Chapter 1

"You drove my son to the bottom of the river!" Mrs. Smith screamed. She shoved me hard against the chest. "And now you dare to show your face at his grave?"

The cold rain fell heavily. I stumbled backward from the violent push, making me fall hard into the cold, thick mud.

I looked up at the dark cemetery. The polished wooden casket resting above the dirt was completely empty. The police searched the dark water for hours after my husband Troy jumped off the high bridge.

They never found his body, only his leather shoes and a folded piece of paper on the wet concrete.

"I loved him," I cried from the mud. "I was his wife."

"You are a lying whore," his mother hissed.

She pulled out a copy of Troy’s suicide note. She read the cruel words out loud for every single mourner to hear.

Troy wrote that he could no longer bear the agonizing pain of his life. He claimed I was having a long, sordid affair with a wealthy, unnamed man. He wrote that my dirty betrayal completely broke his mind.

He said he chose the dark river because he could not live with my lies for one more day.

"No!" I sobbed. "That is not true! I never cheated on him! I never looked at another man!"

It was a complete, absolute lie. I was a fiercely loyal wife.

I spent every single night at home taking care of our baby.

I did not even know any wealthy men. Our life was quiet and simple.

I was utterly bewildered. Why would Troy write such a terrible, false thing in his final moments? Why would he destroy my name before he died?

My mind raced back to the very beginning. I searched my memories for answers.

We met at a prestigious university in the city. We were both young, passionate architecture students. We spent countless late nights in the bright, messy studio.

We used to sit close together on a small wooden stool. Troy would take my hand gently in his. He would trace the delicate lines of my palm with his index finger.

"This is the blueprint of our future, Helena," Troy used to whisper. "We are going to build an empire together. Just you and me against the world."

We were so deeply, perfectly in love. We shared every single dream. We promised to conquer the world side by side.

I gave him my entire heart. I gave him my youth. I gave him a beautiful son.

How could that sweet, ambitious boy turn into a man who hated me?

How could he truly believe I betrayed him? The absolute confusion tore my soul apart.

It hurt worse than the cold rain.

I pushed myself up from the thick mud. I did not care about the cruel whispers of the crowd.

I needed to go home. I needed to hold my six-month-old baby.

Arthur was the only piece of my shattered heart I had left in this cruel world.

"I am going home to my son," I told Mrs. Smith.

"You do not have a son anymore," she said quietly.

My blood turned to pure ice. "What did you do?" I gasped.

"My lawyers took him this morning," Mrs. Smith declared proudly. "You are an unfit, adulterous mother. You drove my boy to suicide. The family court agreed with me immediately. Arthur is with my family now. He is the replacement for the son you murdered."

"No!" I shrieked. "You cannot take my baby!"

I lunged at her.

"Give me back my son!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "He is mine!"

Strong hands grabbed my arms from behind. Two large security guards pulled me away from her. I fought them with everything I had. I kicked their legs. I scratched their hands. I thrashed wildly like a trapped animal. I screamed Arthur's name until my throat bled.

"She is completely hysterical," Mrs. Smith said coldly. She smoothed down her expensive coat. "She is a danger to herself and everyone else."

A man in a white coat stepped out from the dark crowd of mourners. He held a small, sharp needle in his hand.

I tried to run, but the heavy guards held me tight. I felt a sharp pinch in my arm.

A cold, heavy numbness rushed instantly through my veins. The dark cemetery began to spin out of control.

The cruel faces of Troy’s family blurred together into a gray fog. My legs gave out. The world turned completely black.

I woke up slowly.

My head throbbed with a dull, heavy pain. I opened my dry eyes.

I was not in my warm bedroom. I was not in the dark cemetery.

I lay on a hard, narrow bed. The walls were completely white. The bright fluorescent lights hurt my eyes. I sat up quickly. Panic flooded my chest. I ran to the heavy metal door and turned the silver handle.

It was locked.

I looked through the small, thick glass window in the door. I saw a sterile, white hallway. A nurse in blue scrubs walked past without looking at me.