me, and please don’t come between Julian and me. I love him so much. I’ll get down on my knees and beg you if I have to!” My heart felt ice-cold, but my face remained blank and innocent. She made a show of lowering herself to the ground, but her eyes kept darting to me. Her half-bent knees froze, making her look incredibly foolish. Eventually, Julian grabbed her hand and pulled her back up. Seraphina leaned into his chest, sobbing softly. His arm wrapped around her waist, but his sharp, piercing eyes were locked onto me. “You can’t entirely blame Seraphina for this. Haley ran out out of nowhere. Seraphina didn’t have time to brake.” Was that really what happened? When I ran into the street, your car was moving slowly. We were at least twenty feet apart. Through the windshield, I saw Seraphina’s face clearly. She was smiling. A cruel, triumphant smile. And what about you, Julian, sitting in the passenger seat? You looked at me with nothing but coldness and disgust. What were you thinking back then? Were you thinking that I would get out of the way out of fear? Or did you want this disgusting sister—the one who dared to love you and tried to stop your engagement—to just die? If Julian hadn’t grabbed the steering wheel at the last second and slammed on the brakes, I really would have died under those tires. I averted my eyes first, looking at the weeping, delicate Seraphina in his arms. “Seraphina, even though I’ve forgotten some things, Julian is right. I must have been at fault too. Why would I want to break you two up? We’re going to be family soon anyway.” Seraphina was so shocked she stopped crying. Pure joy flashed in her eyes. Julian still stood like a statue by my bed. He was tall, his expression dark. When those cold eyes looked down at me, it was like he was looking at something worthless. And he was right. My life was cheap. It was only because of the scraps of charity Julian had thrown my way that I became the heiress of the Sterling family. How could someone as lowly as me ever dare to crave someone so far out of reach?

Before I became the pampered Haley Sterling, I was just an orphan girl in a run-down shelter in this city. On the day the Sterling family came to adopt, the director gathered all the girls in the courtyard, lined up like products for inspection. I was small and malnourished. I was easily pushed into the very back by the bigger, healthier kids. Every child there knew that being chosen meant escaping hunger and cold. It meant a ticket to heaven. Gradually, I found it hard to breathe. Survival instinct kicked in, and I started waving my arms frantically, trying to be seen. After what felt like forever, the suffocating crowd suddenly parted. I opened my eyes, and Julian was standing right in front of me. I remember that day clearly. The old oak tree in the courtyard had just sprouted its first green leaves of spring. A gentle breeze swept across my face, carrying the scent of damp earth and fresh grass. The young boy looked down at me, placing a pale, slender hand on my head. “Her. I’ll take her.” Those simple words, like a divine decree, changed my life forever. I went from an ugly duckling stuck in the mud to the high-society daughter of the Sterling family. Only later did I find out why Julian chose me. The Sterlings’ biological daughter, Angelica, had drowned. Before she went under, she had waved her arms helplessly, just like I did. My adoptive parents were always busy, and Julian didn’t really have any feelings for me. I was basically raised by the nannies. But while the nannies could provide gourmet meals and a warm, luxurious bed, they couldn’t stop the bullying at school. Back then, my classmates called me a charity case, a parasite, and a thief who stole someone else’s life. I kept my head down and let them drag me through the dirt. I knew protesting was useless; no one would stand up for me. Until the day Julian was sent by our mother to attend my parent-teacher conference. He saw them throwing trash and broken pencils at my head. He heard the vulgar insults they hurled at me. Only then was I rescued from that never-ending nightmare. The kids who bullied me were forced to kneel in a row, apologizing to me. They cried, slapping their own faces. But I knew they weren’t kneeling to me. They were kneeling to the terrifying, cold-faced teenager standing beside me. Julian had saved my life once again. When did I start developing those forbidden feelings? Was it when he shielded me from the bullies, holding my shoulders? Was it when his hand covered mine, teaching me my first piano piece? Or was it during my first extravagant birthday party, when he looked at me with such tenderness amid the crowded room? I wasn’t greedy or shameless. I never intended to expose this dirty, secret crush. If only that accidental, intoxicating kiss had never happened. That day, I thought I saw a glimmer of hope. Like a drowning person, I reached out, thinking he would save me again. But instead, I got his freezing words: “Haley, you’re sick. You disgust me.” Julian, you saved me, only to drag me down to hell with your own hands. You made me, and you destroyed me.

Except for my fake amnesia, my physical injuries weren’t severe. At my request, my mom handled the discharge papers and took me home. Up until the day I left the hospital, I never saw Julian again. It was an unspoken agreement. No one mentioned him in front of me. My forgetting him was a blessing the entire Sterling family was incredibly grateful for. After all, the elite Sterling family couldn’t afford a scandal about a twisted girl who fell in love with her own brother. On the day I got home, my mom and the chef prepared a massive feast. Julian showed up too. At the dinner table, Julian was a carbon copy of our stern, silent father. He kept his head down, acting mature and composed, not saying a single unnecessary word. Only my mom kept talking, trying to make me feel comfortable. But every time my eyes accidentally drifted toward Julian, she would tense up. I suppose the trauma of her adopted daughter falling in love with her biological son had left a deep scar. I felt a pang of guilt, which only solidified my decision. “Mom, Dad, I want to go to grad school in London.” The moment those words left my mouth, all clinking of silverware stopped. In my peripheral vision, I felt Julian’s pitch-black eyes locking onto me. My body stiffened, but I didn’t look at him. My mom put down her fork, looking puzzled. “Why the sudden decision to study abroad?” “I just want to further my education.” Honestly, when I graduated high school, my parents wanted to send me abroad. But back then, I only wanted to stay by Julian’s side. “Well, if that’s what you want, I…” Before my mom could finish, a deep voice cut her off. “No.” Everyone looked at Julian. His face was expressionless, but his throat bobbed with difficulty. “Mom, Haley just got out of the hospital. She hasn’t fully recovered, and her memory is still hazy. Are you really comfortable sending her across the world right now?” My mom nodded, turning to persuade me. I offered a reassuring smile. “I’m not leaving tomorrow. It’s only July. I wouldn’t leave until September at the earliest. Mom, please let me go.” My mom had always spoiled me. But that affection was never pure. Every time she looked at me, I felt like she was looking at someone else through me. Probably her poor, deceased child. She hesitated, glancing at Julian, but eventually, she sighed. “Alright, sweetheart.” She told me to pick a university soon so she could make the arrangements. “Are you really that desperate to leave?” Julian spoke, his eyes dark and unreadable. Julian, you wanted to get rid of me so badly. Now that I’m leaving, shouldn’t you be thrilled? I smiled. “Don’t worry, Julian. I’ll make sure to fly back for your wedding.” He froze. His grip on his fork tightened until his knuckles turned white. A flash of pure fury crossed his eyes before vanishing. “Do whatever you want.”

“Haley, did you really lose your memory?” In my bedroom, my best friend, Chloe Montgomery, was circling me, inspecting my head with deep concern. I blinked innocently. “Really.” She looked skeptical, tapping my forehead. “Then do you remember me?” I smiled. “Of course. You’re Chloe.” She looked even more confused. “Then what did you forget?” My smile faded. “Just some meaningless things. Things that only brought me pain.” She went quiet, understanding the unspoken implication. After a long pause, she asked cautiously, “So, are you going to Julian’s birthday party the day after tomorrow?” Julian’s birthday. In the past, I cared about his birthday more than he did. I would make his gifts by hand, never repeating a concept. I would design every detail of his party. He never cared, but I minded every little thing. I always felt Julian’s birthday held a sacred meaning for me. Because of him, my life had been saved. But this year, I had almost forgotten it. I guess no pain is too deep to be erased after a clean slate. Humans are wired to avoid pain, after all. “What are you planning to get him this year?” I thought about it. “I’ll just buy a watch from your family’s brand.” Chloe stunned, clearly not expecting this. For his birthday last year, I had literally flown to France to learn his favorite French recipes, and I even hand-designed a custom watch strap, hiring a master craftsman to make it. The contrast in effort was staggering. “What? Don’t want my money?” I teased. Chloe snapped out of it and laughed. “Are you kidding? I’d love nothing more than for a Sterling heiress to boost my family’s sales.” Julian, I hope you like this year’s gift. The birthday party was just a glorified networking event for the city’s elite youth. Julian was surrounded by a crowd, wearing his trademark polite but distant smile. He held his champagne glass high, looking like an undefeated general. He was always so powerful, so invincible. He navigated the room with effortless grace. The flashing lights were giving me a headache, so I put down my glass and slipped away toward the second-floor balcony for some fresh air. “Seraphina, I heard Julian’s adopted sister is a real piece of work. You won’t let her bully you once you marry into the family, right?” Behind the heavy green velvet curtains, I froze. “I heard about her too. Apparently, she’s obsessed with Julian. Is that true? He’s literally her brother. That’s so disgusting.” “She’s adopted, though. They aren’t blood-related.” “Still gross. Crushing on her own brother? She’s a freak.” Then came a malicious laugh. “She’s just a street rat playing dress-up. She actually thinks she’s a real Sterling. Imagine trying to seduce Julian. She should look in the mirror and see if she’s even worthy.” It was Seraphina’s mocking voice. “Shh, keep it down. If someone hears us… no matter what, she’s still a Sterling. We can’t afford to mess with them.” “What heiress? The Sterlings don’t care about her. I literally hit her with my car, and they didn’t do anything to me. Julian even defended me. That proves she has zero status in that house.” Even through the thick curtains, I could picture the smug sneer on Seraphina’s face. After a brief silence, a timid voice asked, “Wait… you mean you hit Haley on purpose?” “I only regret not hitting her harder. A freak like her who lusts after her own brother…” Before she could finish, I ripped the curtains open. I grabbed Seraphina by her hair and slammed her face straight into the brick wall. Thud. Her forehead split open, and blood began to trickle down her face. The balcony erupted into high-pitched screams. Someone tried to drag me off her, but I violently shook them off. I leaned down, whispering right into Seraphina’s ear, “Not hard enough, you say? Want to see if I have the guts to throw you off this balcony?”

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At seven years old, I got lost in the city. That was when I met Vivian, who was starving on the streets. I lied to my mom, telling her I wanted a sister. Because of that lie, my mother adopted her. Eighteen years later, Vivian graduated from an Ivy League school, became the darling of high society, and had countless suitors. But she never dated. She always told everyone that love was a distraction for the weak. Until I accompanied her on a business trip, and our plane hit once-in-a-century severe turbulence. Thinking my life was ending, my hands shook as I dialed my fiancé, Julian Vance. I wanted to tell him that if I survived this, I wanted to marry him as soon as possible. I called him one hundred and thirty-two times. Not a single call went through. Just as I was about to record my final voicemail in despair, Vivian started sobbing hysterically from the row in front of me. “Julian, I regret it… I regret rejecting your confession back then just because I didn’t want to hurt Clara!” Julian’s voice came through her phone. It was filled with a panicked, desperate worry I had never heard before. “Don’t be scared, baby. The moment you land, we’re going public. Nobody is going to stop me from marrying you.” At that moment, my blood ran cold. The two people I loved most in the world had been screwing around behind my back all along.

The plane shook violently. Screams echoed through the cabin. Luggage tumbled from the overhead bins, mirroring the collapse of my entire world. I clutched my phone so hard my knuckles turned white. The screen still showed the call log of my unanswered dials. In the row ahead, Vivian’s loud crying gradually died down into soft whimpers. “But what about Clara? She’s my best friend…” Just then, the PA system crackled to life. “Ladies and gentlemen, we have successfully cleared the turbulence. We expect to land at JFK in twenty minutes.” The cabin erupted into cheers of relief. Some people hugged and cried. Others folded their hands in prayer, thanking God. Vivian instinctively turned around. The moment our eyes met, she panicked and tried to cover her phone screen. “Clara… how much of that did you hear?” I pressed my lips together. “Every single word.” Even without the speakerphone on, I could hear Julian’s frantic voice bleeding through the receiver. “Vivian? Don’t be scared! I’m already contacting emergency services—” I snatched the phone from her hand and spoke into it, my voice icy. “The plane is stable, Julian. Nobody is dying.” “But since you’re both so lively, tell me—when did this start?” The other end fell into a long, heavy silence. When he finally spoke, his first instinct was still to protect Vivian. “I fell for Vivian first. If you want to blame someone, blame me.” “The wedding in three months is off. I’ll pay whatever compensation you want.” Yet just yesterday, when I excitedly told him I was coming to see him, Julian had counted the days on his fingers. He had whined like a lost puppy, saying he hadn’t seen me in a month and three days. Suddenly, a memory flashed in my mind. During our last FaceTime call, Vivian had been sitting on the edge of my bed, drying her hair. Julian’s gaze had seemed so intense, but it had never actually focused on my face. At the time, I thought he was just busy with work while talking to me. But now I realized that deep, passionate look staring through the screen was actually focused on the blurry silhouette behind me. Vivian snapped out of her shock and stumbled over, throwing herself at me. “Clara, please don’t misunderstand!” “I was just so terrified… my hands were shaking and I dialed the wrong number!” “Julian and I… there’s nothing between us!” Julian must have heard the commotion over the line. His voice raised defensively. “Clara Miller! Don’t you dare take this out on Vivian. This was all my doing.” “If you want to scream, scream at me. Don’t hurt her!” I hadn’t even raised my voice, yet Julian was already convinced I was going to abuse Vivian. With a cold laugh, I shoved the phone back into her hands. I went back to my seat, pulled the blanket over my head, and let my tears fall in the dark. The year my mom adopted Vivian, she held me and cried, saying she finally had a real family. A year ago, when Julian and I got engaged, his eyes had welled up as he swore I was the only woman he would ever marry. But three people in a relationship is just too crowded. The two people who only met because of me had now locked me out of my own life.

Twenty minutes later, the plane taxied smoothly onto the runway. As we slowed down, Vivian poked my shoulder through the blanket. “Clara, are you still mad at me?” “Take the blanket off, you’re going to suffocate.” Her voice was soft, carrying her usual submissive, apologetic tone. I didn’t answer. The moment the seatbelt sign dinged, I grabbed my carry-on and was the first to walk out of the cabin. Through the massive glass windows of the airport, I spotted Julian standing by the arrivals gate immediately. Usually the picture of aristocratic composure, he was now anxiously pacing, checking his watch every five seconds. As if sensing my gaze, he looked up. When his eyes met mine, a flash of disappointment crossed his face. It was quick, but I caught it. Then, he saw Vivian walking out behind me. In an instant, his anxiety melted into pure, unadulterated tenderness. “Vivian!” Julian pushed right past me, rushing to wrap a sobbing Vivian into his arms. “Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? You must have been so scared!” I had just survived the same near-death experience. Yet Julian didn’t even spare me a glance. “Julian Vance,” I called out, my voice flat. Julian stiffened, finally remembering I existed. “I admit I did you wrong, Clara. But now that it’s out in the open, I’m not marrying you.” “Besides, when our families arranged this merger alliance, they never specified it had to be you.” “Vivian is also a daughter of the Miller family. Swapping brides won’t affect the business deal.” Swapping brides? So he and Vivian could live happily ever after in the light. And what about me? Was I just supposed to quietly accept being betrayed by both my fiancé and my sister? Was I supposed to become the laughingstock of New York high society? A fire raged in my chest, burning my throat. I raised my hand and slapped Julian across the face, hard. He froze, utterly shocked that I had dared to lay a hand on him. Vivian shrieked, instantly dropping to her knees in front of me. “Clara, hit me instead!” “It’s all my fault! I’m the shameless one. I fell for someone I shouldn’t have!” Julian quickly hauled Vivian up from the floor, shielding her behind his back. “Clara Miller! Have you lost your mind?” “Do you have any idea that six months ago, Vivian aborted our baby just to spare your feelings?!” I froze. A loud ringing filled my ears. Six months ago, Vivian had come to me crying, saying she was pregnant. I asked her who the father was. She said they had no future and that she wanted to get rid of it. I had cried tears of sympathy for her. I scolded her for not using protection while simultaneously booking her the best private OB-GYN in the city. To protect her reputation, I had signed the abortion paperwork under my own name. After the surgery, I was the one who stayed by her bedside, nursing her back to health for a solid month. I even went to church every Sunday for a month to light candles for her unborn child. And now, Julian was telling me that the baby was his. I had literally nursed my fiancé’s mistress back to health after her abortion, and prayed for their dead bastard. My hand flew up again. But Julian grabbed my wrist, throwing me to the side with utter disgust. “I took the first slap because I owed you that.” “But do you know how much I wished you would just find out about us sooner?” “I would rather you hit me and curse at me than force Vivian to keep living as my secret lover in the shadows!” My elbow slammed violently into the hard marble floor. The skin scraped open, and blood began to seep out. But that pain was nothing compared to the feeling of my heart being ripped to shreds. I should have seen the signs. Whenever Julian came to visit me, he always “accidentally” went to Vivian’s room first. Whenever our dates became outings for three, they would talk about things I didn’t understand. Whenever he bought me a gift, he always brought a duplicate for Vivian… But I had been blinded by trust. I had mistaken Julian’s kindness to Vivian as him loving me enough to love my family.

I didn’t go to the hotel we had booked. Instead, I sat in the airport lounge and booked the earliest flight back home. My phone vibrated. It was my dad. “Clara, did you meet up with Julian?” I choked back a sob. “I’m calling off the wedding.” My dad asked cautiously, “Did you two have a fight?” I wiped my nose. “He’s cheating on me. With Vivian.” The line went dead silent for so long I thought the call had dropped. “Clara, don’t take it too hard,” When my dad’s voice returned, he sounded almost… relieved. “You can’t force these things.” “You know how Vivian is. She’s had a hard life since she was a kid, and she’s always had a strong personality.” “If they fell for each other, it just means they were meant to be.” I froze. My fingers tightened around the phone. “Dad, what are you talking about?” I shook with rage, my voice turning sharp. “Meant to be? Vivian seduced my fiancé! That’s called being a shameless home-wrecker!” My dad’s tone turned accusatory, as if I were the one in the wrong. “Clara, don’t be so selfish. Since they love each other, why can’t you just bless them and step aside?” My temples throbbed violently. I couldn’t believe these words were coming from the father who had spoiled me my entire life. “She stole my fiancé, and I’m the selfish one for not giving him to her?” “Dad! I’m your biological daughter! Vivian is just an outsider we adopted!” My dad sighed, his voice dripping with forced helplessness. “Silly girl. How could Vivian be an outsider?” “She’s your older half-sister.” The noisy chatter of the airport seemed to fade into absolute silence. But my dad kept twisting the knife. “Vivian’s mother was my first love. After we broke up, she kept the pregnancy a secret and raised Vivian alone.” “The year you ‘accidentally’ got lost at seven years old? I planned that. I needed you to find Vivian and beg your mother to adopt her.” “She suffered so much in her childhood. Just let her have this one.” I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. So that was it. No wonder Vivian was my dad’s favorite the moment she stepped into our house. No wonder every time we argued, I was always the one who got scolded. No wonder after my mom passed away, my dad treated Vivian like she was his entire world. “Clara? Are you listening? Just let this go. Don’t make a scene and make our family look bad.” I swallowed the metallic taste of blood in my mouth before finding my voice. “You and Vivian… you really are father and daughter.” “One is a cheating bastard, and the other is a husband-stealing whore!” I slammed the phone down and canceled my flight home. While waiting for an Uber, my phone chimed with an Instagram notification. Vivian had just posted. It was a photo of a man cutting a steak for her. The caption read: [It feels so good to finally love each other out in the open.] The likes below the photo included my dad, Julian, and all of our mutual friends from our social circle. They were all leaving comments, wishing the “happy couple” the best. So, everyone knew about their affair. Only I, the stupid fool, had been celebrating my “perfect” life of friendship and love. I turned off my phone, completely unable to sleep. The moment I closed my eyes, memories of Julian’s “love” filled my head. Last month, when I had a fever, he ran out in the pouring rain at midnight to buy me stomach medicine. He had come back soaked to the skin, but the medicine was kept dry in his jacket. But as I replayed the scene in my mind, I remembered the bag didn’t just have stomach medicine. It was mostly filled with Ibuprofen for menstrual cramps. Vivian had laughed when she saw it. “Clara, Julian is so sweet. He bought every medicine you could possibly need.” Back then, my heart had melted, and I had handed the Ibuprofen to her. “Here, you can use these too!” Vivian had taken them and fallen silent. I thought she was just jealous of my attentive boyfriend, so I told her that when she found a boyfriend, he would treat her like a princess too. Vivian had just stroked my hair with a bitter smile. “Clara, even if I love someone, we can never be together in this lifetime.” I asked her why. She just clutched the box of Ibuprofen and refused to answer. I didn’t get it then. I just thought she was being dramatic. But now I understood. The man Vivian loved was Julian. And the “casual hookups” she always talked about had only ever been one person.

A wave of intense nausea hit me. I rushed to the bathroom, but I could only dry heave. My phone buzzed again. It was a Snapchat from Vivian. It was a photo of her and Julian’s fingers intertwined. During our five years together, Julian had always refused to hold my hand or kiss me. Whenever I tried to initiate intimacy, he would gently push me away, saying he wanted to respect me and save it for marriage. But in reality, he was saving all his intimacy for Vivian. Then came a voice message, her tone dripping with smugness. “Oh, Clara, I’m so sorry! I meant to send that to someone else. My hand slipped.” “It’s been over a minute, so Snapchat won’t let me unsend it. Sorry!” I recorded a sixty-second voice reply. Using every vile curse word I knew, I wished those two disgusting pigs a painful death. Less than a minute after I sent it, a loud, angry pounding shook my door. I opened it to find Julian, his face dark with fury. “Do you have any idea how hurtful your words are?!” “Vivian only has you as a friend. Can’t you be a little kinder to her?!” Hearing his self-righteous accusations, I lost all my sanity. “Did I lie? Her mother was a home-wrecking mistress, so of course her daughter is—” Before I could finish, Julian’s palm crashed against my face. “Clara Miller! Shut up!” “Vivian’s mother met your dad first! Vivian was born before you!” “If we’re talking about who came first, your mother was the mistress, and you are the bastard!” The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth, but it paled in comparison to the agony in my chest. I held my burning cheek, staring in absolute disbelief at the man I had loved for seven years. Julian took a step closer, his eyes cold and mocking. “So, what are you crying about? Go apologize to Vivian right now!” I bit my tongue, my voice hoarse. “You want me to apologize to the woman who stole my fiancé and sent me photos to mock me?” “Go to hell, Julian. In your dreams!” Julian let out a cold sneer. “Don’t regret this.” By midnight, a massive scandal erupted on social media. Rumors flew that I had a wild sex life and had secretly undergone an abortion six months ago. The medical records I had signed to protect Vivian became the “indisputable proof” of my loose morals. The entire internet was screaming abuse at me. Before I could even draft a response, my door was kicked open by men in dark suits. My dad stormed in, grabbed my phone, saw my draft statement, and smashed it to pieces. “Julian was right. You won’t behave.” “Since you want to ruin our family’s reputation, you can spend some time reflecting on your actions!” I fought back frantically, my fingernails scratching deep marks into the floorboards, but I was no match for the professional bodyguards. In the end, they dragged me back to our estate in the Hamptons and locked me in a room. Fearing I would do something drastic, my dad forced me to swallow pills that left my limbs weak and useless. I stared at the framed portrait of my late mother, tears streaming down my face. “I’m sorry, Mom. I’m so useless.” On the eighth day of my confinement, Vivian walked in, holding a designer bridesmaid dress. “Clara, we promised each other when we were kids. Whoever got married first, the other would be the maid of honor.” “So, you’ll do this for me, right?” My instinct was to scream at her. But looking at my dad and Julian standing right behind her, I forced a fake smile. “Of course. I wish you both the best.” The wedding venue was lavish, drowning in the scent of fresh roses. It was exactly the grand wedding I had always dreamed of. My dad stood at the altar, smiling from ear to ear. He leaned in and whispered to me, “Clara, make sure you give your sister a beautiful toast later. Let’s put this whole drama behind us.” I nodded submissively. “I will. I actually prepared a very special wedding gift for her.” My dad waved his hand, dismissing me to go get it. Taking advantage of the distraction, I slipped away and climbed up to the high balcony overlooking the outdoor venue. After being betrayed by love, friendship, and family, I didn’t want to live anymore. But if I was going down, I was going to leave them a gift they would never forget. Below me, the officiant’s voice boomed through the speakers: “You may now kiss the bride.” At that exact, spotlighted moment, I whispered into the empty air. “Mom, I’m coming to see you.” I closed my eyes and jumped. Amidst the collective, blood-curdling screams of the guests, I crashed violently onto the center of the stage.

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My dad is the most feared mafia boss in New York. My mom is an elite heiress from one of the city’s oldest billionaire families. And then there’s Julian—my genius older brother who used to spoil me to death. When I was five, my dad’s enemies kidnapped me. They wanted to trade my life for his. To save him, I found a chance to escape. But I ended up falling off a cliff, losing all my memories, and growing up as an unadoptable orphan in a foster home. The kidnapper, wanting to torture my dad, lied and told him he’d thrown me to the sharks. From that day on, my name—Seraphina King—became a forbidden word in New York. Twenty years later. My boyfriend’s side chick ran me over with her car, sending me straight to the ER. Standing by my hospital bed, she threw a black credit card at my face. “My adoptive dad is a mafia legend. My adoptive mom is a New York socialite. My adoptive brother is a world-class scientist.” “Who do you think you are to compete with me?” And my boyfriend, the guy who swore he’d love me forever, stood there with cold, indifferent eyes. “Mia, you can’t give me anything. Just let me go, okay?” I clutched the card and whispered, “Okay.” Every cloud has a silver lining. That car crash actually brought my memories back.

“Glad you know your place. Otherwise, if my family stepped in, you wouldn’t just be dealing with three broken ribs.” Chloe stood there in a custom Chanel tweed suit, a matching handbag dangling from her arm, and diamond-encrusted heels. She looked every bit the spoiled, pampered princess she was. She tilted her chin up, her voice dripping with arrogance. “Leave New York within three days. I don’t want to live in the same city as my boyfriend’s pathetic ex. It ruins my mood.” I kept my eyes down. She was just as ruthless and unreasonable as the rumors said. I had three broken ribs. I couldn’t even leave the hospital in three days, and she wanted me out of the city? I looked at Ethan, who was standing nearby, hoping he would tell this brainless brat to give me some time. But when Chloe saw me looking at him, she flew into a jealous rage. She swung her expensive Chanel bag and slammed it right into my face. “You bitch! You took my money and you’re still drooling over my man!” Blood started seeping through my head bandages. I clutched my forehead, my face turning pale from the agonizing pain. Chloe wasn’t done. A cruel smirk played on her lips as she walked toward me on her stilettos. Ethan instinctively reached out to stop her, but after a moment of hesitation, his hand dropped back to his side. “Chloe, don’t take it too far. The hospital has too many eyes. It’s bad for your reputation.” “Reputation? Who cares?” Chloe grabbed a fistful of my hair, pulling so hard I felt like my scalp was ripping off. “I am Chloe King! No one in New York dares to cross me!” “Even if my reputation is trash, people will still beg to be my dogs.” With that, she slapped me hard across the face. Just when I thought I was going to die right there in that bed… A tall, incredibly handsome man appeared at the door. “Chloe!” Chloe froze. She immediately let go of my hair, her vicious snarl instantly turning into a sweet, innocent smile. She ran over and wrapped her arms around his. “Julian! What are you doing here?”

Julian affectionately ruffled Chloe’s hair. “Are you bullying people again?” He sighed, looking helpless. “When are you going to grow up?” The arrogant brat was gone, replaced by a sweet, pouty little girl. “I don’t want to grow up. With you, Mom, and Dad protecting me, I want to be your little princess forever.” The moment I heard Chloe call him “Julian,” my heart stopped. I struggled to turn my head to look at him. But Chloe’s rough handling had aggravated my broken ribs. The pain was so intense I started blacking out, cold sweat dripping down my back. I couldn’t even make a sound. If it weren’t for the burning desire to reunite with my brother, I would have passed out right then. But… my brother, whom I hadn’t seen in twenty years, was standing just feet away. Yet, I couldn’t reach him. I had to watch him shower Chloe with all the warmth, gentleness, and protection in the world. He wasn’t Chloe’s brother. He was mine. He was five years older than me. He used to spoil me rotten, giving me all the best food and toys. When we were kids, he loved to ruffle my hair too. He would smile gently and say, “You will always be happy, Seraphina. I’ll be your knight forever.” But now, all that tenderness belonged to someone else. A wave of bitter resentment washed over me. Why did they adopt Chloe? Why did they give all the love that belonged to me to another girl? Was that fair to me? I struggled on the bed, letting out muffled whimpers, desperately trying to get his attention. And I did. Through my blurry vision, I saw him slowly walk over to my bed. He stopped right beside me. “Miss, I apologize on Chloe’s behalf.” “She’s young and spoiled by our family, so she can be reckless. But she doesn’t mean any real harm.” He pulled a black card from his pocket and placed it on my pillow. “There’s two million dollars in here. I hope this covers your trouble.” Looking at Julian—his face expressionless, his voice cold and detached—my heart shattered alongside my body. “Julian, I already gave her two hundred thousand! Why give her more? A charity case like her isn’t worth that much if she sold her soul!” “Chloe.” Julian scolded her, but his voice was filled with indulgence, completely different from the icy tone he used with me. Chloe stuck her tongue out playfully and sneered at me. “Stop playing dead. I barely touched you. At most, you have a couple of scratches.” Julian looked at my pale face and the cold sweat on my forehead. He seemed to realize something was off. Maybe… I wasn’t faking it. But so what? To him, I was just a stranger. And Julian King never cared about the lives of strangers. He turned and took Chloe’s hand. “Let’s go. Today is Seraphina’s memorial day. We need to visit the cemetery.” Chloe gasped, hitting her forehead. “Oh my god, I almost forgot! Seraphina won’t be mad at me in heaven, right?” “I’m sure she won’t. You’re sweet and kind. Besides, she was the one who sent you to us. Why would she be mad?” Julian smiled warmly, pinching her cheek. “Exactly. You’re the little princess Seraphina sent us.” “Eighteen years ago today, we went to her grave and found you, a three-year-old, sleeping right by her tombstone.” “The moment we saw you, we thought Seraphina had come back to us.” “Especially your eyes. They look just like hers.” Julian’s eyes went distant, as if he were looking through Chloe at the little sister he missed so desperately. After a long moment, he pulled himself back and sighed. “Let’s go.”

Just a second before Julian turned to leave, I forced myself through the agonizing pain and grabbed his sleeve. “Julian…” “What did you call me?” Julian froze. His eyes locked onto my face. Then, his pupils shrunk. “Your eyes…” Suddenly, his gaze turned ice-cold, and he violently shook my hand off. “Your eyes do look like Chloe’s, and they look like my late sister Seraphina’s. But not everyone with those eyes is allowed to call me Julian.” He pushed my hand away so hard that my wounds ripped. I shook violently from the pain, helplessly watching him lead Chloe out of the room without looking back. The massive room fell dead silent, leaving only me and Ethan. Ethan looked down at me as I writhed in pain, condescendingly reaching out to press the call button. “People move up, Mia. Don’t blame me for being heartless.” “But that baby in your womb… you really can’t keep it.” My heart stopped. I looked at Ethan in absolute disbelief. I thought he didn’t know I was pregnant. I thought that was why he let Chloe run me over. Ethan looked down, slowly adjusting his cuffs, avoiding my eyes. “I found the ultrasound report in your drawer weeks ago. You wanted to surprise me, didn’t you?” “If it weren’t for Chloe, maybe I would have been happy.” “But a man has to prioritize his career. Chloe can give me everything I’ve ever dreamed of.” “You and that unborn kid can’t give me anything!” It felt like my chest was being ripped open. A suffocating pain engulfed me. The sweet, loving boy from college—when did he become this monster? Or maybe he was always this selfish and cold. I was just too blind to see it. Vaguely, I heard a nurse’s furious voice. “The patient has broken ribs and is going through a miscarriage! Any movement causes agonizing pain! Are you her family? Do you even know how to look after her?” “I have nothing to do with her. I just saw the accident and brought her in out of pity. I’m leaving now.” My heart was sliced open again. Seven years of love, and to him, I was just a stranger he helped out of pity. Tears fell silently. He abandoned me and our child for Chloe to climb the social ladder, right? Fine. I’d wait for him to reach the top. And when he’s at his proudest, I will stand before him. I’ll show him that the one standing at the very top—the one who can crush him and Chloe like bugs—is the “orphan” they threw away and humiliated.

To avoid any more trouble from Chloe, I used the money she and Julian gave me to hire two private nurses. On the third night, I booked a private medical transport and had myself transferred to a top private hospital in Boston. It took six months for my body to fully recover. A week ago, I finally contacted my dad. Even though he was a feared mafia boss, reaching him wasn’t hard. He had a private number known only to the four of us in our family. When I was a kid, he made me memorize it. He knew he had too many enemies and feared we might get separated. He told me that as long as we were alive, we could always reach him through this number. Stepping out of the JFK airport back in New York, the warm sunlight hit my face. I finally felt alive again. My dad’s men were on their way to pick me up. I was no longer a helpless orphan. I was going to take back everything Chloe took from me, piece by piece, and become the one person in New York no one dared to touch. “Mia? Why are you back in New York?” A familiar, annoying voice broke my thoughts. It was Ethan. His face twisted with annoyance. “We are over. Can you stop stalking me?” Without warning, Ethan shoved me. “Get out of here before Chloe sees you. She’ll get jealous and start a fight.” “What is going on here?” A sharp female voice shrieked. It was Chloe. She marched over and shoved me hard, sending me sprawling to the ground. “You cheap whore, trying to steal my man again…” Chloe stopped mid-insult, squinting at my face. Then, she let out a loud sneer. “Oh, it’s you. You took my money and you dare to come back to New York to harass my boyfriend? Do you think I’m soft?” She raised her hand to slap me, but paused, looking at the crowd gathering around us. She immediately put on her elegant heiress mask. A wicked grin spread across her face. “Throw her into my van. I want to catch up with my old friend!” Her two burly bodyguards immediately stepped forward, grabbing my arms to drag me toward her black Mercedes van. But right before they could force me inside… A fleet of dozens of luxury black SUVs pulled up in a perfect, intimidating line right at the airport curb. Dozens of men in sharp black suits stepped out, marching straight toward us.

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On the day of our college graduation, my parents held up their cameras, taking photo after photo of my boyfriend and my best friend. Through the lens, Ethan smiled and kissed Chloe on the cheek. He even dropped to one knee, pulling out a ring to fake a proposal. My parents stood by, watching with warm, indulgent smiles. Yet, I was their actual daughter. And Ethan was the guy I had been dating for four years. Dressed in my graduation gown, I stood alone in the corner. I waited for a long time, but my mom never once called my name. Once Chloe finished her photoshoot, she sighed and complained about not finding a good job yet. Naturally, Ethan forgot all about me, immediately leaning down to comfort her. “Come work at my company. Be my personal assistant. What do you say?” My brother, Marcus, walked over with a cold bottle of water. He only handed it to Chloe, then wrapped a possessive arm around her shoulders, giving Ethan a sharp glare. “Chloe, come to my company instead. Be my personal assistant!” Two men, fighting over my best friend. My parents laughed, saying we were all just one big family anyway. I stood to the side, my fingers tightening into fists. It felt as though Chloe was their real daughter, and Ethan was her boyfriend. Since that was the case, I would sign the job contract for the place furthest away from home, and never come back.

An email notification popped up on my phone. It was from the company Chloe had interviewed with. They rejected her. Chloe’s eyes welled with tears instantly. “Am I really that useless? I can’t even get a basic job.” My mom immediately pulled her into a comforting hug. “What nonsense are you talking about? Maybe Natalie is useless enough to not find a job, but not you.” “You’ve been perfect in everything since you were a kid, Chloe. How could you not find a job?” After saying that, she glanced back at me. “That company just lacks vision. Don’t worry, sweetie, we’ll take our time finding a better one.” I stood there, having done absolutely nothing, yet once again being used as the foil to prove Chloe’s superiority. Growing up, I had doubted countless times whether I was the one who was adopted, and if Chloe was their biological child. But unfortunately, the DNA test I secretly took showed no issues. Later, I thought it was because of my personality. Maybe I wasn’t smart or charming enough. So, I worked myself to the bone to prove my worth. Yet, by the time I finally achieved things that should have made them proud, I realized their favoritism toward Chloe had already become a deep-rooted habit. Just like now, they were used to ignoring me. They knew I’d always find my own way home anyway. I stood there, watching Ethan whisper sweet nothings to comfort Chloe. Meanwhile, my dad was on the phone, calling the HR manager of Aegis Group on the spot. After hanging up, he made a confident promise. “I’ve sorted it out for you. Your first job is crucial. You can’t just settle. A major corporation like Aegis is the bare minimum.” There was always a safety net beneath Chloe’s feet. The moment she slipped, everyone rushed to catch her. During our freshman year, she failed a core course. My mom pulled strings to find a senior tutor, paying three hundred dollars per session and booking twenty sessions in advance. That same semester, I scored a ninety-five on my final exam. Full of anticipation, I showed my grade to my mom, hoping for a single word of praise. But all I got was criticism. “I thought you said you worked hard? Why did you lose five points?” After that, I stopped sending my grades home. During our junior year, I had a sudden bout of acute gastritis. The pain was so intense I collapsed at the entrance of the lab building, unable to stand. I called Ethan, begging him for the first time to take me to the hospital. But the other end of the line was quiet for a moment. “Chloe has a big presentation tomorrow. She’s really nervous right now and needs me to help her practice.” “Natalie, you’ve always been independent. You can call an Uber yourself, right?” That day, the Uber driver saw how pale I was and personally helped me walk into the ER. A complete stranger knew I needed a hand. Yet Ethan thought I was perfectly fine on my own. Maybe it was because I had been too sensible for too long. When you never complain, people assume you don’t feel pain. It was only much later that my mom casually asked about my job hunt. I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could answer, my dad waved his hand dismissively. “With her major, what kind of good job can she get? Just find some random desk job and call it a day.” Marcus glanced at me, frowning. “Yeah, just get a job. Don’t think you’re going to live rent-free at home after graduation.” Ethan even chime in, “If you really can’t find anything, I can ask if our company’s front desk is hiring.” He said it so naturally, as if he was genuinely doing me a favor. I looked down and unlocked my phone, opening the acceptance email. The Cairo Institute of Deep Space Materials. Excellent benefits, highly prestigious, but located over five thousand miles away. For the past seven days, I hadn’t confirmed the offer. I was waiting. Waiting for my mom to ask me where I wanted to stay. Waiting for my dad to make a call for me too. Or waiting for Ethan to remember our promise to stay in the same city after graduation. But with only six hours left on the confirmation countdown, not a single person asked. I tapped “Confirm.” A message popped up on the screen. Welcome to the Cairo Institute of Deep Space Materials, Natalie Sinclair! At that moment, the first sincere welcome I received came from five thousand miles away.

The next morning, my mom dragged us all to the mall. She said since Chloe was joining a big company, she needed a brand-new wardrobe. A six-thousand-dollar designer suit, a fifteen-thousand-dollar work bag, and five-thousand-dollar high heels. Every time Chloe looked at a price tag in hesitation, my mom would smile and tell her not to worry about the cost. “You’re going to be working at a top firm. You need to look the part.” My dad happily handed over his credit card at the register. Marcus, his hands full of shopping bags, asked Chloe if she wanted some designer perfume too. Ethan knelt down, gently feeling the back of Chloe’s new heels. “The leather here is a bit stiff. Let’s try another pair. I don’t want you getting blisters on your first day.” I stood a few paces away, watching his gentle profile. During our four years of college, I had walked miles in ill-fitting shoes just to keep him company. When my heels bled, he only laughed and said I was being dramatic. It turned out he knew shoes could hurt. It was just that when those shoes were on my feet, it wasn’t worth his concern. Passing by a luggage store, I stopped. My suitcase was ten years old, and the corners were cracked. I had wrapped layers of duct tape around it, and the wheels were completely uneven. I picked the cheapest one in the store. One hundred and twenty-nine dollars. Instead of taking it straight to the counter, I walked over to my dad. “Can I get this?” Perhaps, even now, I still held onto a stupid shred of hope. They had just spent over thirty thousand dollars buying luxury clothes, shoes, and bags for Chloe. A hundred-dollar suitcase shouldn’t be too much to ask for, right? Maybe I just wanted to prove that I still held some tiny fraction of a place in their hearts. But my dad only frowned. “Don’t we have suitcases at home?” “That one is ten years old, Dad. It’s broken.” “Just because it’s broken doesn’t mean it’s unusable. Do you think your parents’ hard-earned money is for you to throw away like this?” My mom walked over, scoffing. “Chloe got a prestigious job, so of course she needs nice things.” She glanced at the suitcase in my hand, her tone filled with annoyance. “What kind of job are you going to get that warrants a fancy suitcase like this?” “You’ll probably end up as a receptionist somewhere. Nobody cares what bag you bring. Just make do with the old one.” Marcus chuckled from the side. “She’s just jealous. She saw Chloe buying things, so now she wants to compete.” My hand froze on the handle. Slowly, I put the suitcase back. Chloe stood outside the store, her fifteen-thousand-dollar bag on her shoulder, surrounded by shopping bags. “Natalie, aren’t you buying anything?” “No.” I looked down at my worn-out canvas tote bag. It wasn’t that the family was broke. And it wasn’t that appearance didn’t matter. It was just that whenever it came to me, everything became “unnecessary” and “wasteful.” That evening, my mom booked a private room at a nice restaurant to celebrate our graduation. A massive cake sat in the center of the table. The moment I walked in, the icing caught my eye. Congratulations on Graduation, Chloe! Wishing you a brilliant future! Chloe looked slightly embarrassed. “Helen, did you forget to write Natalie’s name?” My mom didn’t even look up. “She doesn’t like cake anyway. It doesn’t matter.” Actually, I loved cake. She had just never bought one for me. During dinner, my dad handed a recommendation letter to Chloe. “I’ve already spoken to my contact. You can report to Aegis Group next week. The office is close to home, and the pay is great.” Chloe’s eyes turned red. “You guys are too good to me. I don’t know how to repay you.” My mom squeezed her hand. “Oh, sweetie, don’t talk about repaying us. We already think of you as our own daughter.” Watching them hold hands, I suddenly felt like an intruder sitting at the wrong table. The warm, family scene was so blindingly bright that my presence felt like a stain on their perfect picture. When the bill came, my mom paid for Chloe’s share. But a second later, a Snapchat split-bill request of $136.50 popped up on my phone. Sent by my mom. Only I was asked to pay. “Natalie, you’ve graduated now. You can’t keep relying on your parents’ money.” “From now on, you’ll need to pay your share for dinners, rent for your room, and utilities.” I stared at the split-bill request down to the cents. I didn’t say a word. I just quietly clicked pay.

When we got home, my mom stopped me just as I was about to go to my room. “Pack up your things. Chloe is moving in tomorrow.” “She starts at Aegis next week. Her family’s place is too far from the office, so she’ll be living with us.” I followed her gaze. In the hallway sat brand-new bedding and a vanity table that had just been delivered. All in Chloe’s favorite baby pink. “Where is she staying?” “Your room, of course. We don’t have any other spare rooms.” I froze. “Then where do I sleep?” My mom paused, pointing toward the storage closet near the entrance. “Clean out the storage room. A folding bed can fit in there. Chloe is our guest, so you’ll just have to deal with it.” The storage room was piled high with old furniture. The window was half-blocked by a cabinet, and there was mold on the walls. When we were kids and Chloe stayed over, I used to give up my bed and sleep there too. Back then, my mom would stroke my hair and say, “Our Natalie is the most sensible girl.” I had always thought being sensible would earn me a little bit of her love. Only later did I realize that the reward for being sensible was being expected to give up everything forever. “No, I won’t do it.” It was the first time I had ever said no. My mom’s face darkened instantly. “Chloe is going to be busy with her new job. She needs proper rest!” “You don’t even have a job lined up. What difference does it make where you sleep?” I whispered, “It’s my room.” My mom laughed as if she’d heard a joke. “Your room? Everything in this house was given to you by us. What’s wrong with you giving up a room for a bit?” I stared at her and suddenly asked, “What if the job I got is better than Chloe’s?” My mom frowned. “Natalie, it’s one thing to have no talent, but don’t lie just because you’re jealous.” I had wanted to tell her that I was accepted by the Cairo Institute. But the words died in my throat. My dad finally snapped in irritation, “If you don’t want to sleep in the storage room, then pack your bags and get out. Nobody is stopping you.” I looked at them and nodded. “Okay.” They thought I was just throwing a tantrum. My mom didn’t even try to stop me. She only warned me to clear my things out completely so I wouldn’t delay Chloe’s move-in tomorrow. I found a cheap hostel nearby. A six-bed dorm, top bunk, thirty dollars a night. Every time the person next to me tossed and turned, the entire metal frame shook. But the moment I lay down, I felt more at peace than I ever had at home. At least this bed was truly mine, paid for with my own money. The next day, I went back to pack the rest of my things. When I opened my jewelry box, I realized the sapphire cross necklace left by my grandma was gone. Grandma Eleanor was the only person in that family who had ever truly loved me. When I had a high fever as a kid, my mom was away at Chloe’s dance recital. It was Grandma who carried me to the hospital on her back. She told me, “Our Natalie isn’t fearless. She’s just too scared to cry because there’s no one to comfort her.” After Grandma passed away, that cross necklace became my only comfort. I marched into the living room, clutching the empty box. “Mom, where is my necklace?” My mom paused her hands while stripping the bedsheets. “It’s just an old cross. How should I know where you put it?” The moment she finished speaking, a photo popped up in the family Snapchat group. My dad had set up a dinner with his friends to introduce Chloe to the executives of Aegis Group. In the photo, Chloe was wearing the new designer dress we bought yesterday. And around her neck was my sapphire cross necklace. I shoved the photo in front of my mom’s face. Seeing she couldn’t lie her way out, she doubled down, completely shameless. “Chloe was meeting executives today. Her neck looked too bare, so I gave it to her.” “You never wear it anyway. Why let it gather dust?” “That was Grandma’s!” My mom’s expression went cold. “I’m your mother. Do I need your permission to take something from this house?” “Besides, your grandma adored Chloe too when she was alive. If she knew you were throwing a fit over a piece of jewelry, she’d think you were incredibly petty.” “Grandma wouldn’t.” Tears fell without warning, and my voice began to tremble. “Grandma was the only person in this family who never forced me to give up my things to Chloe.” I turned to head to the restaurant, but my mom blocked the door immediately. “The executives are still there! If you go now, are you trying to ruin Chloe’s career?!” While we were arguing, the front door swung open. Chloe was back. She touched the sapphire cross on her chest. “Natalie, are you looking for this?” She unclasped the chain and held it out in her palm. “I didn’t know this was from your grandma. Helen told me it was a graduation gift.” I walked over and reached out my hand. “Give it back.” I was still two paces away from her when she suddenly let go. The necklace crashed heavily onto the tiled floor. The blue sapphire in the center of the cross shattered into pieces. Chloe took a step back, tears streaming down her face first. “I’m so sorry… you rushed at me so fast, I got scared…”

I knelt down, gathering the shattered pieces into my palm. The sharp edges of the broken metal cut into my finger, blood seeping into the cracks. On my eighteenth birthday, Grandma Eleanor had placed this necklace around my neck. Her hands had been weak, taking several attempts to secure the clasp. “Our Natalie always gives in to everyone else.” “When Grandma is gone, make sure you keep the things you love. Don’t let yourself suffer anymore.” I had hugged her back then, giggling and saying that as long as I had her, I’d never suffer. But then Grandma passed away. And in this house, there was no longer anyone who saw me as a girl who felt pain, got sad, or deserved to be loved. I couldn’t even protect the last thing she left me. The only love I had left was taken by them to please Chloe, only to be smashed to pieces right in front of my eyes. “Natalie, I really didn’t mean to.” Chloe covered her face and sobbed. My mom immediately shielded her in her arms. “Don’t cry, sweetie. It’s not your fault.” She glared at me. “If she hadn’t rushed at you like a maniac, why would your hands shake?” But I hadn’t even touched Chloe. Marcus sighed in annoyance. “Just take it to a jeweler and get it fixed. It’s not like it’s worth that much anyway.” Ethan pulled out a tissue, gently wiping the tears from Chloe’s face. Nobody noticed my hand was bleeding. Or maybe they did. It was just that compared to Chloe’s tears, it didn’t matter. I tightly clenched my fist around the broken cross. In the past, whenever I was wronged, I would scream and explain myself. I used to believe that if I just explained clearly, they would understand. But at this moment, I didn’t even have the energy to speak. I slipped the broken necklace into my pocket and walked out. My mom screamed after me, “If you walk out that door, don’t you dare come back! You’re an adult and you still have such an attitude! Who would ever put up with you?!” I didn’t look back. She didn’t know that I had no intention of ever returning. I went back to the hostel. My flight to the Cairo Institute was the day after tomorrow. I packed my remaining clothes. At one in the morning, a message from Ethan came through. Chloe cried the entire night. Are you happy now? I stared at the screen for a long time. I wanted to explain, but halfway through typing, I deleted everything. He didn’t care. Just like he never cared why I left. Chloe’s tears required everyone to comfort her all night. My pain only earned me a complaint about my “bad attitude.” I blocked every single one of them. Then, I dragged my broken suitcase to the train station to head to the airport. At the security check, the wheel of my suitcase got stuck. A kind older woman helped me lift it. “Traveling alone, dear? No family to send you off?” I smiled, feeling a weight lift off my shoulders. “They have someone more important to take care of.” As the train pulled away from the platform, I looked at the broken necklace in my hand and finally let my tears fall in the silence of the cabin. I wasn’t crying because I missed them. I was crying for my younger self—the girl who had stupidly believed that if she was just a little more sensible, someone would finally love her back. Before turning off my phone, I saw a few incoming texts. They were still demanding that I “be sensible” and come back to apologize to Chloe. But they didn’t know. The Natalie Sinclair who was always sensible, who always waited for their approval, was gone. And she was never coming back.

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My husband, Cole, and I had been together for seven years. He was a penniless orphan, and I was the sole heiress to the Franklin empire. I fought my entire family to marry him, and today, I finally did. The wedding was grand and perfect. He looked at me with the same deep, adoring eyes he always had. But late that night, in our brand-new bridal suite, I found a leather-bound journal he had accidentally left behind. Inside, he had documented everything. From our very first day in college, he had meticulously planned every single encounter, every conversation, and every milestone of our relationship. It was a perfectly calculated trap. The very last entry was dated yesterday. “Antoinette finally took the bait. Once the wedding is over tomorrow, everything the Franklins own will be mine.” Our wedding was incredibly lavish. My father spared no expense. Cole, the man I had loved for seven years, was now my husband. He grew up as an orphan, so my family covered every single wedding expense. My father didn’t mind at all. He just wanted me to be happy. Throughout the ceremony, Cole was incredibly attentive. The way he looked at me was filled with pure adoration. I believed his love was real. Seven years of history couldn’t possibly be a lie. All the guests were whispering about how lucky we were, calling us a match made in heaven. And I believed them. Until late that night, after the last guest had left. I sat on our bed, which was covered in red rose petals, anxiously waiting for Cole to return. He had gone to see off our last few friends and told me to head up and rest first. Our master bedroom was huge, decorated in warm, romantic lights. That was when I noticed a black, hardbound journal lying on the carpet near the nightstand. I recognized it instantly. It was Cole’s diary. He had always mentioned his habit of journaling, but I had never read it. He told me it was just boring, day-to-day stuff. I wanted to respect his privacy, so I never pried. But tonight, for some inexplicable reason, I picked it up. It wasn’t locked. I opened it easily. The first page was dated seven years ago—September 1st, our very first day of college. The handwriting was definitely Cole’s. But the words felt like they belonged to a total stranger. “Antoinette Franklin. The sole heiress to the Franklin Group.” “My target starts today. I will make her fall in love with me.” My heart instantly dropped. Refusing to believe it, I kept flipping the pages. September 15: “Bumped into her at the library today. A perfect accident. She is exactly like the files said—sweet, innocent, and a little naive.” “Step one: success.” October 3: “She agreed to be my girlfriend. Everything is going exactly according to plan.” “She has these pure, doe-like eyes. Sometimes when she looks at me, I almost fool myself into thinking this is real love.” December 24: “Christmas Eve. She told me she loves me.” “Phase two: complete. Up next: long-term companionship and deep integration into her life.” I flipped through page after page. It felt like I was reading a horror story about my own life. Cole and I were the main characters, but the tone was as cold and calculated as a corporate takeover. Every date, every fight, every makeup session was listed as a milestone, followed by a post-event analysis and the next step of his strategy. My hands began to shake violently. Our seven-year romance was nothing but a highly engineered scam. I was the idiot playing her part in his script. I reached the very last page. The entry was from yesterday. “Seven years. This show is finally coming to an end.” “Antoinette finally took the bait. Once the wedding is over tomorrow, everything the Franklins own will be mine.” “Father, your vengeance is at hand. I am about to reclaim what is ours.” My brain went entirely numb. Tears streamed down my face, but I didn’t feel sad. I just felt cold—an icy, bone-chilling numbness that spread from my chest to my fingertips. Right then, the bedroom door clicked open. Cole walked in with his signature warm, gentle smile. When he saw me sitting on the floor with his journal in my hands, his smile froze for a fraction of a second. But he recovered almost instantly. He walked over, kneeling beside me, and reached out to pull me up. “Why are you sitting on the floor, sweetheart? It’s cold.” His voice was still so soft, so familiar. I looked up at him. This face, which I had loved for seven years, now looked completely foreign and terrifying. I held up the journal right in front of his face. “What is this?” My voice was so raspy I barely recognized it. Cole’s eyes changed. The warmth and tenderness vanished. In their place was a cold, calculating gaze, mixed with a hint of annoyance at being caught. He stood up, looking down at me coldly. “Well, since you’ve read it, I guess there’s no point in playing pretend anymore.” He admitted it. Just like that, without a single shred of hesitation. My entire world shattered into pieces. “Why?” I squeezed out the question with every ounce of strength I had left. “Why?” He let out a harsh, mocking laugh. “You should ask your dear father. Ask him what he did to the Miller family twenty years ago.” He reached into his pocket, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it. Through the rising smoke, his face looked incredibly cruel. “Toni, I wanted to give you some dignity.” “If you had just played the part of a happy housewife and handed the company over to me, I would have made sure you were taken care of for the rest of your life.” “But you had to be stupid and dig this up.” He pointed his cigarette at the journal in my hands. “Now, the game is over.”

I don’t even know how I survived that night. Cole didn’t touch me. He slept in the guest room. I lay alone on the cold bridal bed, staring at the ceiling until dawn. Every single word from that journal was burned into my brain. My youth, my love, my entire life—all of it was a massive joke. But I couldn’t just give up. Not for myself, and definitely not for my family. The next morning, Cole sat at the dining table, eating breakfast as if nothing had happened. When he saw me walk downstairs, he even offered a small smile. “You’re awake. Come have some breakfast.” I forced down the wave of nausea hitting my throat and sat opposite him. I told myself: Toni, you cannot panic. Do not let him see you break. From this moment on, you are the one who has to act. “Cole, are we still going on our honeymoon?” I did my best to make my voice sound normal. He looked at me, slightly surprised. “Of course. The tickets are already booked, aren’t they?” “Great.” I forced a smile. “I really want to go to Paris. You promised you’d take me there.” He nodded, a hint of suspicion lingering in his eyes. “Sure. Whatever you want.” After breakfast, I made an excuse to pack my bags and locked myself in the bedroom. I pulled out my phone and dialed a number. Julian Vance. He was our family’s legal counsel, and the man my father trusted most. The phone rang for a long time before someone picked up. “Hello?” Julian’s voice was professional but carried a hint of morning tiredness. “Julian, it’s me. Toni.” There was a brief silence on the other end. “Toni? Happy wedding day. Is everything okay? It’s pretty early.” I took a deep breath, trying to steady my voice. “Julian, I need some legal advice.” “If… hypothetically, a friend of mine found out that her new husband only married her to steal her family’s wealth… what should she do?” Julian let out a soft chuckle. “Toni, you should really stop watching those lifetime dramas.” “Without concrete evidence, accusations don’t mean anything in court.” His tone was detached, purely professional. I knew he wouldn’t believe something so wild without proof. “Evidence… I’ll find it.” After hanging up, my heart sank. If even Julian thought I was being paranoid, how was I going to find proof? Then, I remembered the last line of Cole’s diary. “Father, your vengeance is at hand.” Cole’s father? I thought Cole was an orphan? Also, the diary mentioned a few other details—meetings with friends, and some unusual bank transfers. I opened my phone and started checking our joint bank accounts. Most transactions were normal living expenses. But one stood out. Three months ago, there was a fifty-thousand-dollar wire transfer to a completely unfamiliar name. The memo read: “Personal loan.” Cole never lacked money. My father had given him a black card with a massive limit. Why would he need to borrow fifty thousand dollars from a stranger? I quickly took a screenshot of the transfer and sent it to Julian. Then, I texted him: “Julian, please run a background check on this account owner. I will cover the fees.” As soon as the message sent, I deleted all call logs and texts. I walked out of the room. Cole was leaning against the living room couch, scrolling through his phone. Seeing me, he looked up. “All packed?” “Yeah.” “Great. Let’s head to the airport.” He stood up and naturally reached for my hand. I flinched, pulling away instinctively. The air in the room instantly froze. Cole’s eyes darkened. “Toni, don’t play games with me.” I forced myself to meet his cold gaze and smiled. “I’m just… still adjusting. We’re actually married now.” He stared at me for a few agonizing seconds before letting it go. But I knew. He was starting to doubt me. This game was getting incredibly dangerous.

On the flight to Paris, Cole and I barely spoke. I kept my eye mask on, pretending to sleep, while my mind raced to find a way out of this. I had to get enough evidence to ruin him before he realized I was on to him. Once we landed, Cole checked us into a luxury hotel. He played the role of the doting husband perfectly, arranging everything. But it only made my skin crawl. That night, he claimed he had to meet a “French business partner.” I knew it was a lie. He was meeting his accomplice. Right after he left, my phone buzzed. It was an encrypted text from Julian. It was an image of the bank account holder’s details. The account belonged to a man named Douglas, registered in a remote town. But it was Julian’s note below that made my heart race: “This man owns a shell company. It was registered six months ago. No actual business operations.” My heart hammered against my ribs. Douglas… shell company… I immediately connected it to a name in Cole’s journal. He had mentioned needing “Douglas” to move some funds. It was him! Julian sent another message right after. “Toni, this is much bigger than you think. Where are you? We need to meet.” His tone had completely changed. He was no longer the detached lawyer. He believed me. I sent him my hotel address in Paris. He said he would get there as fast as he could. Waiting for Julian was agonizing. I was terrified Cole would walk in at any moment. I wiped my chat history with Julian, muted my phone, and hid it under my pillow. About two hours later, there was a knock at the door. I peered through the peephole. It was Julian. He was wearing a sharp, tailored suit, looking slightly exhausted from the travel, but his eyes were incredibly sharp. I opened the door and let him in. “Toni,” he greeted, nodding. “Julian, thank you for coming.” “Don’t worry about it. It’s my job.” He sat down on the sofa, getting straight to business. “Now, tell me everything. No more ‘hypothetical friend’ stories.” I didn’t hold back. I told him about finding the journal, the revenge entries, and everything Cole had admitted. I tried to stay strong, but my voice cracked when I spoke about our seven years being a lie. Julian listened quietly, never interrupting. When I finished, he remained silent for a long moment. “Toni, I am so sorry you have to go through this,” he said, his tone softening. “But from this moment on, you cannot let your emotions guide you. You need to stay calm, and you need to trust me completely.” I nodded. “Cole’s target is the Franklin Group,” Julian explained, his expression grave. “Based on what you’ve shown me, he’s likely planning a hostile takeover or trying to siphon the company’s core assets.” “We have to stop him before he makes his move.” “How?” I asked. “Step one: keep him calm. He can’t know that you’re onto him. You have to keep acting like the happy bride for the rest of this honeymoon.” “Step two: we need more concrete evidence. A journal entry and one wire transfer aren’t enough to hold up in court. We need proof of corporate embezzlement or insider trading.” “Step three: I will dig into Cole’s real family background. We need to find out what this ‘vengeance’ is actually about.” Julian’s logic was flawless. It brought a sense of calm to my chaotic mind. “I understand.” “And one more thing,” Julian said, looking into my eyes. “From now on, only contact me through this secure, encrypted app. I’ll show you how to use it.” We talked late into the night. Shortly after Julian left, Cole came back. He smelled of alcohol, but his eyes were completely sober. “How was your meeting?” I asked casually, pretending to read. “Good. Just talked some business.” He shrugged out of his coat, his eyes scanning the room as if checking for anything out of place. Finally, his gaze landed on my face. “You seem… different tonight.” My heart leaped into my throat.

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My mom had been blind for three years. My father, who supposedly loved our family more than life itself, brought his abused ex-lover, Scarlett, and her daughter, Violet, into our home. The moment they walked through the door, Scarlett’s toy poodle went wild and lunged at my mom. Scout, my mom’s guide dog, let out a fierce bark and scared the poodle back. Scarlett clutched her trembling poodle, her eyes welling up with tears. And my dad, pointing at the very guide dog he had personally trained, roared: “You filthy beast! Bark again and I’ll pull every single one of your teeth out!” I rushed home the moment I saw the security feed on my phone. By the time I arrived, Scout was lying on the floor, his mouth drenched in blood. His shattered teeth were scattered all over the ground. My dad looked at my mom and said: “Scarlett has suffered so much over the years. Now that I’m successful, I won’t let her and Violet suffer another second of misery!” When he spoke of Scarlett, his eyes were filled with an unshakeable tenderness. But he didn’t know that the “success” he was so proud of was entirely built on my back.

I pushed open the front door and saw Scout tied up on the scorching, sun-drenched balcony. A few bloody teeth lay on the concrete. Blood was gushing from the empty sockets in Scout’s mouth. My mom was holding Scout helplessly, her palms covered in raw scrapes. My heart instantly tightened into a knot. “Mom, what happened?” “Georgina, please help Scout. He got into a fight with Scarlett’s dog, and your dad…” I looked at the bloody pliers lying on the floor, and everything clicked. I stared dead at my dad. A flicker of guilt flashed in his eyes. A guide dog is incredibly hard to train. My dad had spent over two years personally training Scout just to protect my mom. Scarlett noticed his momentary guilt. She set down her coffee cup, slowly stood up from the lounger, and carried herself with the smug air of the new lady of the house. “Back where I come from, a dog this poorly behaved would have been put down. Pulling a few teeth is getting off easy.” Violet stroked her poodle’s head, chiming in: “Exactly. My mom cherishes this poodle your dad gave her. She can’t bear to see it get hurt at all.” I glared at them. “No one asked for your opinion.” Scarlett bit her lower lip, grabbed her suitcase, and made a show of leaving. “Christian, I told you your family wouldn’t welcome me. Why did I even bother coming here!” “Violet, pack your things. We’re leaving.” The guilt in my dad’s eyes vanished instantly. He rushed forward, snatched her suitcase, and pointed at the bruises on her arm, his voice thick with heartache: “Wyatt treated you like garbage, and you want to go back there to suffer?” “As long as I am breathing, I will never let you or Violet suffer again!” I let out a cold laugh, looking at this “saint” of a father. “Dad, Scout is Mom’s eyes. He is family.” “Did you forget? You were the one who said that.” He looked at me with a stern, cold face. “From now on, Scarlett and Violet are also our family!” “And as the man of this house, let me tell you this: I don’t care how spoiled you and your mother were before. From now on, you will respect them.” The midday sun was brutal. Scout’s mouth was still bleeding, and my mom’s clothes were soaked in sweat from the heat. I quickly untied Scout, preparing to rush him to the veterinary hospital. “Uncle Christian, what are these clothes?” Violet walked out of my room, holding a few of my lace designer dresses. Those were custom pieces gifted to me by a student I sponsored, who had won a prestigious fashion competition in Paris. Scarlett tutted, turning to my mom. “Betty, I don’t mean to criticize, but even if you’re blind, you can feel how expensive this fabric is.” “Georgina is a young girl. Wearing clothes like this…” “If word gets out, it just shows how much you’ve failed as a mother.” “Christian is a respected CEO now. She’s completely ruining his reputation.” With that, she handed a pair of scissors to my dad. He hesitated for a second, but took them anyway. He threw both the scissors and the dresses right in front of my mom. “Cut them up. Otherwise, neither of you is leaving this house today.” My mom’s hands trembled as she clutched her shirt, trying to explain for me: “Christian, it’s not what you think. These were a gift from a student Georgina helped…” “I don’t care what they are! You live under my roof and eat my food. Do I not even have a say in this house anymore?” My mom looked lost and helpless. Scout lay on the ground, whimpering in pain. Without another word, I picked up the scissors.

With a heavy heart, I shredded my student’s hard work into pieces and threw them at my dad’s feet. “Are you satisfied now?” My mom and I rushed Scout to the vet. After some treatment, the bleeding finally stopped. Though his life wasn’t in danger, Scout lay at our feet, his ears drooping sadly. Guide dogs are highly intelligent. They have dignity, and they feel emotional trauma too. My mom sighed softly. “Your dad is a good man. But whenever Scarlett is involved, he completely loses his mind.” From what I knew, Scarlett and my dad were childhood sweethearts. But Scarlett’s father, greedy for money, forced her to marry a wealthy man’s son. Back then, my dad was dirt poor. Heartbroken, he left his hometown to build a life from scratch. Now that he was a successful businessman and Scarlett was being abused by her alcoholic husband, Wyatt, my dad saw this as his golden opportunity to play the savior. When we got back home, I found Violet sitting at my laptop. She was downloading games while deleting my raw thesis files. That was three months of hard work and experimental data. I hadn’t even backed it up yet. I snatched the laptop away, my voice rising in anger. “That’s my thesis data! Don’t touch it!” Violet whimpered like a victim. “I’m sorry… I’ve never had a computer at home. I was just curious. I didn’t mean to…” Hearing the noise, my dad walked into the study and saw Violet tearing up. “Georgina, I was the one who let Violet use the computer.” “Violet’s father treated her terribly growing up. Who do you think you are, flexing your attitude on her?” Violet started crying even harder. My dad’s anger flared. He snatched my laptop and threw it straight into the fish tank. The screen went black instantly as water flooded the keyboard. One hundred days of grueling, sleepless work—gone in a flash. Even the three goldfish in the tank were struck by the heavy laptop and sank lifelessly to the bottom. Those goldfish were my mom’s prized possessions before she lost her sight. For three years, my dad had meticulously cared for them, feeding them and changing their water right on schedule. Now, he stared coldly at the dead fish, his tone filled with utter impatience. “Your mother is blind, but are you blind too? Didn’t you see how happy Violet was?” I helped my mom back to her room, feeling strangely grateful she couldn’t see the ugly, venomous sneer on my dad’s face. After pulling the ruined laptop out of the fish tank, I looked at him and asked, “Do you even remember why Mom went blind in the first place?” Three years ago was the most critical year of Christian’s career. On a night with torrential rain, my mom went out to deliver a crucial folder he had forgotten. A truck carrying steel rebar skidded on the wet road and plowed into her while she was waiting at a red light. The rebar pierced directly through her eyes. When the doctor declared her permanently blind, my dad knelt by her hospital bed and wept all night. He kept sobbing, “God, why couldn’t it have been me? Betty, I’m so sorry…” He promised her: “Betty, from now on, Georgina and I will be your eyes.” “As long as I have you and Georgina, I have everything I need.” Christian’s face went pale. His eyes drifted to the dead goldfish. He frowned and muttered, “I’ll just buy some new ones.” “Ah!” Suddenly, a sharp scream came from the guest room, followed by the rich aroma of chicken soup. We ran in to find Scarlett sprawled on the floor by my mom’s bed, hot soup spilled everywhere. She clutched her leg, her voice dripping with artificial sincerity. “Betty, if you didn’t want the soup, I could have made you something else. But how could you push me like that…” My dad rushed over, grabbing the medical kit to bandage Scarlett. Her leg was slightly pink, but upon closer inspection, there wasn’t a single blister. Scout barked twice, trying to draw my dad’s attention to my mom’s foot. He was pacing around anxiously, and his tail accidentally brushed against Scarlett. She immediately shrank into my dad’s arms, shrieking, “Christian, it’s going to bite me!” “Wyatt used to set his dogs on me like this… I’m terrified!” My dad kicked Scout hard in the ribs. The poor dog collapsed, struggling several times before he could stand back up. I couldn’t take it anymore. I violently yanked up my mom’s pant leg. “Scarlett, look at my mom’s foot! It’s covered in severe burns! Stop putting on a goddamn show!” Scarlett froze, then began to sob dramatically in my dad’s arms. “Christian, I didn’t mean to… I swear…” My dad flew into a rage and slapped me hard across the face. “Is this how I raised you? How dare you speak to Scarlett with such disrespect!” My mom started crying in panic. Being blind, she was completely helpless. She frantically reached out, grabbing my dad’s hand, taking all the blame: “Christian, it was my fault! I accidentally spilled the soup! It’s all on me!” “Don’t blame Georgina! Please don’t hit her…” When I was a kid, my mom fell off her bicycle while carrying me. We both scraped our limbs—I hurt my knee, and she hurt her elbow. Back then, my dad tenderly disinfected our wounds, looking a hundred times more pained than we were. Now, feeling the burning sting on my cheek and the ringing in my ears, I finally saw reality for what it was. I calmly looked at my mom and said: “Mom, don’t apologize.” “We don’t need him. We can live perfectly fine on our own.” Suddenly, a strong burning smell filled the air, and the deafening screech of the building’s fire alarm began to wail. Someone screamed in the hallway: “Fire! Run!”

Amidst the frantic wailing of the fire alarm, Scarlett clung to my dad, whimpering: “Christian, I’m so scared. We just found each other again… I don’t want to die…” My dad was deeply moved. “Scarlett, I won’t let anything happen to you.” He hoisted Scarlett onto his back and started rushing out, not forgetting to grab Violet and her toy poodle. We lived on the tenth floor. My mom was blind, and her foot was covered in agonizing blisters from the boiling soup. There was no way I could get her down ten flights of stairs by myself. “Dad!” In that moment of sheer terror, a tiny sliver of hope still lingered in my heart. Christian glanced back at me, his guilty eyes saying everything. Desperate, I yelled again, “Dad! What about us?” “Georgina, the fire is spreading fast. I have to get Scarlett and Violet down first!” With that, he turned around and fled without looking back. My mom stared blankly in the direction he had gone, her tears flowing endlessly. I had no time to cry. I grabbed Scout’s leash and put my mom’s arm over my shoulder. The stairwell was thick with choking smoke. People were pushing past us in a panic. From the tenth floor down to the eighth, my mom tripped and fell three times. By the fourth time she fell, I decided to carry her on my back. She refused vehemently. “Georgina, listen to me. You are young. You have so much ahead of you.” “You can’t escape if you’re carrying me. You surviving is my only wish…” My voice was steel. “Mom, we leave together. If you won’t go, Scout and I will die right here with you.” Scout seemed to understand. He let out two sharp, encouraging barks and nudged my mom with his snout. After a moment of hesitation, she finally relented. I hoisted her onto my back, realizing she was far lighter than I had ever imagined. Thick smoke swirled around us. Everyone else had already sprinted past. By the time we stumbled down to the second floor, our path was blocked. The ceiling had collapsed, sealing the exit door with heavy debris. I leaned out of a small hallway window and screamed, “Help! Somebody help us!” Through the window, I could see Christian sitting safely on the lawn below, gently brushing a stray lock of hair behind Scarlett’s ear. The temperature in the stairwell skyrocketed. The black smoke grew suffocating. My mom coughed violently, and my eyes burned so badly I could barely keep them open. She slipped off my back again. Suddenly, Scout ripped his leash out of my hand. He threw his body repeatedly against the blocked exit door. Once, twice, three times… Just before my mom and I lost consciousness, the door gave way under Scout’s relentless weight. We stumbled out into the fresh, cool air. On the grass, Christian was busy feeding Scarlett water while carefully applying ointment to a tiny blister on Violet’s finger. He was so absorbed in his touching reunion with his first love that he had completely forgotten his wife and daughter were trapped in a burning building. I stared at the “happy little family.” Then, I pulled out my phone and sent a text. [Spread the word. Cancel all of Christian’s business privileges and patents.] In the midst of surviving the ordeal, my phone rang. It was the hospital. “Is this Betty’s family? A matching cornea donor has just passed away.” “Time is of the essence. Please bring Betty to the hospital immediately for surgery.”

I had never believed in miracles, but in that moment, I wept with gratitude. I grabbed my mom’s hand. “Mom, we got a cornea! You’re going to see again!” Scout wagged his tail furiously, as if he understood every word. But I had underestimated the chaos of the fire. Half the city’s traffic was paralyzed. No cars could get in or out of our block. After begging a firefighter, I finally secured two seats in an emergency vehicle. Before we could get in, Christian blocked us. “Georgina, let Violet and Scarlett take those seats. They’re hurt.” I looked at the mother-daughter duo. Their cheeks were flushed and healthy. The only “injury” they had was a tiny blister on Violet’s pinky. I refused flatly. “Absolutely not. My mom needs to get to the hospital right now for a cornea transplant!” He threw a dismissive, cynical glance at my mom. “Are you still this naive? Last time you rushed to the hospital, the donor’s family backed out at the last second.” “People aren’t that selfless. Stop dreaming.” I stood firmly in front of my mom. “This time is different.” “It’s no different! The smoke is bad here. Let Scarlett and Violet go first!” The paramedic intervened. “There are only two seats left. Whoever needs emergency surgery goes first.” “Wait!” Christian pulled out his phone and showed the paramedic a digital copy of my therapy records. A while ago, I had struggled with insomnia because I was so stressed about my mom’s blindness. Christian had set up an appointment with a therapist, telling me I just needed to vent to a professional. “This is my daughter. She’s a pathological liar. There is no surgery. Her therapist says she has severe delusion issues!” The paramedic looked at the psychiatric record, frowned, and ushered Scarlett and Violet into the vehicle. My phone rang again. It was the hospital. “You must arrive within the hour.” “Otherwise, the cornea will go to the next patient on the waiting list.” “We’ll make it! We will be there!” I cried. Hanging up, I fell to my knees in front of Christian. “Dad, I beg you. Just let us go first. I’ll do anything.” “I’ll sign over the patent rights your company has been begging for.” Violet scoffed. “Aren’t you just a broke lab assistant? Since when do you own patents?” “Uncle Christian hates liars, you know.” Scarlett clutched her forehead, whimpering, “Christian, my head hurts so bad… Am I going to die…” Scout seemed to realize what was happening. He dragged his battered body forward and used his remaining teeth to gently tug on Christian’s trousers, pleading. “Get lost!” Christian kicked Scout away with brutal force. The dog’s head slammed directly into a wooden plank with a rusty, exposed nail. With a soft, pained whimper, Scout took his last breath. Christian guided Scarlett and Violet into the emergency vehicle and drove off. My mom cradled Scout’s lifeless body, weeping uncontrollably. She grabbed my hand, her voice filled with absolute despair. “Georgina, don’t beg him… I don’t want the surgery anymore.” “Mom, don’t say that!” A cornea donor is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. The emergency vehicle drove right past us. No matter how much I screamed, it didn’t stop. The crowd around us stared at me as if I were a lunatic. Just as I was about to spiral into total despair, the deafening roar of a helicopter filled the air. A private chopper landed right in the middle of the grass. An elegant, middle-aged man who bore a striking resemblance to my mom stepped out. He rushed over and grabbed our hands. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry I’m late…” Behind him, several police officers jumped out, immediately intercepting the ambulance and handcuffing Scarlett. “Scarlett Vance, you are under arrest for the murder of your husband, Wyatt Vance. Please come with us.”

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