id Kara had a temper. I just hope she doesn't do anything... rash." She squeezed Kane's arm and then turned to me. "I don't hold a gru

upset. We don't need to provoke her further. Maybe she'll see sense an

carefully crafted victim act. He opened the car door for Britt and Cleveland, then slid int

n surge of desperation, sharp as glass, pier

, oblivious, continued its upward journey. A searing pain flared through my palm. "Agh!" I gasped, yank

seat, his eyes narrowed. "What the hell, Kara? Are you trying to hurt yourself or

erstand," I choked out, my voice hoarse. "It wasn't a deliberate swap. There was a fire at the hospital, Britt! A fire!" My voice cracked.

hock, hardened. "What are you talking about?" she

's at St. Jude's. She's been asking for you. She's been asking to see her daughter, her real daughter, before she go

cing between us. "Jessi? Dyi

Jessi raised you, Britt. She sacrificed everything. She worked herself to the bone in that diner, cleaning, cooking, just to put food on the table for you. She paid off your debt

mething, perhaps fear, in her e

got arrested for shoplifting, when you threatened that girl with a knife in junior high... Jessi always made excuses for you. She always protected you! She though

coming my refuge. But the world outside was merciless. The gossip websites, fueled by the Daugherty' s public statements, painted Jessi as a co-conspirator, a woman who had "stolen" a baby heiress and raised her to be a manipulati

voice raw. "She's so sick. She ju

otion. "Why should I? She abandoned me, remembe

ticipated this cold refusal. Britt had always been good at twisting reality to fit her narrative of v

n my mouth. "She thought she was giving you a better life, away from our povert

humorless sound. "Love? That'

d, Kara," she said, her voice dripping with mock concern. "You shouldn't be so clumsy. Here, let me see." She

"Kara, let me see that. You're bleeding." He

minated. How many times had he held me, kissed me, whispered promises of forever? How many times had those hands traced my s

erally radiate happiness. God, I swear marriage has turned you into a lovesick puppy." I

had insisted on genetic testing after some distant relative raised questions about my birth records. I had gone alo

es ago, destroying many birth records. It was a well-known tragedy. But Britt, consumed by her narrative, t

ra. You're my wife. You're a Daugherty in my heart." He' d said words to that effect. He kept me in the mansion,

became more than just

with triumphant malice, her body intertwined with Kane's.

fumbling for a sheet. "I don't know how this happened. It was a

When I screamed, when I tried to lunge at her, she had simply smiled. A slow, chill

. But I didn't mean to. You're so kind, so good. Please, just forgive Kane. He was just trying to make me feel better." She had looked up a

e barely perceptible tightening of her lips. She was enjoying this

! You use people, you destroy lives! Do you have any idea what you've done to my family? My parents

, don't talk like that. Britt's been throug

other who sacrificed everything for her? A family who took her in even after she showed her true colors?" I had scoffe

ony. I just wanted out. To sever all ties to the

genuinely confused. "Why wouldn't you want to

you did! Because of her!" I had pointed a trembling finger at Britt.

in her hands. "Kara, please. You're being irrational. Britt is fragile. She's just b

he men she's been with. The one who warned me about her, the one who told me she had a... a condition. Someth

et out, Kara. Just get out. You're delus

ad hit me. The man who swore to protect me, who had once looked at me with su

aming down my face. "You're the fool, Kane. You're so blinded by pity, by her lies,

clicked. He didn't love me anymore. He hated me. He truly believed I was the v

rumbled. I let go of him. I let go of our life, our future. I let go of Kane

pty. "You can believe her lies. But my son. He's

r to him. I won't let you anywhere near Cleveland. You'll just po

m my grasp. I walked out of that house, the house I had believed was m

with worry, her eyes red from crying. She hugged me tightly, her frail body

and Jessi's homemade cookies a balm to my raw soul. It was cramped, hum

plummeted. A week later, she was diagnosed with advanced heart disease.

Britt," I had begged, my voice raw with humiliation. "Jessi is dying. She needs surgery. Please, she's your mother, your biologic

aken his head. "I'm sorry, Kara. I can't.

al debt was staggering, a crushing weight that promised a lifetime of servitude. A lifetime pushing carts, scrubbing floors, anything to make ends meet. My medical research

op in the ocean of debt. It was a suffocating r

g! R

ill, the manager, answered it, his face paling. He held the receiver out to me, hi

drumbeat against my ribs. A cold dread s

oice was bare

's about Mrs. Marshall. She's taken a turn for the w

, clattering onto the counter.

chill down my spine. This wasn't how this was supposed to happen.

, that my life was about to unravel even further. The phone call was a prelude