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"You said we'd just scare her! Cut her a little to scare her! You want to kill her!"
Why was she always so naive?
She believed anything the Lees said.
They said I should marry right after high school—the guy was 'nice,' the family was 'good'—and she tried to starve me into it.
If Dad's parents hadn't intervened, my life would have been over.
When I married Zachary, they demanded a huge dowry to 'test his sincerity.
' She believed that too.
Locked me in my room on my wedding day, wouldn't let the groom in.
If I hadn't stood my ground, we'd have divorced before saying 'I do.'
We weren't even successful back then.
And now she believed them again.
Even as she stood between me and the knife, pointing it at her beloved nephew…
My heart was a block of ice.
She was easily overpowered by Leo. His gloved hands held hers firm. She struggled.
"No! I can't! I can't kill my daughter!"
The knife inched toward my heart. Leo's face was twisted with glee.
"Verve Apparel is worth tens of millions now. With that money, who cares about a record? They'll all be kissing my feet."
The blade tip touched my skin.
WOOO-OOO-OOO.Sirens. The door burst in. Police.
I smiled at my stunned grandparents.
"I told you Leo would spend his life in prison. Looks like I was right. Funny how that works, huh?"
Zachary rushed in with the cops, crushing me in a hug. "You scared me to death!"
I patted his back. "I'm okay. I'm here."
As he carefully helped me to the car, he was still shaking.
"I can't believe you took that risk. You knew he wanted to kill you."
I rested a hand on my belly.
"I couldn't wait. I kept dreaming of my daughter, hearing her say it hurt."
"She never got a chance. I had to make it right. He served himself up on a platter."
I'd never intended to let Leo go.
From the moment I swore he'd rot in prison, I decided he'd pay in blood.
My mother and grandparents were accomplices to attempted murder.
She wasn't charged. The police told me later she'd had a breakdown.
Lost her mind.
I visited her at the facility. She thought she was her eight-year-old brother, ordering her parents around in an empty room.
"Mom, Dad, Lydia's just adopted. She won't let me ride her like a horse! Hit her! Hit her hard!"
The officer with me sighed.
"During questioning, your grandpa… he broke her. Called her a curse. Said she birthed another curse. Said he should have let her and her real mother die when he had the chance."
I was confused. "What do you mean?"
"Your mom… she was your grandpa's daughter from his first wife. After she died, he remarried, had a son. To make sure your mom served the new family, they told her she was adopted. Used 'gratitude' as a chain. She… couldn't handle the truth. Broke."
I looked at my mother, lost in her delusion, finally happy being someone else. Was that better?
Worse?
I said goodbye to the officer. Zachary was waiting for me outside.
Our baby would be here soon. The pain, the betrayal… it would fade, in time.
