Chapter 2

The box of the brand-new iPhone was carelessly tossed at Lily’s feet.

There was no excitement on her face, not even a genuine smile.

My heart sank. Did she not like it?

To test my theory, I plated some freshly cut fruit and walked into her room.

Lily was in the shower. I was about to set the plate down and leave when my eyes caught the glowing screen of her phone. It was a Snapchat chat history with her bestie, Maya.

[Omg, Lily! Your dad actually got it for you?]

As if possessed, I picked up the phone.

Under Lily’s Bitmoji, a string of freshly sent messages stared back at me.

"Yeah, but the old hag is so desperate to take credit!"

"She’s literally handing me a gift my dad prepared for me ages ago and claiming she bought it."

"She does absolutely nothing all day except blow my dad's money!"

I froze.

Marcus’s money? He had lost every single penny in the stock market four years ago.

I was the one keeping this entire family afloat.

Swallowing the bile rising in my throat, I kept scrolling.

"Thank god I slip hormone-disrupting birth control pills into her water tumbler every day. If the stepmonster actually gets pregnant and has a kid, she’ll ruin my inheritance."

"My dad's money and this house are mine! She’s not getting a single cent!"

I felt numb.

Instinctively, I touched my slightly bloated stomach.

Over the past two years, I had gained nearly forty pounds. I had cut out all junk food and worked out like crazy, yet the weight wouldn't budge.

I thought it was just my metabolism slowing down with age.

So, this was the real reason.

The hilarious part was, to make Lily and Marcus feel secure, I had secretly undergone a tubal ligation during our second year of marriage.

I literally could never have children again.

Memories of the past seven years flashed through my mind like a horror movie.

When Lily craved those organic cronuts from a trendy bakery across the state line at 3 AM, I drove two hours without a second thought to get them for her.

When she was bullied at school, I walked away from a multi-million-dollar business deal to go to the principal’s office. I stood up to the school board and those wealthy, Karen-like parents like an absolute mama bear to protect her.

And every time she threw a tantrum, Marcus would always say the same thing: "Chloe, she’s just a kid. Cut her some slack."

Yeah. She was just a kid.

A kid who poisoned my water every day and plotted to kick me out of my own home.

At that moment, my heart turned to ash.

With trembling fingers, I scrolled further up the chat history.

The log went back years—all the way to the day I married Marcus.

[The dress she wore today is so tacky. What is my dad's problem?]

[The dinner she made tonight was disgusting. I threw it straight into the trash.]

[She actually tried to redecorate my mom’s old study. I screamed at her until she backed off. Too funny.]

[My dad actually complimented her today. Gross.]

Every single text was a knife twisting in my chest.

I held the phone, barely able to breathe.

Just then, the bathroom door opened. Lily walked out, wrapping a towel around her wet hair.