Chapter 1

The day I walked out of prison, it was pouring.

My husband drove me to the cemetery to visit our daughter's grave.

Rain hammered the headstone. Jerome, a law professor, broke the silence without warning.

"The security footage from the day Lily drowned. I had someone destroy it."

I froze. I turned and met my son's eyes. Not a trace of guilt in them.

"I testified that you abused her," Daniel said. "It was the only way to clear Vanessa's name."

Over a thousand nights in that cell. None of them came close to what this truth did to me.

Blood welled up in my throat. I grabbed Jerome by the collar.

"What did I do to deserve this?"

Daniel almost smiled.

"Lily is dead. Is a pianist like Vanessa really going to rot in prison for this?"

"You're just a housewife, Mom. A few years inside. What's the big deal?"

Jerome pried my fingers loose one by one, his voice flat.

"You were my wife, Claire. You had the name, the position, everything that mattered. Vanessa, whatever she gave me, whatever child she bore, she was never going to have that."

"As long as you stay away from her and Pearl, I won't send you back to rot in prison."

......

I sank to my knees in front of my daughter's grave.

Jerome bent down and brushed the wet hair from my face.

"You brought this on yourself. You went digging into Vanessa."

"So I arranged for someone to teach you a lesson."

"I didn't expect them to go that far. I didn't know they'd leave you with a permanent injury."

The sound of iron against bone rang through my head again.

That day, I'd just found the first lead proving Vanessa had pushed Lily into the water.

Before I could even feel relieved, a group of men had me pinned to the ground, driving a rod into my legs over and over.

I dragged myself through the blood to the door.

"Help me..."

The footsteps in the hallway only walked away.

Daniel glanced down at me sitting in the mud.

"Stop playing the victim."

"Vanessa had a recital coming up. You chose to go after her at the worst possible time."

"Dad didn't want to do it. You forced his hand."

My own child, speaking for the enemy. The last thread in my mind snapped.

I hauled myself upright and slapped him hard across the face.

Daniel stood frozen, his hand pressed to his cheek.

Jerome lunged forward and shoved me away.

"Claire. Don't you dare touch him."

I hit the headstone hard.

Blood and rainwater ran into my eyes and turned the world red.

Two bodyguards dragged me to the car and back to the house.

Jerome slid an adoption agreement across the table.

"Pearl will be registered in your name."

Pearl. Vanessa's daughter. The child she'd had with my husband.

I swept everything off the table, my eyes burning.

"You want me to adopt your mistress's child? Not a chance."

"She killed Lily. I will never raise that girl."

A ceramic shard split the back of my hand. Blood dripped onto the carpet.

Jerome frowned and pressed his handkerchief to the wound.

"Claire. Stop."

"Accept Vanessa and Pearl. Show some grace."

"You're still my wife. That position is yours. It will always be yours."

My stomach turned. I yanked my hand away.

Jerome's expression went cold.

"You need to calm down."

"When you're ready to talk, come find me."

He walked out. The door slammed behind him.

The room went quiet.

Blood kept seeping from my hand, taking the last of the warmth in me with it.

I took out my phone and bought a one-way ticket south.

I was never coming back to this place.