Before everything blurred, my daughter Amber was still laughing.

Her giggles rang through the air, her tiny feet pattering against the marble floor as she ran in circles, carefree and full of life.

Just a minute—I had only left her for a minute—to greet the guests at my husband Mateo’s birthday party. And then—

A scream. A sharp, heart-stopping cry from the balcony.

Time folded in on itself. My head snapped toward the sound just in time to see a blur of pink dress and wild curls—

And then she was gone.

My feet moved before my mind did, shoving past stunned faces, my breath trapped in my throat. I reached the balcony, and the world tilted, the sight below knocking the air from my lungs.

Amber. My baby.

Lifeless. Still. Crumpled on the concrete below.

The next few minutes were a frenzy of chaos. Voices screaming. Hands pulling. My own shrill cries ripping from my throat as I fell to my knees beside her broken body.

“Mommy’s here, baby. Mommy’s here—”

Her small fingers twitched, lips parting in a weak, painful breath. Alive. She was still alive.

“Call an ambulance!” I screamed, my hands shaking as I cradled her head, blood already pooling beneath her.

Everything blurred. The sirens. The hospital rush. The doctors barking orders as they wheeled her away. And then after a while, I found her lying in the hospital bed, so small, so fragile. Wires and tubes surrounded her, machines beeping in rhythms that made my heart clench.

“The fall caused severe internal bleeding,” the doctor said. “She’s in critical condition. We stabilized her, but…” He hesitated, glancing between Matteo and me. “Her kidneys are failing. She needs a transplant—urgently.”

“I’ll do it,” I said instantly. “Take mine.”

The words left my lips without hesitation. There was nothing to think about. Nothing to consider. If my daughter needed me, I would give her everything.

The doctor nodded. “We’ll run the tests.”

Time crawled. The world outside moved, but I stayed frozen, my fingers gripping Amber’s tiny hand, whispering prayers under my breath.

Her tiny chest rose and fell with shallow breaths. The machines beeped steadily, the sound both comforting and terrifying. I brushed her curls back gently, my heart squeezing at how pale she looked.

Matteo sat beside me, silent. His hand was on my back, a steady presence, but I barely felt it. My entire being was focused on Amber.

Then the doctor returned, his expression unreadable.

I stood, my heart slamming against my ribs. Hope bloomed in my chest. “Did I match?”

A pause. Then—

“You can’t donate.”

The words hit like a blow.

I shook my head, confusion twisting inside me. “What? Why not?”

The doctor’s gaze softened. “You only have one kidney.”

Silence.

The air in the room shifted, heavy and suffocating.

“That’s impossible,” I whispered. “How did it happen?”

Matteo exhaled sharply beside me.

“Cassandra…” He hesitated, then reached for my hand. “Remember the kidnapping accident? Years ago? You were stabbed in the stomach. Your kidney was ruptured. It had to be removed.”

My legs wobbled.

“I didn’t tell you,” he continued, his voice laced with guilt. “I didn’t want you to feel like you’d lost something else. I’m sorry.”

I stared at him, my mind reeling. How had I not known? How had I gone years without realizing a part of me was missing? But none of that mattered now.

Amber.

“What now?” My voice shook. “What happens to Amber?”

The doctor turned to Matteo. “You might be a match. We can test you.”

Matteo nodded immediately. “Do it.”

The moment he disappeared with the doctors, I collapsed into the chair beside Amber's bed, gripping her tiny hand like a lifeline.

“Mommy’s here, baby,” I whispered. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Minutes stretched into hours. The waiting was unbearable. Every second felt like an eternity.

Then Matteo returned, the doctor following closely behind.

“You’re a match,” the doctor confirmed. “We can proceed with the transplant.”

Relief washed over me. My knees nearly buckled as I exhaled, the tension in my chest loosening for the first time since the accident. Amber had a chance. Matteo could save her.

But then—

The doors burst open.

A woman rushed in, breathless, frantic.

I turned—and my heart dropped.

Candice.

My twin sister.

She looked exactly like me, but disheveled, her usually flawless appearance undone by desperation. Her eyes were red, filled with panic, her hands trembling as she clutched her bag to her chest.

“Candice?” I frowned, confused. “What are you doing here?”

Her wild gaze darted past me, landing on Matteo. Without hesitation, she ran to him, grabbing his hands.

“Please,” she choked out. “You have to save him.”

A sinking feeling settled in my stomach. “Candice, what are you—”

“My son,” she gasped, voice cracking. “He needs a kidney. He’s critical. Matteo, you have to save him.”

The blood drained from my face.

Matteo stiffened beside me. “Candice—”

She clutched his hands tighter. “Please,” she begged, her voice breaking. “You can’t let him die.”

I stepped forward, my voice shaking. “The kidney is for Amber, our daughter.”

Candice turned to me, eyes filled with desperation. “But my son is also Matteo’s son.”

"But my son is also Matteo’s son."

The words echoed in my skull, each syllable sharp and merciless.

I stared at Candice, my twin, my own flesh and blood—yet in that moment, she felt like a stranger. My pulse roared in my ears as I turned to Matteo, my voice barely above a whisper.

“What… what is happening?” My hands clenched at my sides. “Matteo, are you cheating on me with my sister?”

His eyes widened. “No! I wasn’t cheating on you, Cassandra. I swear.”

I turned to Candice, my breath shaky. “Then explain. Right now.”

She inhaled sharply, guilt flashing across her face. Then, she spoke, her voice trembling.

“The night before my wedding with Derek… I found out I was pregnant with Matteo’s child.”

Derek. My ex-fiancé. The man I was supposed to marry.

The memories surged forward like a flood, drowning me in a past I had fought so hard to forget.

Years ago, Derek and I had been engaged, our wedding set to be a grand event—one that was supposed to mark the happiest day of my life. But fate had other plans.

On the morning of the wedding, Candice and I had been kidnapped.

I still remembered the suffocating darkness, the rough hands dragging us into an unmarked van. The frantic screams. The ropes biting into my wrists. The chilling laughter of our captors as they taunted us.

We were held for ransom, two identical sisters at the mercy of cruel men.

But our parents—our parents only had enough money to save one. And they chose Candice.

I could still hear the moment they told me. The moment my world shattered.

"We’re sorry, Cassandra. We could only save one."

I had begged. Screamed. Pleaded. But the decision had been made. Candice was released, and I was left behind.

Left to be tortured. Left to suffer in a way no one could imagine.

For weeks, I endured their cruelty—starvation, beatings, pain that still haunted me in my nightmares. Until Matteo found me. Until he rescued me. He was my hero.

But by then, it was too late.

Derek had already married Candice. The life that was supposed to be mine had been handed to my sister.

I had lost everything. And now—now Candice was standing in front of me, confessing that the night before she took my place as Derek’s wife, she had slept with Matteo. With my Matteo.

I took a step back, as if putting distance between us would keep me from drowning in the betrayal. My voice was barely above a whisper. “You were pregnant… before your wedding? With Matteo’s child?”

Candice nodded, tears spilling down her cheeks. “I didn’t tell Derek. I couldn’t. It would’ve ruined everything. I was already marrying him, and after what happened to you… I didn’t want another scandal. I thought—I thought I could keep it buried forever.”

Buried. Like a secret. Like a mistake she could erase.

Matteo ran a hand through his hair, his voice strained. “Cassandra, I swear, I didn’t know. I had no idea she was pregnant with my child.”

I barely heard him. My mind was spiraling, unraveling, trying to piece together a past that suddenly made no sense.

Candice stepped closer, her desperation seeping into every word. “But now… now I have no choice.” She choked back a sob. “Our son—he inherited my kidney disease. He’s critical, Cassandra. If he doesn’t get a transplant, he won’t make it.”

“No!” My voice was raw, breaking under the weight of my fury and devastation. “That is the kidney for my daughter—not your son!”

The words hung in the air, heavy and immovable.

Candice wasn’t giving up. She turned to Matteo, grasping his hands as tears streamed down her face. “Please, Matteo. He’s your son. You can’t let him die. You saved me once… please, save our son now.”

I stepped in between them, my hands trembling. “Matteo, you promised. You promised to save our daughter.”

His face was unreadable, torn between two impossible choices.

One kidney. Two lives hanging in the balance.

And then—

He made his decision.

Matteo turned away from me.

Toward Candice.

“I’m sorry, Cassandra.” His voice was barely a whisper. “I have to save him.”

The world tilted. I felt my breath leave my lungs, my body swaying as if the ground beneath me had disappeared.

“No…” My voice cracked, disbelief numbing every nerve in my body.

But it was real.

Matteo chose Candice’s child.

Not ours.

Not Amber.

I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t move. I could only watch as they rushed Candice’s son into surgery, as Matteo was taken away to save him.

And I stood there, frozen, as my daughter faded away.

That night, while Candice wept tears of joy for her son’s survival, I stood alone in the pouring rain—burying my daughter.

No one stood beside me.

No one held me as I sobbed over the tiny coffin lowering into the earth.

I had never felt so betrayed.

Home was no longer home.

The walls felt suffocating. I could still hear the echoes of Amber's laughter, still picture her tiny hands reaching for me, still feel the warmth of her body against mine before it went cold.

Matteo had always been my hero.

The man who had saved me when I was kidnapped. The man who held me through my nightmares, whispering that I was safe, that I would never be left behind again.

I had loved him for five years. And in the end, he chose to kill my daughter.

I sat on the edge of our bed, staring at the empty space beside me. My hands curled into fists, nails digging into my palms, but I barely felt it. All I could feel was the unbearable ache in my chest.

“You’re safe now, Cassandra. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Matteo’s words echoed in my head.

He had said that to me the night he found me. When he barged into that filthy warehouse, his fists bloodied, his face twisted with rage. I was tied to a chair, my body weak, my face bruised from the beatings I had endured.

And then—he had lifted me into his arms, whispering, “It’s over. I have you now.”

I had believed him.

Back then, he had been my savior. The only light in my darkness.

I had clung to him, even after the trauma. He had been patient, understanding, wiping away my tears in the middle of the night when the nightmares came. He had kissed my scars, promising that they didn’t make me any less beautiful.

I had thought his love was my salvation.

But now, as I sat in the same house we built together, in the same bed where we whispered dreams about our future—he wasn’t my hero anymore.

He was my worst betrayal.

I walked to our bedroom, placed the divorce papers on the nightstand, and turned away. I didn’t want to see this room again. I didn’t want to be reminded of the life we shared—the life he had destroyed.

I grabbed my suitcase, yanking clothes off the hangers, shoving them inside. I didn’t know where I was going, but I had to leave. I couldn’t stay in the same house that smelled like him, in a place where every corner reminded me of my daughter’s absence.

As I pulled a sweater from the shelf, something small and solid fell to the floor.

A flash drive.

I frowned, bending down to pick it up. The label on it made my stomach twist.

"Kidney Transplant – Candice."

I stared at it. My sister’s kidney condition wasn’t new to me. We had always known she was fragile since we were kids. But after the kidnapping incident, the doctors had told us someone had donated a kidney to her.

Someone. A cold feeling crept into my spine.

I plugged the flash drive into my laptop, clicking on the only video file inside. The screen flickered to life, and my breath caught in my throat.

Matteo.

He was in a hospital room, holding Candice’s hand.

I watched, frozen, as his voice filled the speakers.

"It’s going to be okay," he murmured, his fingers tightening around hers. "She is your twin sister. I’ll be a perfect match. You’ll live. I will make sure… and I will never leave your side ‘till you wake up."

My vision blurred. The screen swam in front of me, but the truth was already seared into my mind. Matteo hadn’t just chosen Candice’s child over mine.

He had chosen Candice over me from the very beginning.

And the worst part? The kidney she had received—the one that saved her life— It had been mine.

That was why I only had one kidney. Matteo had taken it. He had stolen a part of me and given it to my sister without me ever knowing. Maybe he even married me because he was guilty.

My hands trembled as I closed the laptop. My grief turned into something darker. Something sharper.

If they had taken everything from me… I would take it all back. I wasn’t leaving anymore. I was staying. And they would regret ever betraying me.

I yanked the flash drive from the laptop, and tucked it into my pocket.

The front door opened downstairs, followed by the sound of footsteps. I turned just as Matteo walked in—Candice right behind him, holding her son.

He looked at me. “Candice and the baby will be staying with us.”

I didn’t hesitate.

I walked up to him, raised my hand, and slapped him across the face.