Chapter 1

The main villa in Lexington was my creation, even if my name wasn’t on the plans. I had spent ten years transforming those cold stone walls into a haven for Silas.

Every morning, I'd wake up an hour early just to make sure his coffee was at the perfect temperature.

I loved him deeply. To me, Silas Thorne wasn’t just my husband; he was the man who had pulled me back from the depths of despair after losing my parents a decade ago.

I cherished the little moments, the way he’d give my hand a reassuring pat while he worked, or the rare times he’d call me “the heart of this home.”

I didn’t mind that my hands were rough from scrubbing or that I had forgotten what my own professional voice sounded like. As long as Silas was happy, and our kids, Rick and Nicky, were safe, I felt fulfilled.

“Mom, move! You’re standing on my shadow!” Rick, my eight-year-old, complained as he pushed past me in the hallway, not even glancing back.

“Sorry, sweetheart,” I murmured, managing a small, tired smile.

I made my way to Silas’s study. I had intended to surprise him with a late-night snack, but as I reached for the door handle, my wedding ring… the one Silas had slipped on my finger in a meadow filled with flowers a decade earlier, slipped off.

It was loose; I hadn’t been eating properly lately, too preoccupied with ensuring everyone else had enough on their plates.

The ring clattered and rolled into the dark gap behind his imposing deep brown desk.

“Oh no…” My heart raced. Silas was very protective of this room. “It’s for the business that keeps us afloat, Cassie. Don't touch anything,” he always instructed.

But I couldn’t leave my ring there. It was my most treasured belonging.

Kneeling down, I reached into the dust and shadows. I felt something solid like a metal lockbox. I had to pull it out to get to my ring. As I dragged it into the light, the aging latch snapped open, spilling a stack of papers.

I bent to grab my ring, but my eyes were drawn to a document on top.

MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE: STATE OF CALIFORNIA.

GROOM: SILAS THORNE.

BRIDE: LOANNE VANCE.

The date was June 14th, 2016, the very day of our wedding.

My breath caught in my throat. My mind raced. A typo, I thought desperately. It was just a mistake.

But then I noticed the next document, a “Waiver of Prosecution” for the mountain pass accident that had claimed my parents' lives. It was a settlement, closing the case for good.

The signature at the bottom read Cassie Vance, but the 'C' was looped in a way I never wrote. It was Loanne’s handwriting. Loanne is my twin sister.

“Silas?” I murmured, looking up as the door creaked open.

Silas stood there, tall and elegant, like the hero I had idolized for a decade. But his eyes were different. They weren’t my husband’s eyes. They were the eyes of a stranger watching a bug.

“You weren’t supposed to find that, Cassie,” he said, his voice unnervingly calm.

“Silas, what is this?” I held up the certificate, my voice trembling. “Why is Loanne’s name here? Don't tell me it's what I think it is.”

He looked at me calmly, his lips pressed together in an unbothered manner. His reaction made my head spin.

“We... we have a life! We have children, Silas. I’ve loved you more than anything for ten years!”

Loanne stepped out from behind him, wrapped in a silk robe that looked familiar from Silas’s last “business trip” shopping haul. She leaned into him, and to my horror, he wrapped an arm around her waist.

“Oh, Cassy,” Loanne sighed, her voice dripping with insincerity. “You were always so blinded by that ‘pure’ heart of yours. Did you really think a man like Silas would be satisfied with someone as boring as you? You were just a means to an end. I’m the legal wife, and I’m the one who holds the Vance assets.”

My eyes darted between them, trying to process what Loanne was saying. “What… what are you trying to say?”

Instead of answering me, she let out a laugh and shook her head as if I was crazy.

“Really, Cassie?” She chuckled again, leaning more closely to Silas. "I, Loanne Vance, is the legal wife of Silas Thorne and unfortunately for you, I hold all the Vance assets. I really hope you can figure it out now."

I felt my heart sink as realization dawned on me. My breath hitching, I pointed a trembling finger.

“The accident…” I choked out, feeling the world tilt beneath me. “The brakes. You two... you killed my parents.”

“They were planning to leave most of the estate to you, the ‘sweet’ daughter,” Loanne hissed, her eyes flashing with years of envy. “I couldn’t let that happen. Silas helped me solve that problem. And for ten years, you’ve been our perfect, unpaid servant. You even raised your kids to love me more than you.”

“Mom? Why is she crying again?” Rick appeared in the doorway, with Nicky beside him. They both looked at me with cold, annoyed expressions.

“Rick, Nicky... come here,” I sobbed, reaching out.

“Don’t touch them,” Silas snapped. “They know the truth, Cassie. They know that Loanne provides for them. You’re just the lady who cleans their rooms.”

The shock hit me like a physical punch in the chest. The person I adored, my sister who I had trusted, and the children for whom I had sacrificed everything, they were all a lie.

A searing pain exploded behind my ribs. My heart, weighed down by a decade of stress and now shattered by this truth, began to fail.

I collapsed onto the floor, clutching the filthy marriage certificate to my chest.

“Silas... please…” I gasped, struggling for air.

He didn’t move. He didn’t reach out to catch me. He just watched me fight for my life, a look of mild annoyance on his face.

I loved you, I thought, the words lodged in my throat. I would have given my life for you.

As darkness crept in at the edges of my vision, a desperate prayer formed in my mind. Please... not like this. Not after ten years of lies. If there's a God... if there's mercy at all... let me fix this, let me protect them, let me become the monster they think I am.

My heart gave one last jagged thud. My eyes closed on the image of Silas and Loanne standing over me, their shadows merging into one.

Then, everything faded into cold, heavy darkness.