Chapter 1
The day my two daughters–in–law–who on the surfa- ce appeared to be pining for my sons‘ affections but were in reality master shoppers–decided to fake their deaths, I grabbed them and refused to let go.
“Not unless you take me with you.”
They told me that the woman returning from abroad wasn’t just the one true love of my two sons, but also the daughter of my husband’s long–lost flame.
The three men in my life were about to conspire to have me adopt her.
According to them, I wouldn’t discover the truth until I was seventy. But I’m only fifty now.
“To hell with that,” I spat. “Why should I suffer for another twenty years?”
I decided to “die” on the very road those three were taking to “rescue” her.
Let them live with the guilt forever.
In the end, my husband, Howard, lost his mind. My two sons were consumed by regret.
And my two daughters–in–law? They took me on the ride of a lifetime, a life of glorious, unapologetic ind- ulgence. Ten handsome young masseurs surrounding us, kneading our shoulders and feeding us fruit.
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I was fift.
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Chapter 1
08:51
I was fifty years old when I overheard it from my two
daughters–in–law.
The “one true love” returning to the country, a wom- an named Sienna Crest, was the daughter of my hus- band Howard’s old flame, Serena Crest.
My daughters–in–law had decided it was time to bolt.
My eldest son’s wife, Olivia, was dumping a torrent of diamonds, gold, and precious gems into a suitcase.
I refuse to end up like you, Mom,” she said to the other. “I want a divorce. You?”
My younger son’s wife, Maya, was tapping away on her phone. “You’re leaving, I’m leaving. No way am I having sons who grow up to be obsessed with their father’s ex–girlfriend’s daughter. Let me just check how much I’ve managed to siphon off of Jack these last three years… Aha! A cool nine and a half million in my secret account. That should be enough for the two of us to live a little.” She looked up. “So, how do we do this? You think Jack and Adrian will just let us divorce them?”
Olivia considered this. “If we ask directly, they’ll never agree. They’ll probably freeze our credit cards. You’d be sitting on a fortune you couldn’t spend a dime of. When Dad’s old flame, Serena, came back to town years ago, Mom asked for a divorce. He refused and froze all her accounts. She didn’t even have enough money for a rental deposit. Then she found out she was pregnant with the twins. For the boys, she had no choice but to stay.
“But what she never knew,” Olivia continued, her voice dropping
“Was th
Chapter 1
08:52
voice dropping, “was that five years later, Howard
started taking the boys on ‘business trips‘ abroad. He
said it was to ‘cultivate their business acumen from
a young age.‘ In reality, he was taking them to play
with Serena’s daughter. He told our husbands to pro-
tect Sienna like she was their own sister. That’s why
Adrian and Jack have been practically joined at the
hip with her since childhood.
“And now, according to the script of this ridiculous life, as soon as Sienna returns, the three of them are going to manipulate Mom into adopting her, showeri- ng her with affection. Where does that leave us? Our days of lavish spending and carefree living will be
over. I say we fake our own deaths.”
Maya instantly agreed. “I’m with you. I’m going to pack my valuables right now. All the jewelry and des- igner bags I bought with Jack’s money over the last three years will fetch a pretty penny. We won’t star-
ve.”
She turned to leave Olivia’s room and walked straight into me. I had been standing outside the door, liste-
ning to every word.
Maya’s face went white. “Mom,” she stammered. “H-
how much did you hear?”
A chill ran down my spine, but my chest felt like it was on fire. I was a paradox of ice and flame. I clen- ched my fists. “Is it true? Everything you said? That girl, Sienna… she’s really Serena’s daughter?”
Maya looked helpless, glancing back at Olivia. “What do we do now? She’s not going to tell Adrian and
Jack and ruin our plan, is she?”
I grabbed each of them by the arm, my grip like iron.
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08:52 C
“Oh, I will,” I said, my voice low and dangerous. “Unl- ess you take me with you.”
