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.
