The morning light hit her hair, his arm was around her waist, and their bodies moved close. Too close.

I felt my stomach twist.

Justine turned when he heard me. His face went pale for a moment, but then he forced a smile. There was a lipstick mark near his mouth. Bright. Obvious. He didn’t even try to wipe it off.

“Cerise, why are you here?”

Justine spoke before she could answer. “She just wanted to come see you. She heard you were out. Cerise helped me a lot while you were… gone. She even visited the cemetery every year. Took care of the grave. Brought flowers. Toys. Even ballet shoes.”

For a second, I couldn’t breathe. My chest felt tight, my heart pounding hard enough to drown everything else out.

“What did you say?” I whispered. Then my voice rose before I could stop it. “What right does she have to go there?! Huh! What right does she have to visit my daughter’s grave?”

I could feel myself shaking. “No murderer has the right to stand there. None.”

Justine didn’t look at me. His eyes went to the floor, his voice quiet. “I already asked someone to perform a ritual. The child has acknowledged her as her godmother.”

Everything inside me went still.

It felt like the blood in my veins turned into knives. The fucking what? A godmother?

Then Cerise started walking toward me. She was holding a bouquet, “Emily,” she said softly, handing it to me. “These are for you. Congratulations on your new life.”

The smell of those flowers hit me before I could even answer. Too sweet. Too strong. My skin started to crawl. It spread fast, an unbearable itch, crawling up my arms, my neck, my face.

And all I could think was that everything about her—her voice, her smile, her scent—was poison.

I slapped the flowers out of her hand. They hit the floor, petals scattering across the tiles. I didn’t even have the strength to yell. What was the point? They’d already taken everything from me.

I turned around and took a few shaky steps, but then I heard it: Cerise’s voice behind me.

“0621!”

The word cut through me. My body reacted before my brain could. “Here!” I said automatically.

For a second, I didn’t understand why I said it. Then I heard her laugh. That sharp, mocking laugh.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Emily,” she said between giggles. “I heard people who’ve been in prison react like that, so I wanted to try it. Just a joke.”

I turned around slowly. Justine was standing there, his hand on her arm.

“That’s enough,” he said quietly. “Don’t make jokes like that again.”

Cerise blinked up at him, smiling. “Okay.”

The way they looked at each other made my stomach twist. Right in front of me, they still couldn’t stop. Still flirting, still touching, as if I wasn’t even there.

All I could think about was that open box of condoms upstairs. My heart went cold.

.....

By evening, I couldn’t take it anymore. I met Lila at a small restaurant. The light there was dim, warm, familiar.

When she saw me, her eyes widened. “Emily, you look awful. Why don’t you move in with me for a while?”

I shook my head. “No need. Just… help me find the evidence fast. Please.”

She didn’t push. Just ordered a table full of food and said softly, “Eat something. You look like you haven’t eaten in days.”

I barely had time to lift a spoon before I saw her.

Cerise.

She walked in with her daughter, dressed perfectly, smiling as if she owned the world. My heart stopped for a second when I saw the little girl. I couldn’t stop staring.

But she noticed. Of course she noticed.

She pulled her daughter close and said loudly, “Sofie, be good, alright? There’s a murderer here. She killed her own child. If you don’t behave, the police will take you away too.”

I froze.

Then she looked right at me and smiled. “Emily, it’s been ten years. Are you still used to eating out here?”

The whole restaurant went silent. I felt the weight of every single eye turn toward me.

I could hear the whispers.

“That’s her?”

“She killed her daughter?”

“She doesn’t look crazy…”

Their voices cut deeper than knives.

Ten years in prison, and I still hadn’t escaped. When they found out what I’d supposedly done, they all turned on me. Made me clean their mess, eat leftovers from the floor, take beatings that left my skin raw. Every time someone said “child killer,” I felt like dying.

Even now, hearing her say those words, my body started shaking. My throat burned.

Then I heard Lila’s voice—sharp and furious. “Cerise, you’re the murderer!”

Before I could stop her, she threw a glass of water right into Cerise’s face. Cerise gasped, stumbling back, while her daughter Sofie crying beside her.

And that was when the door opened.

A tall figure walked in, his voice cutting through the chaos. “What’s going on here?”

Justine.

Of course. He always showed up when she needed saving.

The moment he walked in, Cerise’s whole face changed. Her eyes turned red, and she clutched her daughter tight, shaking as if she was the one who’d been wronged.

“I just wanted to treat Emily to dinner,” she said in a trembling voice. “I don’t even know what I did wrong. She got angry and told her friend to hurt my child…”

The little girl pointed straight at me, crying. “Bad woman! You bully my mom! I hate you. I hate you! You killed your own child.”

I froze. My throat tightened. Before I could even speak, Justine’s face turned dark. He stepped forward, placing himself between us like I was some danger to them.

“You’ve had a child before, Emily!” His voice cut through me. “Why can’t you be kind to another one?”

The words hit harder than any slap.

Yes, I’d had a child. My baby. My little girl who used to laugh when Justine threw her in the air. The baby he once held so tenderly, kissing my forehead and whispering, “Thank you for completing my life.”

But he ruined mine.

And then came the voices behind him.

“Isn’t that Emily? The one who went to jail?”

“She used to brag about being a brilliant doctor. Guess she couldn’t save her own kid.”

“Imagine killing your own daughter. What a monster.”

I looked up and saw a few of his colleagues walking in, all staring at me. I didn’t even bother to defend myself. What was the point?

Justine lowered his voice and said coldly, “Go home. Stop embarrassing yourself.”

Cerise smoothed her dress, wiped her face, and started greeting his colleagues like she was the wife of the house.

I grabbed Lila’s wrist before she could speak and pulled her toward the door. I didn’t say anything. My face felt numb.

As we walked out, Justine’s eyes flickered toward me. For a moment, he looked almost human, almost regretful, when he saw the scars on my arms. But he didn’t say a word.

After I sent Lila home, I bought ballons, candles, and small toys. Then I took a taxi to the cemetery.

.....

When I saw the grave, my knees nearly gave out.

Weeds everywhere. The soil was cracked, untouched. No one had been here. Not once.

And then I saw it.

Someone had written two words in red paint across the tombstone: bastard.

I froze. My chest felt tight, my vision went blurry. I stumbled forward and started rubbing the paint with my hands, crying her name. “No, no, no…”

The paint wouldn’t come off. It mixed with my blood until the word stood out darker, redder, uglier.

I kept scrubbing until my palms split open. Until I couldn’t breathe. Until I fell to my knees and screamed.

Then the rain came heavy, cold, soaking everything.

I don’t know how long I cried. By the time I stopped, the sky was gray. I went to find someone to make a new tombstone, cleaned the weeds, wiped the mud off her photo, and lined up the toys in front of her grave.

My voice shook when I whispered, “Mom will make them pay. All of them.”

By the time I got home, the sky was starting to lighten.

The door hadn’t even closed behind me when Justine’s voice came from the living room. “Didn’t I tell you to go home?! Where were you? I called all night! Do you even know—”

He stopped when I walked past him. I didn’t even look his way.

“Today’s our daughter’s death anniversary,” I said quietly.

And before I could take another step, everything went black.

When I came to, I heard a voice through the haze. It sounded soft, tired. Maybe it was him.

“Emily… I’m sorry.”

Then a ringing sound broke through, sharp and real.

I opened my eyes to an empty room. Just a dream.

The phone kept ringing. I reached for it and answered.

When my phone rang, I didn’t even check who it was. My hands were shaking too much. But when I heard Lila’s voice, my chest tightened.

“Emily,” she said, her tone trembling and excited. “I found it. I found proof that Cerise was the one who killed your daughter.”

For a second, I couldn’t breathe. I didn’t even think. I just ran out of the house. My heart was pounding so loud it hurt.

When I met Lila, she handed me a small USB. Her eyes darted around, nervous. “This has a recording,” she whispered. “Cerise admits it herself. She said she hit her. Killed her. You need to bring this to court. Go straight to the judge. The judge is new. Not Cerise broher. I can’t be seen with you right now.”

I didn’t ask questions. I just nodded and left.

By the time I got to the courthouse, my clothes were damp with sweat. The assistant told me the Chief Justice wasn’t there yet and asked me to wait inside his office.

I stood by the table, gripping the USB so tight my fingers went white. My whole body felt wired. I couldn’t sit. I couldn’t even blink.

Then I heard the door open behind me.

I turned fast, expecting to see the judge.

But my body went cold.

It was Cerise.

She walked in with two bodyguards behind her, wearing a soft pink dress and that same fake smile she always had. “Sister Emily,” she said sweetly, “what are you doing in my dad’s office?”

My mind froze. Her father was the Chief Justice.

“I went the wrong way,” I muttered. “I was looking for Justine.”

I tried to move toward the door, but she stepped in my way. Her voice turned sharp. “Really? Or were you planning to overturn your conviction with some secret recording?”

My stomach dropped. She knew?

I bolted for the exit, but the bodyguards caught me before I could take two steps. One of them slammed me to the floor. My cheek hit the tile. Pain shot through my arm.

Before I could even cry out, a sharp heel came down on my hand. I screamed. The USB was still in my fist, but I felt my grip slipping as she crushed it under her shoe.

“This is the court!” I gasped. “If you dare to touch me here, you’ll regret it!”

Cerise knelt down, her perfume stinging my nose. She pried the USB from my bleeding hand and twirled it between her fingers. “This little thing?” she said softly. “This is what you came here for?”

“Give it back to me!” My voice cracked.

She smiled and plugged it into the computer on the desk. “Let’s see what’s inside then. Since you’re so confident.”

I froze as the audio started playing.

It wasn’t Cerise’s voice.

It was Justine’s.

His voice was low, heavy with lust. “Ceri… you’re amazing…”

Cerise giggled. “What about Emily?”

“She can’t compare to you.”

The room started spinning. My throat closed. The sound of them breathing, whispering it made me sick. I ran to the trash bin and threw up.

Cerise covered her nose and laughed softly. “Pathetic. Your husband betrayed you, and your best friend used you. What do you even have left?”

I stared at the floor, shaking. Her words didn’t even hurt anymore. I felt hollow. Empty.

Lila had been visiting me in prison for ten years. She said she believed me. Said she’d never leave me. She cried with me, prayed with me.

And yet... she sold me out.

Before I could react, someone punched me in the stomach. I lost consciousness.

When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was the cold.

My body was pressed against the damp floor. It smelled of rust and mold. For a moment, I couldn’t move. Then I heard it—dripping. Slow, steady.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

I turned my head. Water was leaking from the ceiling, sliding down the cracked walls, gathering around me. It was rising, inch by inch. The shock of it stole my breath! It was ice-cold, seeping through my clothes, biting my skin until I could barely feel anything.

My teeth began to chatter. I tried to move, but my limbs were heavy, stiff. When I pushed myself up, the chains on my wrists rattled.

From outside the iron door, I heard Cerise’s voice.

“Watch her carefully,” she said. Her tone was lazy, almost amused. “Justine said she can suffer, but she can’t die here.”

Justine?

I laughed a little. It came out broken.

He was part of this too.

Should I feel angry? Should I scream his name? But all I felt was emptiness.

The water reached my waist. My body trembled violently, but inside I was quiet. Hollow.

I leaned my head against the wall, listening to the sound of my own breath turning ragged.

I thought that was how I’d die... frozen in that dark basement, alone.

I didn’t cry in prison. I didn’t cry when Cerise crushed my fingers under her heel. Even when the water rose higher, when my lips turned blue and my lungs began to ache, I didn’t shed a tear.

But when I thought of my daughter, of how Amy’s death would never be avenged, how her killer was still smiling and loved... I broke.

The tears came on their own. Hot, helpless, disappearing into the freezing water.

I used whatever strength I had left to drag myself toward the door. My hands shook. My voice was gone. I wanted to call for help, but my throat burned. No sound came out.

Then, just before everything faded, I heard someone shouting my name.

“Emily!”

The door flew open.