PART 2: HE SENT ME TO THE BORDER AS PUNISHMENT—THREE YEARS LATER, I RETURNED WITH A MEDAL HE COULD NEVER EARN
When I woke again, the first thing I saw was Lucas Morgan asleep in a chair beside the window. My leg was still there. Bandaged. Heavy. But…
PART 2: HE TAUGHT ME TO LIVE WITHOUT HIM—THEN PANICKED WHEN I ACTUALLY LEFT
I looked at the pastries in Adrian’s hand. Once, I would have accepted them immediately. I would have taken one bite and convinced myself it meant he…
PART 2: THE VIDEO SHOWED WHO STARTED THE FIRE—AND WHY ETHAN PRETENDED TO BE CRIPPLED FOR THREE YEARS
I pressed play. The video shook slightly. Someone had placed Ethan’s phone on a table inside the dance company’s storage room. Maya appeared first. She was crying….
PART 2: THEY CALLED ME THEIR FREE SERVANT—UNTIL EIGHT MILLION ARRIVED IN MY NAME ALONE
On the other end of the phone, Ethan stopped breathing. —What did you say? I repeated it slowly. —You and I were never legally married. His mother…
PART 2: MY FOUR CHILDREN WERE HIS—BUT THE TRIPLETS HE CHOSE OVER US BELONGED TO SOMEONE ELSE
Adrian received my envelope twenty minutes before his wedding ceremony. The ballroom was already full. Investors. Relatives. Executives. Three hundred guests waiting to watch the heir of…
PART 2: HE WAS READY TO MARRY HIS SECRETARY—UNTIL A GUEST AT THE WEDDING SAID MY NAME
The next morning, I woke before the alarm. Light makeup. A navy-blue suit dress. Low heels. Hair tied neatly behind my head. When I looked in the…
PART 2: HE PLANNED TO FRAME ME FOR HIS MOTHER’S DEATH—BUT SHE HAD LEFT ONE FINAL RECORDING
For several seconds, nobody spoke. Adrian stared at the camera in the bomb squad chief’s hand. Nicole stopped crying. That was what I noticed first. Her tears…
PART 2: THEY LEFT ME AT THE STATION—TWO DAYS LATER, I LEFT THEIR LIVES FOR GOOD
My father replied almost immediately. “Flight confirmed. Paris, 10:40 a.m. the day after tomorrow.” I stared at the message for several seconds. Paris. Not University A. Not…
PART 2: HE TOOK HIS SECRETARY AS HIS “WIFE”—BY MORNING, HE WAS NO LONGER PRESIDENT
At 6:18 the next morning, I woke naturally. No alarm. No Alexander beside me. For several seconds, I simply stared at the ceiling. Then I remembered the…
PART 2: HE CAME TO CLAIM HIS WIFE AND TRIPLETS—BUT LAWYER CLAIRE YE HAD ALREADY CLOSED THE CASE
Five days before Ethan entered that empty hospital room, I had already left through the private discharge exit. Not alone. My three babies were with me. Two…