Chapter 1When my husband's dick pics hit my phone, I knew he was cheating. Again.
This time: his secretary. Who looked 70% like me.
I did my usual: "Here's money. Disappear."
But instead of taking it, she smiled. "Bet your husband and mommy will LOSE THEIR MINDS when I leave."
Then she vanished.
Whatever. These girls all think they're special.
But this time? Different story.
Mom's hair turned white overnight.
And my husband of seven years? Slapped down divorce papers. "Olivia's your mom's secret daughter. We have a kid together. I've actually been with her longer than you."
"She's our everything."
That's when I knew: She wasn't lying.
After that, they sacrificed me for her again and again without blinking.
But guess what?
When karma finally kicked down their door, those same people hit their knees and BEGGED for mercy.
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"Either tell us where Olivia is, or we're done. Mother-daughter over."
"Get the hell out of my house. Now."
Mom's voice sounded like she'd been gargling glass. My heart dropped.
I stared at them both, completely lost. Was this real life?
"I swear I don't know anything," I said, barely above a whisper.
My pathetic response just made Mom's face fall with disappointment.
Ethan slammed Olivia's resignation letter down in front of me.
The letter was basically a dramatic essay—accusations about how badly I treated her, followed by how heartbroken she was to leave them.
"Look, I don't give a shit how you treat other people," he snapped.
"But Olivia? Why?! She and my kid are fucking gone—vanished! You really expect me to believe you had nothing to do with this?!"
Ethan's voice got louder with each accusation.
He'd been looking for Olivia all night. His eyes were bloodshot—total zombie mode.
Ethan—Mr. Always-In-Control—was completely losing his shit without her.
I closed my eyes for a second, each breath feeling like someone was stabbing my lungs.
"Olivia took my money and bounced. That's it. I don't know where she went."
Seeing me like this, Ethan was done playing nice.
He turned to Mom.
"She's never gonna tell us the truth," he said, voice breaking. "God knows what she did to Olivia..."
"And don't forget about Noah. Your grandson is missing too—your only grandkid, for Christ's sake."
The second Ethan finished, Mom slowly stood up.
Her security guys—yeah, my mom has security—immediately closed in around me.
"Lily, both you and Olivia are my daughters. Just admit it and I won't punish you."
"Last chance. Tell me where Olivia is, and we're good. You'll keep your place in this family."
Mom stood there—same face I'd known all my life, but a total stranger now.
Those once-loving eyes? Cold as fucking ice.
My lips shook. Tried to speak. Just whimpered instead.
Mom's patience snapped. One flick of her wrist and her goons grabbed my shoulders.
"Break her fingers first," she ordered.
CRACK.
The pain shot through my finger—they weren't kidding about fingers being full of nerve endings. My face went ghost-white.
I still stared at my mother in disbelief. MY MOM.
That last shred of hope inside me disappeared completely.
I bit down hard, sweat pouring down my face and hitting the floor.
One broken finger wasn't enough for them. SNAP! A second finger. SNAP! A third...
My vision was going dark when—RING! RING! RING!—Ethan's phone blasted.
"Sir, we found Miss Olivia!"
Those five words saved my ass. They tossed me to the floor like garbage.
All ten fingers—TWISTED. SWOLLEN. BLACK.
The second Mom and Ethan got news about Olivia, they both exhaled like they'd been holding their breath for days.
Smiles spread across their faces. Not ONE fucking glance my way.
Before leaving, Ethan stopped. Turned. Looked down at me sprawled on the floor.
"Sign the divorce papers today. I don't want my kid also being labeled a bastard."
SLAM! The door banged shut. The breeze sent the divorce papers fluttering to the floor beside me.
Ethan had already signed his name on that.
The date below his signature? Seven years ago.
The day after our wedding, this asshole had already prepared divorce papers.
I gasped for breath in the darkness. My phone screen lit up—blindingly bright.
Messages flooding in one after another.
Mom's ice-cold announcement. Ethan's status update about reuniting with "the love of his life."
And then—one message from a number that had texted me consistently for seven years without fail.
"Lily, I'm coming back to the States soon. If you're willing, that promise from seven years ago still stands..."
Chapter 2
I sat like a zombie all night. When sunlight finally hit the windows, I scrawled my name on the papers.
Seven years protecting this bullshit marriage. And what did I get? Jack shit.
I grabbed the divorce papers and headed to Ethan's office downtown.
The moment I walked in, several employees came rushing out of the break room, faces bright red.
They bumped into me, looking like they wanted to say something but couldn't. Their eyes screamed pity.
Before I could figure out what the hell was happening—a loud, porn-worthy moan echoed through the entire lobby.
Everyone instantly dropped their heads, pretending they hadn't heard a damn thing.
Ethan's assistant blocked my path.
"Ms. Winters, you really shouldn't go in there."
Employees clustered together, whispering. Their hot stares felt like they were burning holes through me.
"First time the boss has been this bold, right? Middle of the workday, right in the office..."
"When Olivia suddenly quit yesterday, he went nuts looking for her. Now that he's got her back, of course he can't keep it in his pants."
"If Ms. Winters still won't divorce him after this, she's seriously a doormat."
"What do you expect? She's desperate for him."
My eyes drifted to his office windows. The blinds that should've been open were pulled down tight.
The moaning was getting louder. Through the gaps in the blinds, I could see clothes thrown all over the floor.
I slowly lowered my head. My eyes felt a little dry and hollow.
Business marriages always come with unwritten rules.
Even after the "I do's," everyone gets to play their own game. Don't ask, don't tell.
I thought Ethan was different. Then six months after our wedding, he changed.
I screamed, fought, even threatened suicide. All it did was leave us both bleeding.
"Lily, people's hearts change. That's life," he told me.
"We're still married on paper. You can go find your own true love too."
His words from back then echoed in my head as I stared at his closed office door.
I took a deep breath and pushed it open.
Everyone else backed away, nobody brave enough to watch what came next.
The office was trashed. Our wedding photo that used to sit on Ethan's desk? Smashed on the floor.
Ethan still had that sex-glazed look in his eyes. When he saw me, he didn't even flinch.
He kissed Olivia's lips one more time, then looked at me with a smirk.
"What, you don't knock? Or do you just enjoy listening outside doors?"
His aggressive questions made my stomach flip.
I nearly threw up right there but forced it back down.
When I didn't answer, Ethan got annoyed. He gently pushed Olivia aside and half-heartedly fixed his clothes.
The scratch marks across his chest were impossible to miss.
I looked away, my throat like sandpaper.
"We need to talk."
"Sis, am I in your way?" Olivia jumped in, flashing me a smile while deliberately showing off the hickeys all over her neck.
Sure enough, Ethan's face darkened when he heard her voice.
"We have nothing to talk about except divorce. Olivia is your actual sister—why do you hate her so much?"
Ethan rarely protected anyone like this. Now he was literally shielding her behind him, watching me like I might attack.
I sighed and placed the signed divorce papers in front of him.
His eyes widened when he saw my signature. Genuinely surprised.
He grabbed the document, checked it carefully, then gave a cold laugh.
"Smart move. Even divorced, we're still family."
"Leave Olivia alone. You don't want Mom to disown you completely, do you?"
With that, he took Olivia and left.
Like he couldn't stand being anywhere I was.
Chapter 3
I dragged myself home, exhausted. When I saw that message about a promise from seven years ago...
"I'm in."
I always knew who'd been texting me. Before I married Ethan, there was this guy who'd followed me around like a shadow.
When I got married, he suddenly left the country. After that, just birthday wishes and New Year's texts. Nothing more.
For seven years I guarded a dead marriage while someone else was actually waiting for me.
I pushed down the lump in my throat and contacted a lawyer to split our assets.
But before I could even finish the call, the door flew open.
Mom stumbled in, her face twisted with panic.
Before I could even react—SLAP—her hand connected with my face.
Mom started sobbing hysterically next to me.
"Lily, you're a MONSTER! Why can't you change? Why can't you accept Olivia exists?!"
My ears were ringing. Blood dripped from my split lip onto the floor.
Ethan grabbed my throat, screaming so hard I nearly passed out.
"It was YOU! You had Olivia and Noah kidnapped, didn't you?! I took my eyes off them for one minute and they vanished!"
"What will it TAKE for you to leave them alone?!"
Mom's hands shook as she held up a small box.
Inside was a tiny severed finger—clearly a child's.
The finger looked freshly cut.
"Lily, Noah is my only grandchild. He's been raised away from the spotlight all these years, dealing with whispers about being a 'bastard kid.'"
"Why would you go after a CHILD?"
Mom's face looked twenty years older, completely drained.
"I can't keep making excuses for you anymore."
Once again—zero chance to defend myself. They'd already convicted me in their heads.
Mom called the cops and had me thrown in a holding cell without blinking.
To "make me talk," she even arranged for some off-the-books interrogation.
The stun baton hit me again and again.
I convulsed like I was having a seizure, eyes rolling back, while Mom and Ethan just watched.
I went from screaming bloody murder to just... nothing. Barely breathing.
Then the kidnappers sent a message.
The video showed Olivia and Noah blindfolded and tied to chairs.
They were covered in blood. The kid looked like he might not even be breathing anymore.
Mom nearly fainted when she saw it.
Ethan went ghost-white, shouting at the screen through clenched teeth.
"Name your price—ANYTHING! Just don't hurt my son—"
The kidnapper's face broke into a smile.
"Want your son back? Fine. A life for a life."
"Break Lily's legs and bring her to us. Then we'll trade."
Mom and Ethan froze. They both turned to look at me.
I could barely speak, just begging through broken whispers.
"Mom... it wasn't... me..."
I caught a flash of doubt in Mom's eyes. But then Olivia's desperate screams came through the video.
"Mom! Ethan! Please hurry—Noah's barely hanging on!"
"Sis, I'm begging you. He's just a little boy!"
Any hesitation vanished from their faces the second they heard Olivia crying.
Ethan grabbed a chair and walked toward me.
My heart dropped. "Ethan, don't. Please don't do this."
He set his jaw and slammed the chair into my knees with EVERY ounce of strength he had.
CRACK. SNAP.
My legs shattered like glass. I collapsed in a screaming heap, the pain so intense I nearly blacked out.
Ethan yanked me into a hug, his voice trembling.
"Lily, I'm sorry. I just—I can't breathe without Olivia. When this nightmare's over, I swear to God I'll make it right."
Mom wiped her tears away and glared at the kidnapper with pure hatred.
"We're bringing her to you now. You better make damn sure my daughter and grandson are okay!"
