Chapter 1

At twelve, my parents were burned alive. The trauma was so deep that I lost my memory and spent years in a daze.

I moved into the Sterling estate with a hundred-million-dollar inheritance. Caden, who was eight years older than me, became my legal guardian. I called him Uncle Caden.

At eighteen, I fell in love with him. Instead of a ring, he sent me to St. Jude's Reformatory to "learn the rules."

Six years later, Caden finally brought me home. He ignored everyone's objections and knelt before the family elders, swearing he would take full responsibility for me.

We had the wedding of the century. I was skin and bones, rattling around in a designer dress that didn't fit, but he looked at me with such devotion. He treated me like a precious treasure.

But on the day I went into labor, the mask slipped. He injected me with veterinary anesthesia and stripped me bare.

He placed me on a custom serving tray on the dining table. A white cloth covered my face. They squirted fresh cream onto my belly, shaping it into a flower.

He wrapped his arms around Melanie from behind. He held her hand as they sliced into my stomach like they were cutting a cake.

Blood sprayed everywhere while they laughed.

"Six years ago, you caused the loss of Melanie's baby," he whispered. "Now, it's a life for a life. That's only fair!"

Under the white cloth, I saw the statue of the deity from the reformatory. She was smiling at me.

"Kacy, come back to St. Jude's," she whispered. "We'll kill them together."

1

Caden toyed with the scalpel in his hand.

"Kacy, you're pathetic. I'm your guardian, and yet you still tried to crawl into my bed naked."

Melanie's eyes were bloodshot and hysterical. "My baby! He should have been the heir to the Sterling empire! You killed him!"

I realized then that Caden hadn't been drugged by his enemies that night. He had faked the whole thing to give Melanie's child the Sterling name.

They wanted to make it look like Melanie had sacrificed herself for him. I thought I was saving him, but I was just ruining their plan.

Now, my limbs were tied, and I was splayed open on a round table. My husband sat in an armchair, legs crossed, wiping the blood from Melanie's fingers with a silk handkerchief.

A private doctor rushed in, sweating profusely. He wanted to save me, but he waited for Caden's permission.

"Sir, if we don't close her up now, she'll die."

Caden didn't even look up. He started applying hand cream to Melanie's palms.

I stared up at him from my tilted position. He massaged her delicate hands with a tenderness that made me want to vomit.

"Can she still have kids after this?" Caden asked.

The doctor looked down in pity. "The chances are slim. Maybe ten percent."

Caden stood up abruptly. He plunged the long blade back into my abdomen and twisted. He pulled out a piece of mangled tissue.

"Now there's zero percent," he growled.

He tossed the remains into a dog bowl. A massive Mastiff lunged forward, and a tiny, pale limb fell from its jaws.

I opened my mouth to scream, but no sound came out. Tears streamed into my hair.

"What are you crying for, Kacy? This is exactly what you did to Melanie. I guess you only feel the pain when the knife is in your own gut!"

I didn't! I didn't do it! I shook my head in desperation, but my throat was useless.

"Sir! She's going to die! Please let us help her!" the doctor begged. "If she dies in the ancestral home, the stock price will tank."

That finally got through to Caden. He waved his hand dismissively.

"Fine, save her. I've already cut out the rot. Maybe she'll finally learn to be a good person."

Melanie leaned into him and rubbed her cheek against his.

"Kacy, you don't get to be sad. When you forced me to lose my baby, I lost the chance to be a mother forever. This is just karma."

Caden smiled and pinched her cheek. "Don't waste your breath on her. If she had any humanity, she would have confessed years ago."

Outside, it was raining, and the air smelled of iron and rot. Caden tilted his umbrella to shield Melanie.

The goddess from the reformatory stood over me, grinning. "Trust me. We'll kill them together."

With my last bit of strength, I choked on my own blood. "I want... them... dead."