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."

Lung cancer.

The two words hit her like thunder, shattering her sanity. She tried to smile, but tears poured down her face. She had thought that leaving the rehabilitation center meant she could start over. But fate was playing a cruel joke.

"Doctor... how long... do I have?"

"With proper treatment, you might live longer. But the treatment is expensive." She was silent. Her hands slowly clenched.

"Worst... case?"

"Two months."

The doctor's face was sympathetic, but he pressed on. "With good results, there could be a miracle. You should discuss this with your family."

Her expression went blank. "I... have no family." Her biological parents wanted to sell her. Her adoptive parents despised her. She had no one.

She couldn't afford the hospital bill or even the medication. She owed the hospital money--she would pay it back someday. Her phone and ID were with Carter. And her mind, dulled by years of electric shocks, couldn't remember the way back. Her bad leg throbbed with pain. She could barely walk. She couldn't go back, and no one would lend a phone to a beggar.

She ended up on the streets, sleeping under a bridge, surviving on garbage. She kept telling herself that Carter would come looking for her to finalize the divorce. But she didn't know that everyone thought she had run away to avoid signing the papers.

"Nothing?"

"No, sir. We've searched everywhere--the Brandt house, the Singleton house. No sign of Miss Brandt."

Carter frowned deeply, his eyes flashing with understanding--and disgust. Of course. Adaline would never cooperate with a divorce. She had chased him for ten years, refused to leave, even impersonated Elois and climbed into his bed to marry him. Why would she want a divorce? Her obedient act on the way here had just been to lower his guard so she could run and hide.

He let out a cold laugh. "Start with her friends. Without her documents, she can't go far."

But three full days passed, and they found nothing. Carter grew impatient. He thought of one person and called her. Genevieve Thorne, Adaline's former best friend.

She screamed into the phone, "Carter Holder! Are you even human? You sent Adaline to that place for four years! You're an animal! A bastard! Don't call me!"

"She's with you. Have her come out."

"Are you insane? You think I'm hiding her? Wait--what do you mean? Adaline is missing?"

"Genevieve, don't play dumb."

"Play dumb, my ass! Carter, I've held back for years. You were the one who agreed to marry her, then you backed out. You're worse than a--"

"The Thorne family business deal is canceled."

She went silent. After a moment, her voice softened. "She's not with me. I swear."

He hung up, his face dark. Not with the Brandt family, not with the Sutter family, not with Genevieve. No one in their circle would dare take her in. She had gotten better at enduring. Better at hiding.

He gave the order: "Contact Tranquil Meadows. Once we find her, send her back."

If she wasn't reformed yet, they would keep reforming her.