To save my last surviving daughter, who lay in a coma, they forced me to my knees. I had to publicly confess I was an unfit mother and that my children's deaths were my fault.
But it was all a lie. They let my last daughter die anyway, diverting her doctors to treat Jorja for a scratch on her wrist.
As I walked out of the hospital, carrying my daughter's cold body, my phone rang. It was a prosecutor.
"I saw your post," he said. "Do you still need a lawyer?"
Chapter 1
Krista Brown POV
The day my twin daughters burned to death, my husband and my brother chose the woman who set the fire.
My life had seemed perfect. I was the long-lost heiress to the Alston family. Elijah, my husband, was a top psychiatrist. Broderick, my brother, was a powerful corporate lawyer. Anna and Nora, my twin girls, were everything to me.
But perfection, I learned, was only a mask for betrayal.
I stood by the grand bay window in our Back Bay townhouse, watching the morning sun illuminate the Charles River. My life felt like that light-brilliant, expansive, completely secure.
Ten years ago, the Alston family discovered I was their true heiress, switched at birth with Jorja. They welcomed me back, showering me with love and privilege.
Today was our wedding anniversary.
Elijah walked in, handed me a single red rose. "Happy anniversary, my love."
Broderick called, his voice booming with affection, asking about the girls.
I had everything a woman could ever want.
Then my phone rang.
"Mrs. Drake, there's been an incident at the academy. It's Anna and Nora."
A fire. Their coach-Jorja Alston.
I met Elijah and Broderick at the hospital. Chaos. Firefighters. Grieving parents.
Then I saw them. Elijah and Broderick weren't looking for our daughters. They were standing near a private waiting area.
Talking to Jorja.
Her face was streaked with soot, her eyes wide-but surprisingly dry.
"Where are Anna and Nora?"
Elijah's face was unreadable. Broderick put a hand on Jorja's shoulder. A gesture of comfort meant for her.
"Krista," Elijah said, "there was an accident."
My daughters were gone. Smoke inhalation. The fire spread too quickly for them to escape.
I looked at Jorja, weeping softly into Broderick's chest.
"Jorja was their coach," I whispered. "How did this happen?"
"It was an accident," Broderick said. "Jorja tried to save them. She risked her own life."
"Risked her life? My daughters are dead!"
A nurse approached with a syringe. Elijah caught my eye-a silent command.
I thrashed. "No! My babies!"
The sedative hit. The world blurred.
I woke in a room with padded walls.
Not a hospital. A psychiatric ward.
Elijah stood over me. Broderick beside him. Jorja's presence like a phantom limb.
"You had a grief-induced psychotic break," Elijah said. "You were a danger to yourself."
"A danger? You locked me up!"
Broderick sighed. "Jorja saved our lives. She donated part of her liver. She's a hero. We owe her everything."
My mind reeled. Liver donation?
Elijah thrust a document into my hands. "Sign this settlement. It states this was a tragic accident."
My eyes scanned the cold, impersonal words describing my daughters' deaths as nothing more than an incident.
With trembling hands, I tore it to shreds.
Elijah grabbed my wrist. "Don't be foolish."
"What kind of family protects a killer?"
My voice rose. "Anna and Nora burned. I can hear their screams."
Then a thought-cold and unsettling.
"Jorja's liver donation... I don't remember that."
Broderick and Elijah exchanged a glance. A flicker of something I couldn't decipher passed between them.
The men I loved were hiding something. And I was trapped inside their walls.
But walls have doors. And I had just found the key.