Chapter 1
My daughter was swept away by a wave during her summer camp trip.
My husband, Ethan Carrington, captain of the city’s rescue team, arrived at the scene with his
I thought she was finally safe until he answered a phone call.
He stayed less than three minutes before turning to leave, urgency burning in his eyes.
“Vivian, it’s an emergency call. Someone’s life is on the line–I have to go.”
Half an hour later, the tide brought my daughter’s body back to shore.
crew almost immediately.
Ethan never once picked up when I called, and by nightfall, his “hero saves beauty” moment at the Astoria Grand Hotel pool was over Kingsport’s trending news.
In the video, Sabrina Lowe stood shyly in his arms, blushing as reporters teased her.
all
“I owe him my life,” she said softly, a hint of a smile tugging at her lips. “If he ever asked me out, I wouldn’t think twice–but Ethan already has someone.”
Ireposted the clip with a single line: All yours, sweetheart.
Within minutes, the post exploded online.
Ethan finally called–only to start with a snarl.
“Vivian, what the hell are you doing? Kingsport hasn’t been your family’s territory for years. Who exactly do you think you’re trying to Impress with this attitude?”
“Push me any further, and I’ll-
“Divorce me, Ethan,” I cut in, and hung up before he could answer.
Then I sent a photo of him tangled up with Sabrina to a number I knew by heart, along with a single message: [Clean house. Make sure they pay for what they did to her.]
The message had barely gone through when Ethan’s name lit up my phone again. His voice was furious.
“Vivian, bave you lost your damn mind? You’re asking me for a divorce? Fine. You want to play tough? I’ll make it real for you.”
The doorbell rang as soon as he said it.
A pre–drafted divorce agreement lay in front of me.
Over the phone, Ethan’s tone was cold, clipped, like he was talking to an underling.
“sign it and be quick about it. I don’t have time to waste on you.”
The cause listed in bold: Mother’s negligence caused child’s death.
I gripped the papers so tightly my hands shook.
“Ethan, do you even hear yourself? Do you really not know how she died? The pool at the Astoria Grand isn’t even three feet deep! You left our daughter to save that tramp. You and Sabrina killed her!”
Ethan paused for two seconds.
you don’t want a divorce, just say so. No need to invent excuses.”
“The pool isn’t deep, but Sabrina has aquaphobia. If it weren’t for me, she would have died that day. Vivian, she’s had a rough life- same as I did—and I understand her will to survive. She couldn’t take that risk. We can always have another child. I have work to deal with. Goodbye.”
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The call ended. Moments later, I overheard Sabrina’s voice through a delivery courier’s phone.
I pulled up the live feed.
Sabrina was in tears. “I just found out Ethan lost his daughter saving me. It’s my fault–I should never have called for help. Why couldn’t it have been me instead?”
Her sobs were delicate, perfectly staged. The comments poured in.
[It’s not on you, girl. What, were you supposed to just sit there and drown instead of calling for help?)
[Right? I heard the kid’s accident happened at some summer camp. What kind of mom signs her kid up for something that risky?]
[She’s only coming after you because she can’t face what she did. You didn’t do a damn thing wrong his wife’s the real problem here.]
Within minutes, my feed blew up–hundreds of thousands of comments flooding in.
[Pathetic. A guy like Ethan stuck with deadweight like you? Total embarrassment. Do us all a favor and disappear.)
(Hope you go under too. Hope your next kid goes under. Hell, hope your whole family does.]
So basically, you think we should all just sit there and die instead of calling for rescue? Give me a break.]
Among the flood of hatred, one message:
estood out a profile picture of two hands entwined.
[See? Lam really not wrong. What can a stay–at–home wife like you even do?]
I opened it.
Two pairs of hands, tangled in white sheets, the meaning unmistakable.
The scar slashing across the man’s hand made my breath catch.
Erhan got that scar shielding me from a knife once. Now those hands were only there to drive the blade deeper into my chest.
A heavy wave of exhaustion rolled through me. I was about to lock my phone when that number flashed again.
The voice on the line was low, flat, unreadable.
“Boss, Ms. Lowe’s family connections are… complicated. Do you want us to tweak the plan?”
I knew exactly how Ethan got that captain’s badge it had her family’s fingerprints all over it.
“No. Stay the course.”
“And the trolls dragging me online–track them down and make them pay.
People really thought a keyboard could shield them. How painfully naïve..
Ethan liked to believe the Kingsleys’ influence in the States had dried up.
What he never understood was that our real power was overseas. For nearly a century, my family had commanded a private force that didn’t answer to any lawbut ours
Making someone vanish took nothing E more than a nod.
Sure enough, seconds after I hung up, the footage Ethan had tried so hard to bury landed in my inbox.
Sabrina, in a barely–there swimsuit, preening for selties with her friends–phone to her ear, calling for rescue.
Ididn’t need to see the rest
One tap, and it was live.
Just a little appetizer before the main course.
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Then I headed for the funeral home.
