“Cassandra,” she whispered, reaching for my hand. “I’m so glad you’re finally home. I prayed for you every night.”

I yanked my hand away. My nails dug into my palms to keep from clawing her face.

Isaac frowned sharply. “Enough. Don’t take out your bitterness on Naomi. She’s suffered enough already.”

Suffered? My child was dead. I was thrown in prison. And Naomi was standing here, adored and protected.

From the corner, I heard my brother’s voice.

“Cass, you should be grateful Naomi forgave you. If I were her, I’d never let you set foot in this house again.”

Their words swirled around me, choking me. But I ignored them and went upstairs. I headed straight to Solana’s room. It was the one thing that had kept me sane everyday in prison… the thought of feeling her presence again in this room.

But I got the shock of my life when I opened the door. Solana’s things were gone. And in its place, were all of Naomi’s belongings. Her dresses were in the closet. Her perfume was on the vanity. Solana’s pink fairy room had been turned into a sanctuary for Naomi.

I staggered back.

“I needed a room,” Naomi said flatly, appearing behind me, as if that excused it.

“There are six rooms in this house, you could have had any other room.”

“I wanted this one.” She said nonchalantly. “It’s the one with the best view.”

“How dare you!?” I yelled, like something had snapped inside of me. “Was killing my daughter not enough? Did you have to completely erase everything about her too? What did I ever do to you?”

Naomi stared at me like I was crazy, and then she burst into laughter.

“You want to know what you did? You stole my life, Cassandra. Isaac should have been mine. All of this should have been mine! The money, the love, the respect. You stole it!”

“You’re insane, Naomi. All I have ever done is be a good friend to you. I took you in when you had nowhere else to go, and this is how you repay me?”

I didn’t wait for her to say more. I was seeing red now. I didn’t know what possessed me, but I was tearing the room down before I knew it. I shoved her make up off the vanity, tore her clothes down from the racks, and then I headed to the table and pushed the flower vase off of it. It fell to the floor and sent pieces flying everywhere. When I was done, I turned back to Naomi who was staring wide eyed.

“You think you’re crazy, don’t you? You want to see crazy?” She yelled. “I’ll show you crazy!”

Naomi walked to the nearest shard of glass on the floor, and pressed her foot on it. It all happened so fast.

“Fuck! Isaac!!!!!” She yelled out in pain, holding her bleeding foot with her hand.

Isaac and Julian came running in an instant. His eyes widened when he saw the state of the room. Julian ran to hold Naomi.

“Cassandra, what did you do?” Isaac asked.

Naomi sobbed. “I was just trying to console her. I know how hard life in prison must have been for her, but instead, she hit me, and then she did this to my room and pushed me over the glass!”

“Oh you freaking liar-” I didn’t even get to finish my sentence before Isaac slapped me.

“You would think spending all that time in prison would teach you, but I can see that you’re just as evil as you’ve always been. I don’t even know who you are anymore.”

Tears stung my eyes, but the last thing I wanted was to give them the satisfaction of watching me cry.

“What happened to my daughter’s things?” I asked.

“We threw them out. It’s not like they were needed anymore.”

Something inside me snapped. “I was gone for 8 months! You gave her my life. You took everything from me and gave it to her.”

His face hardened. “You brought this on yourself. Stop trying to blame others for your sins. You better clean this up, or I swear, Cassandra, you won’t like what I’ll do to you.”

When he was done raining insults at me, he and Julian helped Naomi out of the room, carrying her like a fragile little princess.

My heart ached, but my resolve was sharper than ever.

This time, I would not beg for love. I would not beg to be believed.

I swore that I would find evidence of their crimes and expose it for the world to see. I would not let them win this time.

That night, in the silence of a guest room reeking of dust, I pulled out the only lifeline I had left. My phone. My hands shook as I dialed the number I’d memorized long ago but sworn never to use.

The line clicked. A familiar voice answered.

“… Cassie?”

Tears stung my eyes, but I stayed calm.

“Anthony… I need you,” I whispered.

“Oh my God, Cassie. I saw you on the news. Are you okay?” he asked.

“I’m fine, I just… I made a mistake. I should’ve never chosen Anthony. You told me you would wait for me no matter how long it took. I’m ready now.”

There was a pause. “Are you sure, Cassie? I’m not playing games.

“I’m done begging them to believe me. I'm going to leave Isaac and I want to be with you. But first— I’m going to make them pay for everything they did to me and my child. This time, I won’t let them win.”

The next day, Isaac called me to his room and informed me that I was to attend an event with him.

“I don’t want to go,” I said.

Isaac didn’t even look up from the mirror where he was adjusting his tie. “You will. It’s the company’s anniversary, and people already think you’re unstable. Don’t make it worse.”

Unstable. That was his new name for me.

Naomi appeared in the doorway, luminous in a silver silk dress, and looking like the picture of innocence. “Come with us, Cass,” she said sweetly. “Everyone’s forgiven you. It’ll be good for you to see people again.”

Forgiven me. Like I did something wrong in the first place. I didn’t need their forgiveness, they could take it all and shove it down their throats.

And as much as I didn’t want to attend this party, I knew that I had to. I couldn’t let them think I was hiding. If Naomi and Isaac could show their faces even after everything they had done, then I could too.

By the time we arrived, the ballroom glittered with champagne and diamonds. Conversations dropped to murmurs as I walked in behind my husband and my best friend whose hands were entangled like they were a couple. I could feel every stare and every whisper as I walked.

“That’s her, the one who—”

“She actually came?”

“Her poor husband, still standing by her…”

I kept my chin high. I couldn’t let them make me fall.

Naomi glided through the crowd, smiling and collecting sympathy like pearls. When she dragged me over to introduce me to a group of women, she said lightly, “Cassandra’s still adjusting to freedom. You know how hard it must be to start over.”

Laughter followed. I felt my nails cut into my palms. Isaac stood beside her with an expression unreadable, offering me nothing.

One of the women lifted a finger. “Tell me, Cassandra, what was it like in there? It must feel like a breath of fresh air now that you’re not locked up anymore.”

Before I could say anything, Naomi giggled and answered. “Oh do you even have to ask? Look at her! Even though she’s draped in a dress that cost thousands, she still looks like a prisoner!”

The chandelier lights blurred as the entire room laughed. I couldn’t take it anymore, I muttered something about needing air and pushed my way to the restroom.

A lone tear slipped down my cheeks just as I pushed the bathroom door open. It was silent, and the only thing I could hear was the hum of the vents and my own ragged breathing. I gripped the marble sink until my reflection wasn’t blurry anymore. I wouldn’t cry. Not here.

A janitor came out of one of the stalls, reeking of urine. “Ma’am, I’m sorry, but I’ll have to ask you to use one of the bathrooms downstairs. This bathroom is out of order. The pipes are clogged and everything that’s been flushed is coming back up.”

I scrunched my face in disgust. “Oh I’m sorry, I’ll just be a minute. Thank you.”

He nodded and left the bathroom with his cleaning tools, and then I was alone again.

I took a deep breath and dabbed some water on my face. I was fishing for my lipstick in my purse when I heard a rustle from the door. I looked up to see that it was Naomi. I rolled my eyes and ignored her.

She tutted. “Oohhh, poor little Cassandra. Are you crying in the bathroom, it’s like high school all over again.”

“Leave me alone, Naomi.” I sighed, taking my phone out to try and order an uber.

“Anyway,” she continued. “I just came here to show you that you’ve lost Isaac forever.”

She turned her phone screen to me, and on it, was a video of her and Isaac, naked and kissing.

I barely flinched.

“Have you learned your lesson then?” She asked. “He told me he had never experienced a woman like me. He said you were always stiff in bed! Can you see now that you don’t belong here?”

I was tired of her games and I just wanted her to leave me alone. “Yes, Naomi. You win, okay? Take him. Take all my friends, take everything. I already lost the most important thing in my life and I really don’t care what you do anymore.”

She seemed offended and taken aback by my response. Did she really expect me to kneel down and beg her to let me have Isaac?

Her eyes flashed angrily. “You think you’re better than me, don’t you? You’re nothing but a pathetic bitch!”

I opened my mouth to ask her to leave me alone again, but I was interrupted by a loud gurgle from one of the toilets, and I didn’t have to be told what it was. The smell hit both of us at the same time.

“Oh my God, what is that smell?” Naomi asked, gagging and covering her nose. She took a step back and smirked, holding on to the door handle. “I suppose it makes sense for you to be in such a smelly place. It’s exactly the kind of filth you belong in.”

I saw her next course of action in her eyes before she even did it. “Naomi…” I said in a warning voice.

Her smile widened. “Goodnight, Cassandra. I find it hilarious, locking you in here just like I locked your bastard daughter out in the snow. Hopefully, you’ll die just like she did!”

My lipstick fell to the floor that was slowly filling up with urine and brown liquid. “What did you just say?”

Naomi laughed in my face, and before I could take a step to reach the door, she locked it with a click.

“Let me out of here!” I yelled, banging on the door.

She didn’t turn back. I watched in horror as her retreating figure kept laughing at me.

I turned the door handle but it didn’t budge. My shoes were slowly getting submerged in urine now.

I tried to make a call to Anthony, but there was no service in the bathroom.

I was left all alone, with the horrifying confession of how Naomi had killed my daughter. And right there, I vowed to make them all pay.

I spent the night in that filthy bathroom, propped up on the sink, so my feet wouldn’t be submerged in the dirty water.

The windows were locked, so I had to inhale the smell all night. I kept checking my phone, but the signal never returned.

At 9am the next morning, the door finally opened, and the janitor from the previous night stared at me open-mouthed.

I was weak and almost passed out from the smell.

“Goodness, ma’am, were you in here all night?”

I nodded weakly.

He helped me out of the bathroom and I had never been more grateful for clean fresh air. I started coughing violently, and it felt like I would throw up at any second.

He helped me over to a chair and made me sit down. “Take a seat, I’ll call an ambulance.”

“No!” I stopped him. “I’m fine. Thank you. I just need to get home.”

“Are you sure? You need to get checked.”

“I’m okay, thank you.”

I didn’t wait for him to argue further. I headed straight for the door. People closed their noses and shook their heads as I passed them, but I couldn’t even be bothered. I had to get home.

When I finally got home, it didn’t even look like anybody had noticed I didn’t come back last night.

Julian was on the couch watching a show when I walked in. He looked up. “Why isn’t there breakfast on the table yet?”

“I’m not your maid, Julian.”

He scrunched his nose. “What is that smell?”

I ignored him and walked past him. I didn’t have time for him. I had bigger fish to fry. I went straight to the bathroom and scrubbed myself clean. Then I simply walked to the kitchen and made myself a cup of coffee.

By the time Isaac came downstairs, coffee was already on the table — and so were the papers.

“Can you sign these?” I asked in a calm voice. “They’re for approval to remake our daughter’s headstone. The old one cracked.”

He barely looked up. “Now? I’m late.”

“It’ll only take a moment.”

He looked like he wanted to disagree, but then his phone lit up with a phone call.

Naomi’s name lit up his screen. Of course.

He answered the call, and his voice softened in a way it never did for me anymore. While he spoke, I slid the pen toward him. He scrawled his signature on every line without reading a word and left mid-conversation, still murmuring to her.

The moment the door shut behind him, I exhaled.

Divorce papers.

He’d just signed away our marriage and my freedom in one distracted moment.

For the first time in months, I almost laughed.

---

The next day was our wedding anniversary.

Isaac hadn’t wanted to acknowledge or celebrate it. “There’s no point pretending like we’re in love,” he’d said.

I’d agreed with him, and then planned a dinner anyway.

“It’s just a small gathering,” I told him. “For appearances.”

He didn’t notice the irony.

By evening the house was filled with guests. Each one of them were part of our social circle. They had been my friends once, but after I got sent to prison, they all abandoned me and took Naomi’s side. It was the perfect audience for my plan.

Naomi arrived with Isaac, draped in gold, glowing under the chandelier like a saint. She leaned close to him when he took the stage, resting her hand possessively on his arm. You would think it was their anniversary. In the past, I would have cried for days because of this, but now, revenge was the only thing on my mind.

Instead, I calmly took my glass and walked up to the stage too to give our speech.

Isaac spoke first. “You know, the past year has been extremely hard on me, losing my daughter and all that…”

I flinched at the mention of my daughter. I could see her beautiful face in my mind. I wondered what she would have looked like now.

Isaac cleared his throat and continued. “But through all those hardships, there has been one person who has been a constant source of strength and support for me… Naomi Thorne.” He kissed her cheek. “This woman has been there through the darkest days of my life, and even though it’s my anniversary today, I think the real person we should be celebrating is Naomi.”

The crowd cheered, and Naomi stepped into the spotlight, saying her ’thank yous’ like a celebrity. When she was done, she turned to me and smirked, like she had won.

I smiled and took the microphone from Isaac. “My husband is right. Naomi really is the star of the night, and as such, I would like to play you all a little something.”

Everyone started murmuring as the screen behind us crackled to life. Naomi turned to me wide eyed, whispering. “What the hell are you doing now?”

“You’ll see,” I said.

The video started.

Naomi appeared on it, standing in the bathroom from last night. I had turned on my camera after failing to find an Uber last night. I had held the phone in my hand, angled at her so she wouldn’t suspect a thing.

Her words from last night were loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Goodnight, Cassandra. I find it hilarious, locking you in here just like I locked your bastard daughter out in the snow. Hopefully, you’ll die just like she did!”

A wave of gasps rolled through the hall.

Naomi stumbled back. “Th- that’s not real! That’s been edited!”

Isaac turned to me with fire in his eyes. “Stop this madness right now!”

I didn’t listen to him. The video kept playing on a loop as I spoke. “As you can see, the truth is finally out for all to see. Naomi Thorne killed my daughter! I took her in as a friend, and she destroyed my life. And my dear husband and brother took her side. I spent months and months being taunted by them. I could barely breathe in my own home. The two people that I called my family turned on me. My husband didn’t even hide the fact that he was sleeping with my best friend anymore. They paraded proudly in front of me, knowing that I was helpless. They took my child and then threw me in jail for almost a year! But I won’t be silenced anymore.”