A long time ago, I was still the Wells family's heiress.

I had a family that doted on me, and a husband I had grown up with, someone who used to love me like I was his whole world.

Then Julia Knowles showed up, and everything fell apart.

I never had anything against her.

But at a family dinner, she suddenly slapped herself hard across the face, then threw herself on the ground before me. She made my parents and the crowd think I was bullying her, that I thought I was above everyone.

She would go crying to Edward, saying I made things difficult for her at work.

On my wedding anniversary with Hanson, she ran out in front of everyone, clothes in disarray, and collapsed to her knees, begging me not to release some private video of hers.

She kept saying she was sorry, that she would stay out of our lives. She said that all she wanted was for me to let her go.

That same day, Edward took her to the hospital to diagnose her injuries. They said she had tearing injuries.

But I had never sent anyone to hurt her.

Hanson slapped me right then and there. "No matter how much you dislike her, you can't go this far."

Tess ran over, her tiny arms wrapping around his leg. "Don't hurt Mommy! Julia's bad! I don't want her to live in our house!"

Hanson shook her off in anger. Tess lost her balance and fell, but he didn't even look at her.

"Watch your mouth!"

I couldn't stand being accused of something I didn't do, and I definitely couldn't stand Tess getting dragged into it. I grabbed Julia, demanding she tell the truth.

But she just dropped to her knees again, trembling, crying that she wouldn't dare do it again.

After that, the way they looked at me and Tess changed. There was always suspicion in their eyes.

Julia kept playing the victim, feeding off their guilt.

To them, we became the cruel, unreasonable ones.

The last time, she used a blind spot to make it look like I pushed her off a second-floor terrace.

She broke her leg.

That was the final straw. They were completely done with me after that.

My parents looked at me with utter disappointment, as if they didn't recognize me anymore. Edward said he didn't have a sister like me.

I never went back to the Wells residence after that.

Hanson started staying away more and more, avoiding any closeness between us.

One day, someone drugged me.

When I woke up, I was naked in a bed with several men.

The door burst open. My parents rushed in, their worry twisting into shock and fury. Edward stood there, shaking as he stared at me.

I looked up, dazed, and met Hanson's bloodshot, furious eyes.

Beside him, Julia held Tess's hand and spoke softly, "Tess, your mom told you to wait outside, right?"

"Mommy told me to wait by the door. She said she was going to play a game in the room with those men…" Tess answered honestly, too young to understand what she was saying.

It hit me like a thunderclap.

I looked at Julia, noticing the slight curve of her lips and the challenge in her eyes. I knew then this was all her doing.

I lunged at her, ready to tear her apart, but before I could, Hanson struck me across the face, knocking me to the ground.

I stared up at him, disbelief crashing over me.

He still didn't believe me.

We had grown up together, yet none of that mattered more than Julia's tears.

I still remembered when she first came around. Hanson barely gave her the time of day. He stood firmly on my side.

All his attention, all his care, was mine alone.

I thought even if I lost my parents and Edward, he would still be there for me.

But the moment Julia came running to him in torn clothes, crying, and he bent down to help her…

I knew his heart had already started to shift.

Now, there was nothing left in his eyes, just a cold distance.

"Julia said before that Tess doesn't look like me. I chose to believe you," he said flatly. "Now, I think it's time for a DNA test."

Julia's lips curled, just enough to hide it, but her eyes gave her away.

The results came back fast.

"Not biologically related."

The second I saw it, I knew the test had been tampered with.

I tried to explain, but Hanson didn't even listen. He dragged me straight to the courthouse and filed for divorce. He didn't acknowledge Tess, either.

Word spread fast.

Soon, everyone heard that I was in a hotel room with a group of men, and then I was abandoned.

My family cared a lot about their reputation. The company even took a hit because of it.

My parents said I had brought shame to the family.

In the end, Edward sent both Tess and me away to a strict reform school.

They believed Julia. Said we needed to learn how to behave.

From that day on, life became like hell for Tess and me.

"Mommy's not a bad person…and I'm not trash…"

Tess's voice pulled me back.

I looked at her stubborn little face; something seemed to be crushing my chest, squeezing the air right out of me.

I drifted closer, eyes burning, and gently brushed her cheek.

If I hadn't let go of her in the water, if I had just held on tighter, she wouldn't have been swept away. She wouldn't be here alone, getting blamed for everything.

My tears fell without a sound, landing on her arm.

She seemed to feel something. Suddenly, she yanked free from Amelia's grip, grabbed a fruit knife off the table, and drove it toward herself.

Amelia didn't react in time. She let out a gasp.

Blood hit the floor.

I froze, staring at the knife just inches from sinking into Tess's stomach.

A hand clamped down around the blade, and blood poured out instantly.

It was Hanson.

At the last second, he caught the knife meant for her.

For a split second, I was pulled back into the past.

Back when I was younger, a man had followed me home and cornered me with a knife. Hanson had grabbed the blade back then, too, just like this, holding it tightly to keep it from reaching me.

He used to protect me.

Even after we got married, after Tess was born, he still loved me the same.

But now…

"Hanson!"

Edward rushed over, grabbing a handful of tissues and pressing them against the wound, his voice tight with panic.

"Why are you helping her? If Julia sees this, she's going to worry."

My parents hurried over as well, crowding around him with concern.

Only Tess shrank back at the sight of the blood, clutching her head.

"Mommy… I want Mommy…"

Edward turned on her, anger flaring. "Stop talking about your mother! She's a disgrace! And you, if you don't behave, we're sending you back again!"

"I don't want to go!" she shouted back.

"That's enough." Hanson cut him off.

He looked at Tess, something complicated flickering in his eyes. It seemed like he was finally noticing something was wrong.

"If you tell me where your mom is, you won't have to go back to that reform school."

Tess nodded right away. She lifted her hand and pointed out the window, toward the ocean.

"Mommy's over there."

Her small, simple words sent a chill through the room.

Amelia grabbed her radio, her voice steady. "Search the waters where the child was found. Check for any other survivors…or bodies."

Hanson's jaw tightened. The veins in his forehead stood out as his fists clenched. The wound that had just stopped bleeding split open again, soaking through the white bandage.

"There's no way Melody's dead," Edward said, certain. "She's probably in some guy's bed right now."

"Exactly," my mother added, frowning. "She couldn't stand seeing Julia marry Hanson today, so she's using the kid to make up lies and ruin it."

Then her voice softened, almost to herself.

"Melody wouldn't drown herself. She's always been scared of water. She almost drowned when she was little… She wouldn't do it…"

I let out a quiet, bitter smile.

Sorry to disappoint, I guess.

In the end, I chose the one way I feared most.

Just then, a soft voice came from the doorway.

"There you are. What took you all so long? Did something happen to Melody?"

Julia stepped inside, still wearing her wedding dress.

After five years apart, Julia looked nothing like the timid, dependent girl she used to be.

There was a softness to her now, the kind that came from being loved and taken care of. She still looked delicate, the kind that made you want to protect her.

I stared at her, my eyes burning and my whole body trembling with rage.

She took everything from me without effort, while Tess and I were tortured for five whole years.

Hanson and the others would never know.

What they called "learning manners" meant getting beaten by the staff, getting strapped to a chair and shocked, or being hung up and whipped until you stopped resisting.

They kept doing it until you learned to obey, until you stopped feeling anything at all, and until you became nothing but a puppet that followed orders.

At the beginning, I fought back. I screamed and told them who I was.

I told them I was the Wells family's heiress, that my family and my husband would never let this go.

But they used Tess against me.

The moment I showed even the slightest resistance, everything meant for me would be done to her instead.

So for Tess's sake, I gave in.

When they beat me, I curled up and didn't fight back.

When they threw food at me, I got on the floor and forced myself to swallow it.

When they tore my clothes and dragged me into a dark room, I had no choice but to endure it.

At first, I kept hoping my family and Hanson would come for me, that they'd find out what was happening, punish those people, and take us home.

But every time I woke up after another round of humiliation, the hope faded a little more, until there was nothing left.

The only time I felt like I was still alive was when I held Tess.

I thought about ending it more times than I could count.

But for her, I held on.

I dragged myself through five years.

Until three days ago, when Tess got her first period.

The way those people looked at her changed.

"It'd been five years. I'm already bored of the mom."

"She's only ten, but I've never had one this young."

"I wonder what a rich girl's kid feels like…"

The cold spread through me, all the way to my bones.

I couldn't let her go through what I did.

So I finally tried to run.

That night, I carried Tess and climbed over the wall. Even when I broke my leg on the way down, I didn't stop.

The people from the school caught on fast. I could hear them getting closer behind us.

I staggered to the edge of a cliff. There was nowhere left to go.

So I jumped.

I wasn't going to take her back to that place.

I knew I would die, but I never expected Tess to live.

I still don't know if that's a blessing or a curse.

-

"Julia, didn't we tell you to wait at the hotel?"

The moment Julia appeared, my mother hurried over to her.

My father and Edward followed, nodding in agreement.

"Melody never changes. I can't believe she ruined your wedding!"

The same family that once loved me now stood there, caring for the woman who practically caused my death.

It almost made me laugh.

"I was just worried," Julia said softly. "Is Melody still mad at me? Maybe we should call off the wedding. I don't want to upset her…"

Hanson didn't react.

She stepped closer and slipped her arm around his, but he moved away without making it obvious.

"Don't worry. I'll make it up to you," he said, his voice flat. "You're still in your wedding dress. You shouldn't stay. Go back."

For a second, something flashed in Julia's eyes. Then she turned to Tess.

"You must be Tess. You've grown so much." She glanced around. "Where's your mom? I don't see her."

Her gaze swept the room, as if she were afraid I might suddenly appear.

"Don't worry about that shameless woman," my mother said sharply. "She's not worth your concern."

Hanson frowned slightly, like he was about to say something.

Amelia's radio crackled.

"Captain, we got a report. A woman's body was recovered from the water near where the girl was found…"