Chapter 1

Three days after my mother disappeared, I found an application for an involuntary psychiatric hold in my husband's study.

The patient listed was me.

Under the doctor's assessment, it read: Severe self-harm tendencies triggered by mother's disappearance. Requires immediate mandatory institutionalization.

I followed the address listed on the document.

The front door wasn't fully closed.

Inside the living room, my mother, who had been "missing" for three days, was sitting comfortably on the sofa, peeling an apple for my adopted sister.

Gently resting her hand on Chloe's slightly swollen belly, she smiled and said to Julian.

"Avery has always been desperate for affection. In times like this, you can't push her too hard."

"Keep humoring her. Make her believe you still care."

"Wait until she feels completely dependent on you and this home. Then, slowly break the news that Chloe is carrying your baby."

"By then, no matter how bitter she is, she'll have no choice but to accept it."

Julian stayed silent for a second, then took Chloe's hand into his.

"Mom, I won't let Chloe or our baby suffer."

In that instant, my entire world went dead silent.

My mother's disappearance had been a setup all along.

She had staged the whole thing just to steal my husband for the daughter she had raised for over twenty years.

This time, I didn't storm in to confront them. I didn't cry, and I didn't throw a tantrum.

It wasn't until Chloe returned from her prenatal checkup, weeping that she didn't want her child to be born a bastard,

that I calmly signed the divorce papers and shoved them right into her hands.

"Then don't wait."

"Go ahead and get married. Give the baby a real home."

Julian stared at the divorce agreement in my hands, his face darkening second by second.

He snatched the papers from me and, without even glancing at them, tore them straight down the middle.

"Avery, what kind of sick game are you playing now?"

Shredded paper fluttered to the floor.

I looked down at the pieces, my voice unnervingly calm.

"I want a divorce."

"Doesn't Chloe's baby deserve a legitimate father?"

"I'm stepping aside for you two."

"Stepping aside?"

Julian looked at me as if I'd just told the most ridiculous joke on earth.

"Avery, haven't you thrown enough tantrums?"

I bent down and picked up the torn scraps.

"Since we're splitting up, we should divide the assets cleanly."

"Though honestly, this division seems a bit unfair to you."

"Your baby is on the way, after all. How about I leave you a bit more..."

"Avery! That is enough!"

Julian cut me off through gritted teeth, his eyes bloodshot as he closed the distance between us.

"Three months ago, when your mom first vanished, have you forgotten what a wreck you were?"

"You spent every waking minute paranoid, accusing everyone in sight."

He sneered, glaring down at me.

"She's only been gone for three months, and now you've suddenly had an epiphany?"

"What, you're done acting crazy and decided to play the generous saint instead?"

Three months ago, my mother vanished into thin air.

Back then, I completely unraveled.

I searched every corner of the city she might have visited, filed missing persons reports, and tore through her belongings over and over again.

Julian stayed by my side the entire time, pretending to worry that I might hurt myself.

Only now did I realize the truth.

From the very beginning, he was simply waiting to paint me as an "unstable, mentally ill" wife.

He stared at me, his gaze full of cold judgment.

"Avery, think about your mother. Stop making a scene."

"Her life is hanging in the balance, and you're here causing drama over a divorce?"

"Stop acting up. We'll talk once you get your head on straight."

In the end, his so-called love was reduced to using my mother's life as leverage against me.

I pulled off my wedding band, my voice flat.

"It's precisely because I've thought it through that I'm stepping down."

Julian's fists clenched tightly, his eyes wide in sheer disbelief as I slipped the ring onto Chloe's finger.

"Avery! That's the Vance family heirloom!"

"You've worn it against your skin for five whole years."

"When I gave it to you, you swore you'd wear it for the rest of your life."

"And now you're just giving it away?"

Chloe gripped the ring, tears streaming down her face. She dropped to her knees in front of me and slapped herself across the cheek.

"This belongs to you, Avery! How could I possibly take it?"

"It's all my fault. I shouldn't have seduced Julian. I made you sick... I should just die!"

With that, she grabbed a fruit knife from the coffee table and pressed the blade against her wrist.

Julian lunged forward, wrestled the knife away, and pulled her tightly into his arms, cooing soft reassurances.

"It's not your fault. We were both drunk that night."

"Don't you dare hurt yourself. Think about our baby."

Then, he turned his chilling glare toward me.

"Avery, apologize to Chloe!"

"It was an accident. Neither of us meant to hurt you."

"Your own mother is missing, and now you want to drive your sister to suicide too?"

Even now, they were still putting on a show.

Weaponized guilt really was a masterpiece.

It didn't just wash the cheaters clean; it turned the victim into the villain.

A twisted smile touched my lips, my voice cracking slightly.

"Julian, is my mom really missing?"

His expression froze for a fraction of a second.

"You... know?"

I let out a hollow laugh, staring directly into his eyes, enunciating every word.

"Know what?"

"Know that while I was tearing the city apart, nearly losing my mind with grief, she was comfortably helping you and Chloe plan your bright little future together?"

Panic flashed across Julian's face, but he quickly masked it behind a cold frown.

"Avery, Chloe is carrying my child. I can't just abandon her."

"What I owe Chloe is responsibility."

"You've been a mother before. Do you really have the heart to let a child grow up without a father?"

There it was again.

Ripping open my deepest wound, over and over.

On the anniversary of my baby's death, my husband had crawled into bed with my sister.

Someone had leaked my photos online, photoshopping them with vile captions, painting me as the heartless monster who drove her mother away.

My company suspended me due to public outcry, and friends who used to be close avoided me like the plague.

When I went to the police precinct to beg for updates, a stranger literally pointed in my face outside the station and yelled.

"You drove your own flesh and blood away! How do you have the nerve to show your face here?"

In utter despair, I dialed Julian's number twenty-seven times. He didn't pick up once.

Covered in cuts and limping from a sprain, I hauled myself to the hospital, only to spot Julian with Chloe at her ultrasound, my "missing" mother standing right beside them.

Watching his back as he walked away, I suddenly felt...

None of it mattered anymore.

I accepted a transfer offer to our European branch and booked a flight for three days later.

Then, I reached out to the county courthouse to file for divorce, only to hear the clerk's confused voice over the line.

"Ms. Vance, there must be a mistake."

"Our records show that your marital status is single."