Chapter 1

At forty-seven, on his deathbed, my husband, David Carter, finally confessed.

He told me the daughter we raised wasn't mine, but his sister-in-law Helen Lane's. While I was unconscious after giving birth, he swapped my baby with hers.

But Helen's child came down with a high fever at six. Because they didn't get her to the hospital in time, the kid ended up with brain damage.

Maybe I looked so terrible.

David broke down crying, begging for forgiveness. He said if there was another chance at living, he'd still want to marry me and spend his whole life making it up to me.

He spent his whole life plotting against me, but he had the nerve to talk about the next.

Only losers put their hopes in some made-up second chance at life or next-time revenge.

I usually got back at those who hurt me right away.

And, after all these years, I wondered whether David had never noticed that the child didn't look like him or Helen at all.

*****

After David got the test results from the hospital, he came home and locked himself in the study, not coming out for the whole afternoon.

I knew he was sad, so I left him alone.

Not long after, the doorbell rang. I opened it to find David's sister-in-law, Helen, standing there with her daughter, the girl who'd been left with brain damage after a high fever when she was six.

Helen frowned, and the first thing she said when she saw me was, "Is Sophie back?"

Sophie was my daughter, twenty-two and in college.

I shook my head. "No." Curious, I asked, "What's wrong?"

Helen ignored me, squeezed past, and made herself right at home in the living room, as if she owned the place.

I pulled Emily Lane, who was still standing by the door, inside. When I turned around, I saw Helen sitting on the couch, arms crossed, watching us.

"Grace, from where I'm sitting, you and Emily look a bit alike." Her gaze was anything but friendly, and a faint smile was tugging at her lips.

I didn't respond. This wasn't the first time Helen had made that comment.

We were not related by blood. Her daughter couldn't look anything like me.

I had just sat down across from Helen when she pressed impatiently, "Now that David is in this condition, are you still going to keep this from Sophie?"

David had only gotten his test results a little over two hours ago. I wondered why Helen found out so fast.

Before I could answer, the study door opened. David, who'd been locked away in there since he got home, finally stepped out. His eyes landed on Helen, his lips moved, but he didn't call her.

Today's test results confirmed that David had late-stage lung cancer, and it had already spread. He'd missed the best chance for treatment. He only had a few months left.

They stared at each other for a moment before Helen spoke first, "David, I still think we shouldn't hide this from Sophie. She is your daughter. What's your view?"

She stressed the words "your daughter."

David stayed quiet for a long time and then said, "We shouldn't keep it from Sophie."

The two of them kept shooting glances at each other, ignoring me as if I didn't exist.

I acted like I didn't notice. When I was younger, I never cared about that, and now, with David about to die, there was no point in getting upset.

David didn't have much family left. His parents and elder brother passed away a long time ago. Other than Sophie and me, the only people he still had were his sister-in-law Helen and his niece Emily.

As David was about to call Sophie, I stopped him. "Sophie's summer break is in two weeks. Can't it wait?"

David thought for a moment and then nodded and put his phone away.

Helen's face darkened. She shot me a sideways glance. "As her mom, you always have to be in control."

I smiled. "Isn't it normal for parents to look out for their kids?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Her words were dripping with meaning. "Too bad about Emily. Even if I wanted to do anything for her, it'd be useless."

Emily, sitting next to me, was playing with her fingers, with her head down, totally carefree. This was a stark contrast to her mom's calculating eyes.

Helen talked a good game, but she never really thought about what was best for Emily.

In her twenties, Emily had a buzz-cut, wore clothes that didn't fit her, and her face and skin were tanned dark. She didn't look like a young woman one bit.