Chapter 1

When the waves swept my daughter, Halle Kirk, away, I was standing right by her, totally caught up in getting the perfect selfie.

She screamed, "Mommy, help me!"

Half an hour later, my husband, Atwater Kirk, and his secretary, Beatrice Read, came rushing over.

Atwater roared, "Our daughter's missing and you're just standing here taking selfies?"

Beatrice was crying hysterically.

She shrieked, "What kind of mother are you? How could you let something like this happen? You're so damn irresponsible.

"Just die already. Go jump into the sea and join her!"

While I was scrolling through a racy video I just received on my phone, I shot Beatrice a sideways glance and smirked, ''My daughter got dragged off by the waves, why the hell are you bawling your eyes out?''

*****

It was finally summer break, and Halle had been begging me every single day to take her to the beach. She wanted to hunt for seashells, dig in the sand, and feed the seagulls.

Not wanting to let her down, I started getting everything ready right away.

On the day we were set to leave, Atwater showed up with Beatrice.

He said, "Beatrice is on vacation, and she wanted to come with us. Halle really likes her, so I said yes."

I just shrugged and asked casually, "Why are you not bringing your daughter along? She's got summer break too, right?"

Beatrice looked at me like I'd just mentioned something filthy.

She scoffed, "That bitch does not deserve a trip. Don't even bring her up—she'll just ruin Halle's whole vibe."

I sighed inwardly—honestly, Beatrice's daughter was pretty much the same age as Halle.

We'd even had our kids at the same hospital, just a day apart. I'd never actually seen Beatrice's husband before.

Whenever I brought it up, she'd just say he was off on a business trip overseas.

Her family wasn't my concern, so I never bothered prying.

Beatrice was always super sweet to Halle. Even with her limited paycheck, Beatrice'd spend out of her own pocket to buy Halle snacks, cakes, and even cute outfits.

Sometimes I'd tease her, "With the way you spoil Halle, people might think she's actually your daughter!"

Beatrice would just laugh and say, "Halle and I just have this special connection."

I rolled my eyes inwardly and thought, 'Special connection? Yeah, sure.'

As soon as we got to the hotel, Halle bolted straight for the beach. I didn't even have time to slap on any sunscreen.

Atwater gave me a heads up, "The waves aren't forgiving. Make sure you keep an eye on Halle. I've got some business to take care of, but I'll come find you and Halle once I'm done."

I told Beatrice to join me, but Atwater called her back.

He said, "Come help me wrap this stuff up fast, then we can actually go have some real fun together."

Couldn't care less about them, I just made a beeline after Halle.

Something about the ocean really boosted my mood. Like everyone else, I whipped out my phone and started snapping pics.

I first took pictures of Halle. Next, I took pictures of the waves and seagulls. Of course, I took a few cute selfies to document my perfect beach day.

But soon, Halle was gone.

The spot where she'd been messing around in the sand was now eerily empty.

I stared out as the waves crashed over my feet, and in the distance, I saw some frantic little hands flailing.

Then Halle's voice reached me. "Mommy, help me!"

I only spared her a quick glance before tossing myself right back into my selfie marathon.

It was not like I hit the beach every other day. If I didn't get my fill of beach shots now, I would never get another chance.

It wasn't until half an hour later that I finally called Atwater.

I said, "Honey, Halle's gone!"

Atwater and Beatrice came running over, both out of breath and looking like they'd just rolled out of bed.

Atwater was only in his shorts, and fresh scratch marks stood out clearly on his back.

Beatrice's hair was a mess, and she had nothing on but a spaghetti strap nightgown. Her lipstick looked like it had been bitten off, and with no bra underneath, her chest was practically peeking through.

I pulled off a calm, almost careless smile and said, "She was just playing in the sand beside me a moment ago. How did she just disappear?"

Atwater roared at me, "Didn't I tell you not to let her out of your sight for a second? What the hell were you even doing?"

Feeling totally wronged, I snapped, "I was just snapping a few selfies. How could I possibly know she'd be gone in no time?"

Beatrice clutched her chest, staring out at the ocean, sobbing uncontrollably.

She said, "Halle. My Halle, where are you?"

I tried to be considerate and said, "Before you both showed up, I thought I saw Halle flailing around in the water, but my vision's pretty bad. I couldn't really see anything clearly."

Beatrice went off the rails, her voice shrill and hysterical as she screamed at me.

She said, "What kind of lousy mom are you? You know the ocean's dangerous, and you couldn't even keep an eye on her.

"You saw her getting swept away, and you didn't even try to save her? How could you be so damn irresponsible?"