###Chapter 3

He hung up. Cold. No hesitation.

Seconds later, he sent a photo.

It was a scanned document. An investment contract signed between my mom and Piper.

Bold letters in the center screamed at me:

Investments carry risk. All losses due to personal judgment errors are the client’s own responsibility.

My mother’s signature and fingerprint sat neatly at the bottom.

He’d been preparing for this. His legal team—massive, ruthless—ready to crush me like I was nothing.

Still, I went to the Marks Corp building.

In the elevator, I ran into Piper.

She was wearing a custom Chanel gown, carrying a handbag worth more than most people’s cars and of course—the princess bracelet shimmered on her wrist.

She looked like royalty. Like someone born into love.

Her lips curled into a smile the second she saw me.

“Oh no, Annelise... you look awful,” she cooed. “Guess it’s true what they say—when a woman gets old, the bloom fades. No wonder Colin lost interest.”

Then, with mock concern, she said, “Still haven’t buried your mom? Want me to help plan the funeral? I mean, we are family after all.”

My hands curled into fists. Rage boiled up inside me until it threatened to burn me alive.

“You knew it was a scam,” I hissed. “You knew! That was telecom fraud and tricked my mom into giving up every cent she had!”

She feigned hurt, but the corner of her lips twitched with amusement.

“How could you accuse me like that? I was just trying to help,” she said sweetly. “Your mom wanted to earn more for your wedding dowry. I couldn’t say no to her, could I?”

My chest tightened. I could feel the blood rushing to my head. 

“Boy, that old hag love you like the world, didn’t she?” she sneered. 

Then she leaned in close and whispered near my ear, “One day, I stepped on Mr. Marks’s favorite peonies—on purpose. The butler said he’d dock her three months’ pay. She begged on her knees. Right there.”

“I found out later she hadn’t taken a day off in months. Just to save money… for you,” Piper went on, giggling. “When I told her to crawl through the garden like a dog? She did it. Just like that.”

My world crumbled. All those times my mother smiled and told me not to worry about a thing while I planned my wedding... I never knew what she had to endure for my sake.

As the elevator doors opened, something inside me snapped.

I raised my hand, eyes blazing.

“Piper, you’re a monster!”

But before my hand even touched her, she threw herself out of the elevator, crying hysterically as she held her face.

“Annelise, I said I was sorry! I even knelt to you, but you’re still being so cruel—do you really want me dead that badly?!” she sobbed dramatically. “If you want me dead so bad, then fine! I’ll die for your mother!”

She staggered up, pretending to hurl herself into the wall.

“Piper!”

A figure rushed forward, arms wrapping protectively around her—Colin.

He yanked her into his arms and slammed into me with his shoulder. I wasn’t prepared. My head whipped back, smacking the wall behind me with a sickening thud.

The world tilted.

Warm blood trickled down the back of my neck.

Colin turned on me, his eyes bloodshot with rage.

“Anneliese Ward, how dare you? Apologize to Piper. Now.”

It was like she was his wife. And me? Just some lunatic who had to be dealt with.

Piper sobbed against his chest, trembling.

“I know she’s just hurt, she whimpered, clinging to him like he was her lifeline, “but I already said I’d pay for it. I’d take on every job I could, even illegal ones. But she… she still hit me. And she cursed me—said I should drop dead.”

Colin wrapped his arms tighter around her, jaw clenched, eyes dark with fury.

“Have I not compensated you enough?” he snapped at me. “Look at yourself. You’re just like your mother. Petty. Greedy. Always playing the victim. You two deserved the punishment.”

My breath caught in my throat. The room spun, but I stood rooted, too stunned to move.

“Petty and greedy?” I whispered, staring at him like I’d never seen him before. “Is that really what you think of me? That seeking justice for my mom makes me some money-hungry lunatic?”

Tears blurred my vision, but I refused to let them fall.

Something in Colin flickered when he saw me holding back my tears. But the moment Piper whimpered in his arms, his expression hardened again.

“I saw you try to hit her. I don’t care what your excuse is.”

He took a step forward. “This is the last time I’ll say it. Apologize.”

My heart clenched like it was being crushed in a vice.

“And what if I don’t?” I said coldly. 

###Chapter 4

“She's not just the daughter of a mistress—She's the reason my mother’s dead. And you expect me to apologize?!" I yelled. 

Piper didn’t even have time to open her mouth. Colin’s eyes went glacial.

“I warned you,” he said, his voice like steel dragged across ice. “Don’t test my patience.”

Then he turned to his men and barked, “Get her mother’s body. Drag it out of the funeral home.”

Every word was a dagger dipped in poison.

“She won’t learn until she’s broken,” he sneered. “You think someone like you deserves to be lady of the Marks Family?”

“Feed the corpse to the dogs.” He meant it.

The guards moved without hesitation, their footsteps echoing like a death march.

“No! No, please!” I lunged forward in blind panic—only to be grabbed by another bodyguard. His grip crushed my arm so hard I heard a crack.

Agony burst through me like wildfire.

Tears blurred my vision. I cried so hard I couldn’t breathe.

“Colin, please! Don’t do this to my mother. She’s—she’s gone. Isn’t that enough?!”

Piper tilted her head sweetly, hiding the smirk playing on her lips.

“Colin… the dead deserve peace. Maybe we should let this go?”

He turned to her with a sigh. “You’re too soft. That’s why she walks all over you.”

Then he looked back at his men. “Well? What are you waiting for? Do you need me to show you where the funeral home is?” he barked at the guards.

His voice cut through me like broken glass, scattering the last remains of the love I’d held onto for ten long years.

He knew. He knew my mother was my only weakness. And he didn’t hesitate to crush it underfoot.

I broke.

I bowed.

My spine bent, my head dropped, my pride bled out on the floor at Piper’s feet.

“Please,” I whispered, tears falling hard. “Please just leave my mother. Let her rest in peace.”

Each word was a blade in my throat. “I’m sorry. I was wrong.”

Wrong for hoping for fairness.

Wrong for believing—foolishly—that maybe, just maybe, he’d choose me over her.

As I bent forward, the blood-soaked back of my collar showed.

Colin’s eyes flickered. For a split second, he seemed stunned.

“Is this enough for you?” I straightened with every last ounce of strength I had left–staring him down with disgust I couldn’t barely concealed.

His jaw tightened. He gestured to his assistant. “Bring the agreement.”

Only when I pressed my bloody fingerprint onto the page did his brow finally ease.

“You’re bleeding,” he said. “I’ll call a doctor.”

He let go of Piper and moved toward me.

I slapped his hand away.

“Save it. Go get your precious girl's injuries checked instead—if you wait any longer, the fake bruises might fade.”

I turned to leave, but Piper stuck out her foot.

I tripped hard, crashing forward.

Colin’s instincts kicked in. He reached out—but stopped himself just inches away.

His hand froze mid-air. Then he stepped back.

“Alright. Handle your wound yourself,” he said stiffly.

I forced myself to stand tall, even as pain shot up.

He looked at me as they reached inside the elevator. “I’ll go with you to the wedding boutique tomorrow,” he said, before the elevator doors closed behind them.

My body swayed, the dizziness from blood loss rising in waves.

In the blur of pain, I was pulled back to a memory—back to college.

Colin was just nineteen when he took over the family business. He’d worked through endless nights, eyes rimmed with exhaustion. One day, I burned my hand slightly while making soup for him. Just a tiny blister.

Yet somehow, he found out. He stormed out of an important meeting and sped home, barely stopping at red lights.

He grabbed my hand, stared at the burn and held it like it was made of glass.

“I’m so sorry, baby. I should’ve protected you,” he said, voice tight with guilt. “I swear, as long as I’m breathing, I’ll never let anything hurt you again.”

Then he pulled me into his arms. Warm, strong, trembling just a little. That hug—and that promise—etched themselves into my memory like a brand.

But that boy was long gone.

He grew up into a cold, distant man who looks at me like I’m nothing. Like I’m disposable.

Now, he’s the one hurting me the most.

I stumbled toward the building’s exit. Everything went black.

But before I hit the ground—I fell into someone’s arms.

A stranger’s arms, firm and unfamiliar.

Before the darkness swallowed me whole, I heard one quiet breath against my ear.

“Do you want revenge?” A whisper, like a devil making an offer.

“As an exchange for those shares… I’ll help you find the evidence on your mother’s death.”

###Chapter 5

Tears slipped down my face as I clung, half-conscious, to the man’s shirt.

“Re… venge…” I whispered, the word barely formed.

When I opened my eyes again, all I saw was white—too bright, too sterile.

A hospital room.

I turned my head slowly, wincing at the dull ache across my body and reached for my phone. A message from Colin was waiting. He had sent it the night before.

[I’ve got things to handle tomorrow. Go try on the wedding dress by yourself. Our wedding’s getting closer, so pull yourself together. Stop with the tantrums and marry into the Marks Family with some dignity.]

I stared at the message for a moment, expressionless, then dragged my finger across the screen and deleted it.

But just beneath it, something else caught my eye—a post from Piper’s social media.

Colin had taken her on a private jet to chase the northern lights.

In the green haze of the aurora, their silhouettes stood close together. Matching rings glinted on their fingers, tightly intertwined.

The caption pierced like glass:

[He told me I’m the only one for him. He promised to protect me from all the cruelty in this world. How could I ever let go of a man like that?]

Below it, a cutesy account with cartoon couple avatars commented:

[And no matter how far you try to run from me, I’ll find you. I’ll tie you to my side forever. So don’t even try, silly girl.]

I didn’t need to check. I knew that tone. That possessive flair. That was Colin.

I could tell from the typing style alone.

I remembered the day I asked him to use matching couple avatars with me.

He rolled his eyes and snapped, “What are you, twelve? Can’t you see I’m busy? Now leave!”

And yet I had once dreamed of stargazing with him in the Alps.

I had planned the itinerary down to the smallest detail—he said he was too busy.

Every time, that was the excuse: too busy.

Now I finally understood. He could be romantic. He just never chose to be with me.

I set the phone down, trying to blink back the sting behind my eyes.

That’s when I noticed the envelope sitting quietly on the bedside table.

Inside it was a plane ticket. Departure in two days.

And a small note:

[You’re welcome. Hope you like the gift. For your wedding —V.]

So, I was right. The man who carried me to the hospital last night was none other than Victor Keane—Colin’s worst enemy.

I texted him a quiet thank-you and checked myself out not long after.

Then, the wedding planner called. The dress my mother had ordered for me had been altered to fit. It was ready.

It was the last gift she left me. I had to pick it up.

But when I stepped into the boutique, I froze.

There stood Piper—twirling in my gown.

“Annalise…you come,” She spun in front of the mirror with a fake-sweet smile, voice dripping with poison.

“I just had to make sure it fits, you know. Trying to help you out.”

She tugged the neckline lower, revealing fresh red marks across her chest, her tone mockingly bashful.

“Oh no, it’s Colin’s fault—he’s just too passionate. I told him to be gentle…”

I stared at her performance, cold and unblinking.

“You really did inherit your mother’s talent for stealing other women’s men.”

Her smile twitched, then curved into something crueler.

“Oh? Didn’t you hear? I’m pregnant with Colin’s child.”

“And your marriage license?” She laughed. “It’s fake.”

She flashed a video on her phone. A dim KTV room. Piper on Colin’s lap.

He was tipsy, kissing her softly.

“Do your best and bring the baby into this world. When it’s born, I’ll gift him the Marks Corporation.”

Piper asked in a coy voice: “But… what about my sister?”

Colin chuckled. “I never married her. I’ve been slipping birth control into her milk for months. She can’t get pregnant. I’ll just say we adopted.”

It was like being struck by lightning. My head spun. My legs nearly gave out under me.

So that was it.

Love had died a long time ago. I was just too blind to notice.

I sucked in a sharp breath, straightened up and forced a smile.

“Well, congratulations. Becoming the next Mrs. Marks is just around the corner.”

“But that gown is mine. Take it off,” I said coldly.

I lunged to grab it, but before I could even touch her, one of her bodyguards—assigned by Colin—kicked me.The force knocked me flat. Pain exploded in my gut. I could feel everything twisting, shifting like my organs had been slammed out of place.

Piper picked up a pair of scissors. Her tone was gleeful as she traced the blade over the silk.

“Colin said no matter what I do, he’ll clean up my mess.”

The sharp edge tore through delicate lace, slashed through soft silk. With each cut, she shredded the last gift my mother had ever given me.

I just lay there, watching the pieces flutter down like snowflakes.

Even my hatred felt dull now—numbed by the weight of everything.

Piper strutted off, leaving nothing but wreckage in her wake.

I dragged myself home… or rather used to be.

Once I got there, I tore open every drawer and closet, yanked out every gift Colin had ever given me—jewelry, designer bags, stuffed animals.

One by one, I threw them all in the trash.

Behind me, I heard footsteps approaching.

Familiar ones.