Chapter 3

A crowd of resident families had gathered at the door, pointing and whispering at me.

"Mr. Evans, this is the woman," one neighbor said. "She forced her way in and claimed she was your wife."

"It's true," another added. "She's completely unhinged. She knocked poor Ms. Lane to the ground, so it was terrifying."

Panic flickered through Charles's eyes, and he looked away from me on instinct.

I braced a hand on the floor and pushed myself up before keeping my eyes locked on him. "Charles, where is my daughter?" I demanded.

Cold sweat slid down his temple. Vivian caught the shift in him at once, so she clapped both hands to her face with a cry.

"Charles, my face hurts so much," Vivian sobbed. "This crazy woman rushed in and hit me, and then she tried to kick me. If you hadn't come home in time, she might have actually beaten me to death."

As she spoke, she gave her own arm a sneaky pinch, and then she pushed up her sleeve to show a patch of red.

Her son burst into tears right on cue. "Daddy, I'm so scared," the boy shrieked. "This crazy woman wants to kill Mommy, so I don't want to be a kid with no Mommy."

Charles had been wavering. But the moment he saw the tears streaming down their faces, his resolve hardened, and he turned to me with a fierce glare.

"Grace, apologize to Vivian right now," Charles barked. "I know you feel cheated, but that doesn't give you the right to put your hands on them."

The nerve of him almost made me laugh. How could anyone be this shameless?

"Are you blind?" I spat, my voice shaking. "Have you lost every shred of decency you had? She says one word, and you swallow it whole?

"Charles, did you forget we aren't divorced yet? I'm still your wife in the eyes of the law."

The moment the words left my mouth, Charles's face changed, and he cut me off in a frantic rush.

"What garbage are you spouting?" he yelled. "I've only ever had one wife, and that's Vivian. Grace, I know life on your own has been hard, and I looked out for you plenty."

He sneered at me. "But that's no reason to build up some fantasy about me and make a scene at my home. I've seen my share of women who will do anything to latch onto power. Get out now."

I could hardly believe my ears. Was he talking about me?

If it hadn't been for me back then, he would have never landed the ambassador post.

I still remember the first time he was posted abroad. He spun me around in his arms at the airport, and he said the words over and over against my ear.

"Gracie, you're my lucky star," he had whispered. "Marrying you is the greatest blessing of my life, so I swear to God I will never do you wrong."

Those vows were still ringing in my ears, and yet the face in front of me had become a stranger's.

Rage surged up because I lost the last of my control, so I lunged to claw his lying face to pieces.

"Charles, you son of a b*tch," I screamed.

But he worked out year-round, and I had just come off a long, punishing drive. He had all the strength on his side, so he shoved me to the floor again.

The back of my head cracked against the marble, and the room spun.

Right then, someone pounded on the basement door.

Mia's faint, crying voice came through from the other side. "Mommy, is that you? Help me because I'm so hungry."

My heart plunged. It was my daughter, Mia.

The neighbors erupted, and murmurs raced through the crowd.

"What's going on?" one resident whispered. "Why is someone locked in the basement?"

"That sounds like a little girl," another noted. "Doesn't Mr. Evans only have a son?"

"Now that you mention it, I think I saw him with a little girl once," a third neighbor said. "She was a real pretty thing, but I haven't seen her in a long while."

Charles and Vivian went white as paper.

Under the weight of every doubting, searching stare around them, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and open the basement door.