Chapter 1

My sister, Daisy Vincent, was caught out on the water in a storm.

I hung on to my husband, Edward Morgan, with everything I had and begged him not to throw himself into that current.

When the Coast Guard got there, all they pulled up was an empty life ring.

The waves had taken Daisy, and nobody could find a trace of her.

Edward lost his mind completely.

He decided I had stalled on purpose and gotten Daisy killed.

He pulled off his wedding ring on the spot, threw it into the water, and swore he would never forgive me.

And our father, Richard, held me down in a barrel of ice water to avenge his precious girl, and he kept me there until I drowned.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day of the yacht accident.

*****

Dark clouds sat low over the water off Malibu, and heavy waves kept slamming into the rocks.

The forecast had put out a severe storm warning long before we headed out.

I warned Daisy about it. "The water is way too rough today. If we take the boat out, we're going over. It's dangerous."

Daisy paid no attention to me. She hooked her arm through Edward's and pouted. "No. I want pictures out on the yacht, and I want the sea air.

"Stella spent years carrying plates around a restaurant. She's never seen anything nice in her life, so of course she's scared of everything. Don't listen to her."

Edward snapped at me with open disgust. "Stella, don't ruin this for Daisy. If she wants to go, we go. Nothing is going to happen with me there."

Richard pointed a finger in my face and went off on me. "You wait tables. What would you know about anything? Daisy is finally happy, so we do what Daisy wants.

"Get on that boat and take care of her. If anything goes wrong with your sister, you can forget about dinner tonight."

Then Edward and Richard had the bodyguards drag me onto the yacht.

I was forced to play the servant, looking after Daisy while the yacht pitched and rolled in the storm.

And just like I predicted, disaster struck.

As soon as we reached deeper waters, the storm came crashing down on us.

A massive wave flipped the yacht in an instant.

Daisy was floating just a dozen meters away near the rocks, her voice shrill with fear as she screamed, "Edward. Dad. Help me. The water's freezing!"

Edward's eyes were bloodshot, and he was about to dive into the sea like a madman.

The Coast Guard officer on the rocks shouted over at him. "Mr. Morgan, don't do it! That current will kill you, and the rescue helicopter is already on the way!"

The last time around, I had knelt on the wet rock with both arms locked around Edward's leg, crying while I begged him. "Edward, they're right. It's too dangerous. You can't go in there!"

But after he survived, Edward only had hatred for me.

He put his hand around my throat and screamed at me. "Stella, you vicious woman! Why weren't you the one in the water? Why weren't you the one who died?"

Richard slapped me across the face in front of everyone. "You spent years hauling plates around a restaurant and humiliating me every day of it.

"Then you come home and get Daisy killed. If I had known it would come to this, I would have let you die out there."

Daisy and I were sisters by blood.

But to everyone around us, I was a failure who had wasted years on dead-end work, and Daisy was the girl the whole world doted on.

They hated me, cursed me, crushed my spirit, and treated me like I was nothing but garbage.

So this time around, I calmly let go of his leg.

If they wanted to play the hero who saves the girl, they could go right ahead.

Splash!

Edward dove straight into the icy waves without a second thought.

Richard shouted anxiously from the shore, "Edward, you have to bring Daisy back. God, please protect my precious daughter!"

A few minutes later, the Coast Guard's rescue boats and helicopters showed up.

Edward had gone under, and there was no sign of him anywhere.

It took two hours of grid searching before the medics found him unconscious.

His lungs were full of water, his bones were broken all over his body, his head was badly damaged, and he was barely breathing.

Richard had been praying a minute earlier, and now he stood there frozen. "How... how did this happen?"

I stood outside the perimeter and watched it all without feeling much of anything.

After what felt like forever, Richard finally snapped. He grabbed the Coast Guard captain, his voice frantic.

"Where's my daughter? Where's Daisy? Why didn't you bring her back?

"You're all useless! Go back and find her now!"

The captain frowned and pulled off his gloves. "Sir, we covered the whole reef area. The only person out there was this man. There was nobody else."

"What? That's impossible!"

Richard shoved the officer aside. "You're lying. You missed her. Daisy is still in the water!"

Then he turned around and went into the sea himself.

I watched Richard tear through the water looking for her, and the corner of my mouth pulled into a hard smile.

I was the one married to Edward.

I was Richard's daughter by blood, the same as Daisy was.

But neither of them had ever loved me.

Daisy came first with both of those men, every single time.

So this time around, I was finished with the husband who could not see straight and the father who never once took my side.

Just then, the paramedics ran over and took my arm. "You're Edward's wife, right? Get in the ambulance."