Carter realized something was wrong. He told the driver to stop, got out, and pulled her out after him. "What are you doing? Are you crazy? You--"

He stopped mid-sentence as he looked down at the hand he was gripping. Five fingers covered in fine scars, thick with calluses, joints swollen. Not a single nail left--just bare, cracked fingertips oozing blood. It was hard to believe these had once been a violinist's hands. The old Adaline had been spoiled and willful, but she played beautifully. The media had called her hands "God's gift."

He frowned. "What happened to them?" She yanked her hand back, trembling, her face deathly pale. "I... got sick. My nails... rotted and fell off."

Carter's lips pressed together. A strange feeling stirred in his chest. But then he remembered what she had done, and hardened his heart again. "You'd better behave. These self-pity tactics won't work on me." He still believed this was just another one of Adaline's schemes. Not worth sympathy.

Soon, the car wound up the hill to the Singleton family villa. Before they even reached the door, they could hear laughter and chatter inside.

"Oh, Mom, Dad, stop teasing me. Carter and I aren't like that."

"Elois is shy. When it comes to feelings, they have to be mutual."

"That's right, Elois. Don't worry. Once Carter gets back, he'll get a divorce."

Adaline's face showed no emotion. Her heart had already been shattered so many times it felt nothing. So that was why they had brought her out--for the divorce.

The people in the living room turned at the sound of their arrival. Mr. and Mrs. Singleton sat on either side of a delicate-looking young woman, doting on her. They had been her parents for twenty years--until a routine physical revealed she wasn't their biological child. An investigation uncovered the truth: she was the daughter of the Singleton family's former maid, who had switched the babies out of jealousy during childbirth.

Her world collapsed. She remained Adaline Brandt, and the real Singleton daughter, Elois Singleton, was brought home. Everything was returned to its rightful owner. She had accepted her fate and gone back to her biological parents--only to discover they planned to sell her into a brothel. She had barely escaped and fled back to the Singleton family, only to fall into another nightmare.

"Sister! You're back!" A pair of slender arms wrapped familiarly around hers. Elois said warmly, "Sister, it's so good to see you! I've missed you so much these past few years. How were you in there?"

Adaline's face went white. She tried stiffly to pull her arm away, but Elois held on tight. Elois leaned in close, smiling, but her voice dropped to a whisper only Adaline could hear. "Adaline, why didn't you just die in there?"

Adaline's pupils contracted. She stared at Elois, who smiled back innocently, then let her gaze drop to Adaline's bare nail beds. Her smile widened. "Does it hurt? No nails, no more violin for you. Oh, and I heard you tried to run. I had them break your leg so you couldn't. Happy? Every bit of suffering you went through in there--I ordered it."

Crash-- The emotions she had been holding back exploded. With every ounce of strength she had, Adaline shoved Elois away and lunged for her throat, her eyes wild. "You... it was you! I knew it! You... did it on purpose!"

Four years of beatings, four years of hell--all because of Elois! She had been trapped in that place, unable to live, unable to die, dreaming every night of escaping.

"Sister! What's wrong with you? Cough... that hurts!" Mr. and Mrs. Singleton rushed forward in alarm. "Adaline! What are you doing? Let go!"

A powerful force yanked her off. Her head slammed against the sharp corner of a table. Pain exploded, blood gushed, streaming down her face. "Adaline! You're asking for it!"

Carter's eyes were cold, his face twisted with disgust. "You never learn."

Adaline, her head covered in blood, tried desperately to explain: "Carter, it was... her! She told them... at the center... to beat me! They broke... my leg! Pulled out my nails!"

He sneered. "Oh? I thought you said you got sick and they rotted. Adaline, how many more lies are you going to tell?" She choked, unable to speak.

Mrs. Singleton helped her daughter up, her eyes full of concern. "Elois, are you all right? Does it hurt?"

When she saw the finger marks on Elois's neck, her face flushed with anger. "Adaline! How could you do this to Elois? She's always thinking of you, caring about you. She even went to the center to bring you food--and this is how you repay her?"

Visit? Bring food? Adaline suddenly remembered the monthly electric shock punishments. Her voice trembled. "Every month... on the seventh?"

Mr. Singleton looked at her with disappointment. "Adaline, you know Elois visits you every seventh. She cares about you, looks out for you. And this is how you treat her? We should have let you go to prison back then. Atone for your crimes."

Four years ago, she had been accused of hit-and-run, nearly facing jail time. The family had paid a large settlement to get a letter of forgiveness. But she hadn't done it. The "evidence" was fabricated. No one believed her. Then Elois had said, "Sister has gone bad. Maybe a rehabilitation center will help her become a better person."

And Adaline was locked up four years.

"Dad... Dad! She's not... kind! She didn't come to... visit me! She came to... punish me! She--"

"Enough! I'm not your father. I don't have a daughter with a venomous heart like yours. We never should have let you out. Driver, take her back."

Adaline looked at her adoptive parents, who refused to believe her, and the light slowly faded from her eyes. How had she forgotten? She was no longer the beloved eldest daughter of the Singleton family.

She turned stiffly to Carter and forced out the words, "What... do I have to do... to not go back?"

The entire Singleton family depended on the Holders. Carter's word was law. His gaze was icy, his voice low and sharp. "Apologize to Elois."

She looked at Elois, who was leaning tearfully against Mrs. Singleton, her eyes red. Apologize? But what had she done wrong? She hadn't chosen to be switched. She hadn't done those things. She hadn't planned to climb into his bed...

One by one, every accusation crushed her. She had fought, she had pleaded, but no one believed her. It didn't matter anymore.

Slowly, she knelt in front of Elois, murmuring, "I was... wrong. I'm sorry."

Thud. Her forehead hit the floor hard.

"I was wrong."

Thud.

An apology, a kowtow. She ground her last shred of dignity into the dust. Soon, bloody prints marked the floor.

Elois's eyes glittered with satisfaction, but when she saw Mrs. Singleton's expression soften slightly, she quickly helped Adaline up. "Sister, I don't blame you. Get up. I know you didn't mean it. I forgive you."

Mr. Singleton looked pleased. "Elois is so kind-hearted. Even after all this, she still cares about her sister."

Adaline no longer resisted or denied. Darkness pulsed at the edges of her vision, and she could barely stand. But pain shot through her arm--Elois's sharp nails digging into her flesh like knives. "Sister, let's get along from now on."

Adaline nodded, enduring the pain.

Mr. Singleton glanced at the time. "It's getting late. Let's take care of business first."

Elois's eyes lit up, but she put on a hurt expression. "Carter, would this ruin your marriage? Maybe we shouldn't..."

Carter's voice softened slightly. "Don't worry. It should have been you all along."

Adaline's head snapped toward him. Should have been you? What did that mean? The Singleton and Holder families had no marriage agreement. It had been her, Adaline, chasing Carter for ten years. She had given up hope--and then he suddenly agreed to marry her.

She had just escaped her biological parents and was barely surviving with the Singleton family. She had been overjoyed, thinking Carter had finally seen her worth. Then she was framed for climbing into his bed, and he reneged on his promise. Old Mr. Holder had forced him to go through with it. They had signed the marriage certificate in secret--no wedding, no announcement. She was like a shameless stray dog. He grew to hate her more each day. That brief warmth had come out of nowhere and vanished just as fast.

Elois said shyly, "Carter, I don't mind." He reassured her with a few words, then gathered the documents and took Adaline away.

Mr. Singleton took his daughter's hand. "Elois, the future of this family rests on you. Don't mess it up."

Compared to the unloved Adaline, Elois--whom Carter clearly favored--was the better choice. Mr. Singleton preferred her too.

The car headed toward the city clerk's office. Adaline stared blankly out the window at the passing scenery--familiar and strange. After four years locked away, the outside world had changed completely. She didn't even have a phone. The Singleton family had taken all her documents and belongings.

She caught a whiff of smoke. Turning, she saw him light a cigarette and instinctively shrank back. She remembered he hadn't smoked before.

"Bother you?"

She shook her head quickly. Who was she to complain?

But her body betrayed her. Her throat itched, and she began to cough. Once she started, she couldn't stop--as if she would cough out a lung.

Carter's face darkened.

"Stop the car."

The car pulled over.

"Get out."

The driver followed orders, yanked her out, and left her on the roadside.

"Walk. If you're late, you know what happens."

The car sped away.She bent over, coughing violently, and a stream of warm liquid shot from her mouth.

She looked down at her hand--covered in blood. Last winter, she had been left outside all night in the cold. She'd developed a high fever that never fully healed. Her lungs were damaged. She couldn't handle smoke.

Slowly, she straightened up and limped forward. The sun was setting.

Outside the city clerk's office. Carter's shadow stretched long. The setting sun cast a warm glow over his handsome face, but it couldn't melt the ice in his eyes. He turned and walked away.

He didn't know that a hundred meters behind him, someone shouted, "Someone help! A woman collapsed!"

Adaline had fallen--a hundred meters away from him.

As the Cullinan rolled past the crowd, Carter glanced out the window. His phone rang. His expression softened as he answered, and at that exact moment, the crowd lifted Adaline up and carried past his window. An ambulance siren wailed. She was rushed to the hospital.

When she woke up, it was the next day. She saw Doctor serious, grave expression and felt dread crawl up her spine.

"Contact your family and have them come to the hospital as soon as possible. Your condition is critical."

"Doctor... what's wrong with me?"

"You have lung cancer. The cancer cells have spread."