Chapter 1

I immediately pulled out my phone. In the photo, my mother, Dahlia Green, stood beneath a brilliant blue sky with the crystal-clear sea behind her, beaming in a floral dress. She had sent the photo just ten minutes ago.

An hour earlier, my husband, Sean Quimby, had called me. He sounded frantic and desperate, nothing like I'd ever heard from him before. "Wendy! Get to the abandoned factory in Efton! Dahlia's been abducted! They strapped a bomb to her!"

I immediately told him Mom was overseas. There was no way she could be there.

But he shouted into the phone, "I don't know why Dahlia came back! But the woman they've got tied up is definitely her! The ones who abducted her specifically demanded to see you!"

So I rushed there like a madwoman, only to see my mother-in-law, Kate Irwin, blown to pieces.

Now, flames shot in the sky before me, filling the air with the acrid stench of smoke and charred flesh.

Just moments ago, a living, breathing person had stood in that inferno. That person was Kate.

And Sean was holding Yara Gibson, his intern, tightly in his arms.

His tall frame completely shielded her trembling body. He didn't even look back as the flames swallowed his own mother.

Sirens blared around us. Fire trucks rushed to the scene. Sean's colleagues shouted over one another, and the entire place descended into chaos.

Yet Sean seemed oblivious to all of it. He lowered his head and murmured to Yara over and over, "It's okay. Don't be afraid. I'm here."

Yara buried her face against his chest and sobbed, "Sean, I'm sorry. I… I was so nervous. I accidentally cut the wrong wire…"

"It's not your fault." His voice was gentle. "I should've never put that much pressure on you. It's over now. Don't think about it anymore."

I stood there watching them, my stomach churning.

Finally, after calming Yara, Sean turned around. Grief and exhaustion weighed heavily on his face as he walked toward me.

"Wendy, I know you're in pain right now. Don't worry. I'll take full responsibility. I'll answer for what happened to Dahlia."

He reached for my hand.

I stepped back and pulled away. "What are you talking about?"

I raised my phone and held the screen to his face. "My mom is in Malthia, having the time of her life!"

The moment he saw Mom's radiant smile on the screen, the grief on his face gave way to shock.

But his panic lasted only a second. He immediately furrowed his brows, shoved my phone aside, and snapped, "Have you lost your mind? After everything that's happened, you're seriously showing me an old photo and expecting me to believe you?"

Behind him, Yara immediately let go of him and stepped forward, her eyes red from crying. She reached out and grabbed my arm.